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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6972 Reported in Senate (RS)]

<DOC>

                                                       Calendar No. 711
118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6972

                          [Report No. 118-305]

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 7, 2024

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
                        and Governmental Affairs

            December 17 (legislative day, December 16), 2024

               Reported by Mr. Peters, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

 
 To amend title 5, United States Code, to require an Executive agency 
 whose head is a member of the National Security Council to notify the 
   Executive Office of the President, the Comptroller General of the 
   United States, and congressional leadership of such head becoming 
    medically incapacitated within 24 hours, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Securing Chain of Command 
Continuity Act''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL MEDICAL INCAPACITY 
              NOTIFICATION ENHANCEMENT.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Section 3349 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(c)(1) Not later than 24 hours after the head of an 
Executive agency who is a member of the National Security Council 
becomes medically incapacitated or 24 hours in advance of a planned 
medical procedure where incapacitation is known or may be reasonably 
assumed, the person serving or who will be serving in an acting 
capacity as such head or, if no person is or will be so acting, the 
first assistant to the office of such head, shall submit to the 
appropriate Federal officials a notification that such head is or will 
be medically incapacitated.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(2) If the notification required by paragraph (1) with 
respect to a head of an Executive agency becoming medically 
incapacitated is not submitted in accordance with the requirements of 
such paragraph, not later than 72 hours after such head became subject 
to such medical incapacity the person serving in an acting capacity as 
such head or, if no person is so acting, the first assistant to the 
office of such head, shall submit to the appropriate Federal officials 
a report including--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(A) the name of each individual who served in an 
        acting capacity as such head pursuant to such medical 
        incapacity and, for each such individual--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(i) the dates of such service;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(ii) whether such individual was 
                authorized to serve in such acting capacity; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(iii) a comprehensive list of resources 
                and authorities allocated to such individual while 
                serving in such acting capacity to ensure that such 
                individual could perform the functions and duties of 
                the office of such head;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(B) an explanation why the notification required 
        by paragraph (1) was not submitted in accordance with the 
        requirements of such paragraph;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(C) the dates of such head's medical 
        incapacitation, and if such head has resumed performing the 
        functions and duties of the office, the date such head so 
        resumed performing such functions and duties; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(D) an explanation why such head was medically 
        incapacitated.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(3) In the event the head of an Executive agency remains 
medically incapacitated on the date the report is submitted under 
paragraph (2), the person serving in an acting capacity as such head 
or, if no person is so acting, the first assistant to the office of 
such head, shall submit periodic updates, as such person or first 
assistant considers appropriate, to such report to the appropriate 
Federal officials.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(4) In this subsection--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(A) the term `appropriate Federal officials' 
        means the Executive Office of the President, the Comptroller 
        General of the United States, the Majority Leader of the 
        Senate, the Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the 
        House of Representatives, and the Minority Leader of the House 
        of Representatives;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(B) the terms `medical incapacity' and 
        `medically incapacitated' mean, with respect to the head of an 
        Executive agency, that such head is unable to perform the 
        functions and duties of the office of such head due to 
        sickness, injury, or other medical condition and such inability 
        to perform the functions and duties of the office of such head 
        constitutes a vacancy of the office of such head to which this 
        section and sections 3345, 3346, 3347, 3348, 3349a, 3349b, 
        3349c, and 3349d apply; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(C) the term `National Security Council' means 
        the council established under section 101 of the National 
        Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3021).''.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Securing Chain of Command Continuity 
Act''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL MEDICAL INCAPACITY NOTIFICATION 
              ENHANCEMENT.

    Section 3349 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(c)(1) Not later than 24 hours after the head of an Executive 
agency who is a member of the National Security Council becomes 
medically incapacitated or 24 hours in advance of such head undergoing 
a planned medical procedure for which medical incapacity is known or 
may be reasonably assumed, the first assistant to the office of such 
head shall submit to the appropriate Federal officials--
            ``(A) a notification that such head is or will be medically 
        incapacitated; and
            ``(B) the name of the individual who will serve in an 
        acting capacity or otherwise perform the functions and duties 
        of the office of such head during the medical incapacitation of 
        the head.
    ``(2) If the notification required under paragraph (1) with respect 
to the head of an Executive agency who is a member of the National 
Security Council is not submitted in accordance with the requirements 
under paragraph (1), not later than 72 hours after such head becomes 
subject to a medical incapacity, the first assistant to the office of 
such head shall submit to the appropriate Federal officials a report 
including--
            ``(A) the name of each individual who served or is serving 
        in an acting capacity as such head or otherwise performed or is 
        performing the functions and duties of the office of such head 
        pursuant to such medical incapacity and, for each such 
        individual--
                    ``(i) the dates of such service or, if such head 
                has not resumed performing the functions and duties of 
                the office of such head, the expected dates of service;
                    ``(ii) the authority for the individual to serve in 
                such acting capacity or otherwise perform the functions 
                and duties of the office of such head; and
                    ``(iii) a comprehensive list of resources and 
                authorities allocated to such individual while serving 
                in such acting capacity or otherwise performing the 
                functions and duties of the office of such head to 
                ensure that such individual could perform the functions 
                and duties of the office of such head;
            ``(B) the dates of such head's medical incapacitation, and 
        if such head has resumed performing the functions and duties of 
        the office, the date such head so resumed performing such 
        functions and duties; and
            ``(C) an explanation of why such head was medically 
        incapacitated.
    ``(3) In the event the head of an Executive agency who is a member 
of the National Security Council remains medically incapacitated on the 
date the report is submitted under paragraph (2), the first assistant 
to the office of such head shall submit periodic updates, as the first 
assistant considers appropriate, to such report to the appropriate 
Federal officials.
    ``(4) If the head of an Executive agency who is a member of the 
National Security Council and is medically incapacitated does not have 
a first assistant, the individual performing the functions and duties 
of the first assistant shall perform the reporting obligations of the 
first assistant under this subsection.
    ``(5) In this subsection--
            ``(A) the term `appropriate Federal officials' means the 
        Majority Leader of the Senate, the Minority Leader of the 
        Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the 
        Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, and each 
        required recipient of a report under subsection (b);
            ``(B) the terms `medical incapacity' and `medically 
        incapacitated' mean, with respect to the head of an Executive 
        agency, that such head is unable to perform the functions and 
        duties of the office of such head due to sickness, injury, or 
        other medical condition; and
            ``(C) the term `National Security Council' means the 
        council established under section 101 of the National Security 
        Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3021).''.

SEC. 3. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS.

    No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated for the 
purpose of carrying out this Act or the amendment made by this Act.
                                                       Calendar No. 711

118th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 6972

                          [Report No. 118-305]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

 To amend title 5, United States Code, to require an Executive agency 
 whose head is a member of the National Security Council to notify the 
   Executive Office of the President, the Comptroller General of the 
   United States, and congressional leadership of such head becoming 
    medically incapacitated within 24 hours, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

            December 17 (legislative day, December 16), 2024

                       Reported with an amendment
```