I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6557 

To amend chapter 1 of title 3, United States Code, relating to Presidential 

succession. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 17, 2010 

Mr. SHERMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend chapter 1 of title 3, United States Code, relating 

to Presidential succession. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Presidential Succession 

5 Act of 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION. 

7 Section 19 of title 3, United States Code, is amended 

8 to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘§ 19. Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice 

2 President; officers eligible to act 

3 ‘‘(a)(1) If, by reason of death, resignation, removal 

4 from office, inability, or failure to qualify, there is neither 

5 a President nor Vice President to discharge the powers 

6 and duties of the office of President, then the highest indi7 vidual on the succession list who is not under disability 

8 to discharge the powers and duties of the office of Presi9 dent and not disqualified under subsection (c), shall serve 

10 as acting President. 

11 ‘‘(2) The same rule shall also apply in the case of 

12 the death, resignation, removal from office, or inability of 

13 an individual serving as acting President under this sec14 tion if, by reason of death, resignation, removal from of15 fice, inability, or failure to qualify, there is no Vice Presi16 dent to discharge the powers and duties of the office of 

17 President. 

18 ‘‘(b) An individual serving as acting President under 

19 this section shall continue to so serve until the expiration 

20 of the then current Presidential term, except that— 

21 ‘‘(1) if his discharge of the powers and duties 

22 of the office is founded in whole or in part on the 

23 failure of both the President-elect and the Vice24 President-elect to qualify, then he shall serve only 

25 until a President or Vice President qualifies; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) if his discharge of the powers and duties 

2 of the office is founded in whole or in part on the 

3 inability of the President or Vice President, then he 

4 shall serve only until the removal of the disability of 

5 one of such individuals. 

6 ‘‘(c)(1) For purposes of this section, the term ‘succes7 sion list’ means the following: The designated House lead8 er under subsection (d), the designated Senate leader 

9 under subsection (e), the Secretary of State, the Secretary 

10 of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney 

11 General, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of 

12 Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of 

13 Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the 

14 Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Sec15 retary of Transportation, the Secretary of Energy, the 

16 Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 

17 the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Ambassador to 

18 the United Nations, the Ambassador to Great Britain, the 

19 Ambassador to Russia, the Ambassador to China, and the 

20 Ambassador to France. 

21 ‘‘(2) The taking of the oath of office by an individual 

22 specified in the succession list shall not require his res23 ignation from the office by virtue of the holding of which 

24 he qualifies to serve as acting President. Such individual 

25 shall not receive compensation from holding that office 


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1 during the period that the individual serves as acting 

2 President or Vice President under this section, and shall 

3 be compensated for that period as provided under sub4 section (f). 

5 ‘‘(3) The succession list shall include only such offi6 cers that are— 

7 ‘‘(A) eligible to the office of President under the 

8 Constitution; 

9 ‘‘(B) not under impeachment by the House of 

10 Representatives at the time the powers and duties of 

11 the office of President devolve upon them; and 

12 ‘‘(C) except in the case of the designated House 

13 leader under subsection (d) and the designated Sen14 ate leader under subsection (e), appointed to the of15 fice involved, by and with the advice and consent of 

16 the Senate, prior to the time the powers and duties 

17 of the President devolve to such officer under this 

18 section. 

19 ‘‘(d)(1) The designated House leader under this sub20 section is the individual whose name is submitted by the 

21 President in a written notification to the Clerk of the 

22 House of Representatives from among the following: The 

23 Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Majority 

24 Leader of the House of Representatives, or the Minority 

25 Leader of the House of Representatives. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The notification by the President under para2 graph (1) shall remain in effect until the President sub3 mits a later notification under such paragraph, and shall 

4 not be rendered ineffective by the expiration of any Presi5 dential term. 

6 ‘‘(3) Until such time as the President first submits 

7 a notification under paragraph (1), the Speaker of the 

8 House of Representatives is deemed to be the designated 

9 House leader under this subsection. 

10 ‘‘(4) A person acting as Speaker pro tempore shall 

11 not be treated for purposes of this subsection as holding 

12 the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

13 ‘‘(5) Each notification submitted by the President 

14 under this subsection shall be made publicly available. 

15 ‘‘(e)(1) The designated Senate leader under this sub16 section is the individual whose name is submitted by the 

17 President in a written notification to the Secretary of the 

18 Senate from among the following: The Majority Leader 

19 of the Senate, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, 

20 or the Minority Leader of the Senate. 

21 ‘‘(2) The notification by the President under para22 graph (1) shall remain in effect until the President sub23 mits a later notification under such paragraph, and shall 

24 not be rendered ineffective by the expiration of any Presi25 dential term. 


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1 ‘‘(3) Until such time as the President first submits 

2 a notification under paragraph (1), the Majority Leader 

3 of the Senate is deemed to be the designated Senate leader 

4 under this subsection. 

5 ‘‘(4) Each notification submitted by the President 

6 under this subsection shall be made publicly available. 

7 ‘‘(f) During the period that any individual serves as 

8 acting President under this section, his compensation shall 

9 be at the rate then provided by law in the case of the 

10 President.’’. 

11 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING VOTES BY ELEC12 TORS AFTER DEATH OR INCAPACITY OF 

13 NOMINEES. 

14 It is the sense of Congress that— 

15 (1) during a Presidential election year, the 

16 nominees of each political party for the office of 

17 President and Vice President should jointly an18 nounce and designate on or before the final day of 

19 the convention (or related event) at which they are 

20 nominated the individuals for whom the electors of 

21 President and Vice President who are pledged to 

22 vote for such nominees should give their votes for 

23 such offices in the event that such nominees are de24 ceased or permanently incapacitated prior to the 


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1 date of the meeting of the electors of each State 

2 under section 7 of title 3, United States Code; 

3 (2) in the event a nominee for President is de4 ceased or permanently incapacitated prior to the 

5 date referred to in paragraph (1) (but the nominee 

6 for Vice President of the same political party is not 

7 deceased or permanently incapacitated), the electors 

8 of President who are pledged to vote for the nominee 

9 should give their votes to the nominee of the same 

10 political party for the office of Vice President, and 

11 the electors of Vice President who are pledged to 

12 vote for the nominee for Vice President should give 

13 their votes to the individual designated for such of14 fice by the nominees under paragraph (1); 

15 (3) in the event a nominee for Vice President 

16 is deceased or permanently incapacitated prior to the 

17 date referred to in paragraph (1) (but the nominee 

18 for President of the same political party is not de19 ceased or permanently incapacitated), the electors of 

20 Vice President who are pledged to vote for such 

21 nominee should give their votes to the individual des22 ignated for such office by the nominees under para23 graph (1); 

24 (4) in the event that both the nominee for 

25 President and the nominee for Vice President of the 


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1 same political party are deceased or permanently in2 capacitated prior to the date referred to in para3 graph (1), the electors of President and Vice Presi4 dent who are pledged to vote for such nominees 

5 should vote for the individuals designated for each 

6 such office by the nominees under paragraph (1); 

7 and 

8 (5) political parties should establish rules and 

9 procedures consistent with the procedures described 

10 in the preceding paragraphs, including procedures to 

11 obtain written pledges from electors to vote in the 

12 manner described in such paragraphs. 

13 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE CONTINUITY OF GOV14 ERNMENT AND THE SMOOTH TRANSITION OF 

15 EXECUTIVE POWER. 

16 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

17 (1) members of the Senate, regardless of polit18 ical party affiliation, agree that the American people 

19 deserve a Government that is failsafe and foolproof, 

20 and that terrorists should never have the ability to 

21 disrupt the operations of the Government; 

22 (2) continuity of governmental operations in the 

23 wake of a catastrophic terrorist attack remains a 

24 pressing issue of national importance before the 

25 United States Congress; 


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1 (3) at a minimum, terrorists should never have 

2 the ability, by launching a terrorist attack, to change 

3 the political party that is in control of the Govern4 ment, regardless of which party is in power; 

5 (4) whenever control of the White House shall 

6 change from one political party to another, the out7 going President and the incoming President should 

8 work together, and with the Senate to the extent de9 termined appropriate by the Senate, to ensure a 

10 smooth transition of executive power, in the interest 

11 of the American people; 

12 (5) under the current presidential succession 

13 statute in section 19 of title 3, United States Code, 

14 the members of the cabinet, defined as the heads of 

15 the statutory executive departments under section 

16 101 of title 5, United States Code, fall within the 

17 line of succession to the presidency; 

18 (6) during previous presidential transition peri19 ods, the incoming President has had to serve with 

20 cabinet members from the prior administration, in21 cluding subcabinet officials from the prior adminis22 tration acting as cabinet members, for at least some 

23 period of time; 

24 (7) the Constitution vests the appointment 

25 power of executive branch officials in the President, 


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1 by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 

2 and nothing in this resolution is intended to alter ei3 ther the constitutional power of the President or the 

4 constitutional function of the Senate with regard to 

5 the confirmation of presidential nominees; 

6 (8) an incoming President cannot exercise the 

7 constitutional powers of the President, in order to 

8 ensure a smooth transition of Government, until 

9 noon on the 20th day of January, pursuant to the 

10 terms of the twentieth amendment to the Constitu11 tion; 

12 (9) cooperation between the incoming and the 

13 outgoing President is therefore the only way to en14 sure a smooth transition of Government; 

15 (10) Congress throughout history has acted 

16 consistently and in a bipartisan fashion to encourage 

17 measures to ensure the smooth transition of execu18 tive power from one President to another, such as 

19 through the enactment of the Presidential Transi20 tion Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note; Public Law 

21 88–277) and subsequent amendments; 

22 (11) Congress has previously concluded that 

23 ‘‘[t]he national interest requires’’ that ‘‘the orderly 

24 transfer of the executive power in connection with 

25 the expiration of the term of office of a President 


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1 and the inauguration of a new President . . . be ac2 complished so as to assure continuity in the faithful 

3 execution of the laws and in the conduct of the af4 fairs of the Federal Government, both domestic and 

5 foreign’’ under the Presidential Transition Act of 

6 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note; Public Law 88–277); 

7 (12) Congress has further concluded that 

8 ‘‘[a]ny disruption occasioned by the transfer of the 

9 executive power could produce results detrimental to 

10 the safety and well-being of the United States and 

11 its people’’ under the Presidential Transition Act of 

12 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note; Public Law 88–277); 

13 (13) Congress has previously expressed its in14 tent ‘‘that appropriate actions be authorized and 

15 taken to avoid or minimize any disruption’’ and 

16 ‘‘that all officers of the Government so conduct the 

17 affairs of the Government for which they exercise re18 sponsibility and authority as (1) to be mindful of 

19 problems occasioned by transitions in the office of 

20 the President, (2) to take appropriate lawful steps to 

21 avoid or minimize disruptions that might be occa22 sioned by the transfer of the executive power, and 

23 (3) otherwise to promote orderly transitions in the 

24 office of President’’ under the Presidential TransiVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:23 Dec 20, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6557.IH H6557

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1 tion Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note; Public Law 

2 88–277); 

3 (14) the National Commission on Terrorist At4 tacks Upon the United States established under title 

5 VI of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal 

6 Year 2003 (6 U.S.C. 101 note; Public Law 107– 

7 306) expressly recognized the need to ‘‘Improve the 

8 Transitions between Administrations’’ in its final re9 port; 

10 (15) the Commission specifically recommended 

11 that, ‘‘[s]ince a catastrophic attack could occur with 

12 little or no notice, we should minimize as much as 

13 possible the disruption of national security policy14 making during the change of administrations by ac15 celerating the process for national security appoint16 ments’’ and that ‘‘the process could be improved sig17 nificantly so transitions can work more effectively 

18 and allow new officials to assume their new respon19 sibilities as quickly as possible’’; 

20 (16) the Commission suggested that ‘‘[a] presi21 dent-elect should submit lists of possible candidates 

22 for national security positions to begin obtaining se23 curity clearances immediately after the election, so 

24 that their background investigations can be complete 

25 before January 20’’, that ‘‘[a] president-elect should 


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1 submit the nominations of the entire new national 

2 security team, through the level of under secretary 

3 of cabinet departments, not later than January 20’’, 

4 that ‘‘[t]he Senate, in return, should adopt special 

5 rules requiring hearings and votes to confirm or re6 ject national security nominees within 30 days of 

7 their submission’’, and that an outgoing Administra8 tion should work cooperatively with an incoming 

9 President to ensure a smooth transition, in the in10 terest of national security; and 

11 (17) there is no more important national secu12 rity position than the office of President, and thus 

13 it is essential to national security that any new ad14 ministration establish its own clear and stable line of 

15 succession to the presidency as quickly as possible. 

16 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con17 gress that during the period preceding the end of a term 

18 of office in which a President will not be serving a suc19 ceeding term— 

20 (1) that President should consider submitting 

21 the nominations of individuals to the Senate who are 

22 selected by the President-elect for offices that fall 

23 within the line of succession; 

24 (2) the Senate should consider conducting con25 firmation proceedings and votes on the nominations 


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1 described under paragraph (1), to the extent deter2 mined appropriate by the Senate, between January 

3 3 and January 20 before the Inauguration; and 

4 (3) that President should consider agreeing to 

5 sign and deliver commissions for all approved nomi6 nations on January 20 before the Inauguration to 

7 ensure continuity of Government. 

Æ 


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