I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8548 

To establish the Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the 

Powers and Duties of the Office, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 9, 2020 

Mr. RASKIN (for himself, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New 

York, Mrs. DEMINGS, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. POCAN, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. 

DEAN, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. ESPAILLAT, 

Ms. MOORE, Mr. EVANS, Ms. SHALALA, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Ms. 

NORTON, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, 

Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. MFUME, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. CORREA, Mr. DESAULNIER, 

Mr. DEUTCH, Ms. BASS, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Ms. WASSERMAN

SCHULTZ, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mrs. TORRES

of California, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, and Mr. 

COHEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for 

a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish the Commission on Presidential Capacity to 

Discharge the Powers and Duties of the Office, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Commission on Presi3 dential Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of 

4 the Office Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT. 

6 There is established a commission in the legislative 

7 branch to be known as the ‘‘Commission on Presidential 

8 Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of the Of9 fice’’ (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). The 

10 Commission shall serve as the body provided by law by 

11 Congress to carry out section 4 of the 25th Amendment 

12 to the Constitution of the United States. 

13 SEC. 3. DUTY OF COMMISSION. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—If directed by Congress pursuant 

15 to section 5, the Commission shall carry out a medical ex16 amination of the President to determine whether the 

17 President is mentally or physically unable to discharge the 

18 powers and duties of the office, as described under sub19 section (b). 

20 (b) DETERMINATION.—The determination under sub21 section (a) shall be made if the Commission finds that the 

22 President is temporarily or permanently impaired by any 

23 of the following conditions to the extent that the person 

24 lacks sufficient understanding or capacity to execute the 

25 powers and duties of the office of President: 

26 (1) Physical illness or disability. 


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1 (2) Mental illness or deficiency. 

2 (3) Alcohol or drug use. 

3 (4) Any other condition or contingency ren4 dering the President unable to execute the powers 

5 and duties of the office of the President. 

6 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMISSION. 

7 (a) NUMBER.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be 

9 composed of 17 members, appointed as follows: 

10 (A) Two members appointed by the major11 ity leader of the Senate. 

12 (B) Two members appointed by the minor13 ity leader of the Senate. 

14 (C) Two members appointed by the Speak15 er of the House of Representatives. 

16 (D) Two members appointed by the minor17 ity leader of the House of Representatives. 

18 (E) Eight members— 

19 (i) four of whom are former high20 ranking executive branch officers appointed 

21 jointly by the two appointing individuals 

22 under subparagraphs (A) through (D) who 

23 are members of, or caucus with, the Demo24 cratic party; 


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1 (ii) four of whom are former high2 ranking executive branch officers appointed 

3 jointly by the two appointing individuals 

4 under subparagraphs (A) through (D) who 

5 are members of, or caucus with, the Re6 publican party; and 

7 (iii) each of whom has served as 

8 President, Vice President, Secretary of 

9 State, Attorney General, Secretary of the 

10 Treasury, Secretary of Defense, or Sur11 geon General. 

12 (F) One member, to serve as Chair of the 

13 Commission, appointed by simple majority vote 

14 of the 16 members appointed under subpara15 graphs (A) through (E). The Chair may not be 

16 any member appointed under such subpara17 graphs. For purposes of appointing the Chair, 

18 a voting quorum shall be established by the 

19 presence of 50 percent plus one of the members 

20 appointed under such subparagraphs. 

21 (2) FAILURE OF APPOINTMENT.—If any ap22 pointment under paragraph (1) is not made, the 

23 Commission shall consist of the members duly ap24 pointed. 

25 (b) APPOINTMENT.— 


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1 (1) INITIAL APPOINTMENT.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—For the initial appoint3 ment of members to the Commission, each 

4 member under subparagraphs (A) through (E) 

5 of subsection (a)(1) shall be appointed not later 

6 than 10 days after the date of enactment of 

7 this Act. 

8 (B) CHAIR.—The members of the Commis9 sion appointed under subparagraph (A) shall 

10 appoint the Chair under subsection (a)(1)(F) 

11 not later than 3 days after the date the mem12 bers are so appointed. 

13 (C) TERM.—A member appointed under 

14 subparagraph (A) shall serve as a member of 

15 the Commission until January 1, 2025. A mem16 ber so appointed may serve after the expiration 

17 of that member’s term until a successor has 

18 taken office. 

19 (2) SUBSEQUENT APPOINTMENTS.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—For any appointment 

21 of members to the Commission after the initial 

22 appointment under paragraph (1), each member 

23 under subparagraphs (A) through (E) of sub24 section (a)(1) shall be appointed not later than 

25 January 10 of the year immediately following 


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1 any year (beginning in 2024) in which a presi2 dential election is held. 

3 (B) CHAIR.—The members of the Commis4 sion appointed under subparagraph (A) shall 

5 appoint the Chair under subsection (a)(1)(F) 

6 not later than 10 days after the date the mem7 bers are so appointed. 

8 (C) TERM.—A member appointed under 

9 subparagraph (A) shall serve on the Commis10 sion for a term of 4 years. A member so ap11 pointed may serve after the expiration of that 

12 member’s term until a successor has taken of13 fice. 

14 (3) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commission 

15 shall be filled in the manner in which the original 

16 appointment was made, not later than 30 days after 

17 the vacancy occurs. Any member appointed to fill a 

18 vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term 

19 for which the member’s predecessor was appointed 

20 shall be appointed only for the remainder of that 

21 term. 

22 (c) CRITERIA FOR APPOINTMENT.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each member appointed to 

24 the Commission under subparagraphs (A) through 

25 (D) of subsection (a)(1) shall be a physician. Of the 


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1 two members appointed by each individual under 

2 such paragraphs, one shall be a physician with a 

3 specialty in psychiatry. The Chair shall be a physi4 cian or an individual who meets the requirements of 

5 subsection (a)(1)(E)(iii), or both. In this paragraph, 

6 the term ‘‘physician’’ means a doctor of medicine li7 censed to practice medicine, surgery, or osteopathy 

8 in a State. 

9 (2) LIMITATIONS.—A member appointed under 

10 subsection (a) may not, at the time the member is 

11 appointed or serving as a member on the Commis12 sion, be— 

13 (A) an elected official to any Federal, 

14 State, or local office; 

15 (B) an employee (as that term is defined 

16 in section 2105 of title 5, United States Code, 

17 including any employee of the United States 

18 Postal Service or the Postal Regulatory Com19 mission); or 

20 (C) a member of the Armed Forces, in21 cluding reserve components thereof. 

22 (d) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the Com23 mission shall receive travel expenses, including per diem 

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1 sions under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United 

2 States Code. 

3 SEC. 5. EXAMINATION OF THE PRESIDENT. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—A concurrent resolution described 

5 in this subsection is a concurrent resolution directing the 

6 Commission to conduct an examination of the President 

7 to determine whether the President is incapacitated, either 

8 mentally or physically, the title of which is ‘‘Directing the 

9 Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the 

10 Powers and Duties of the Office to conduct an examina11 tion of the President’’, and the text of which consists solely 

12 of a directive to the Commission to conduct the examina13 tion. 

14 (b) PROCEDURES.—The provisions of section 2908 

15 (other than subsection (a)) of the Defense Base Closure 

16 and Realignment Act of 1990 shall apply to the consider17 ation of a concurrent resolution described in subsection 

18 (a) in the same manner as such provisions apply to a joint 

19 resolution described in section 2908(a) of such Act. 

20 (c) SPECIAL RULES.—For purposes of applying sub21 section (b) with respect to such provisions, the following 

22 rules shall apply: 

23 (1) Any reference to the Committee on Armed 

24 Services of the House of Representatives shall be 

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1 ary of the House of Representatives and any ref2 erence to the Committee on Armed Services of the 

3 Senate shall be deemed a reference to the Committee 

4 on the Judiciary of the Senate. 

5 (2) Any reference in subsection (c) to a ‘‘20-day 

6 period’’ shall be deemed a reference to a ‘‘48-hour 

7 period’’. 

8 (3) Any reference in subsection (d) to ‘‘the 

9 third day’’ shall be deemed a reference to ‘‘the first 

10 day’’. 

11 (4) Any reference to the date on which the 

12 President transmits a report shall be deemed a ref13 erence to the date on which a Member of Congress 

14 introduced a concurrent resolution described in sub15 section (a). 

16 (d) EXAMINATION.—Not later than 72 hours after 

17 the adoption by Congress of the concurrent resolution de18 scribed in subsection (a), the Commission shall conduct 

19 the examination described under such subsection. 

20 SEC. 6. REPORT. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 72 hours after 

22 completing the examination under section 5, and notwith23 standing the HIPAA privacy regulations (as defined in 

24 section 1180(b)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

25 1320d–9(b)(3))), the Commission shall, in consultation 


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1 with the Vice President, transmit a report to the Speaker 

2 of the House of Representatives and the President Pro 

3 Tempore of the Senate that shall include the declaration 

4 described in section 4 of the 25th Amendment providing 

5 whether the President is able to discharge the powers and 

6 duties of the office and otherwise describing the findings 

7 and conclusions of the examination. 

8 (b) DISAGREEMENT OF VICE PRESIDENT.—If the 

9 Vice President disagrees with the declaration or any other 

10 conclusion of the Commission under subsection (a), the 

11 report submitted under such subsection shall include a 

12 statement by the Vice President setting forth such dis13 agreement and the basis for such disagreement. 

14 (c) CONSIDERATION.—Any refusal by the President 

15 to undergo such examination shall be taken into consider16 ation by the Commission in reaching a conclusion in the 

17 report under subsection (a). 

Æ 


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