I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1987 
To establish the Oversight Commission on Presidential Capacity, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 6, 2017 
Mr. RASKIN (for himself, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. LEE, Ms. 
JAYAPAL, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. SOTO, Ms. JACKSON 
LEE, Mr. COHEN, Mr. GUTIE´RREZ, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mr. 
GRIJALVA, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. 
TAKANO, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. EVANS, and Mr. NADLER) in-
troduced 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 con-
cerned 
A BILL 
To establish the Oversight Commission on Presidential 
Capacity, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Oversight Commission 
on Presidential Capacity Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT. 
There is established a commission in the legislative 
branch to be known as the ‘‘Oversight Commission on 
Presidential Capacity’’ (in this Act referred to as the 
‘‘Commission’’). The Commission shall serve as the body 
provided by law by Congress to carry out section 4 of the 
25th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. 
SEC. 3. DUTY OF COMMISSION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—If directed by Congress pursuant 
to section 5, the Commission shall carry out a medical ex-
amination of the President to determine whether the 
President is mentally or physically unable to discharge the 
powers and duties of the office, as described under sub-
section (b). 
(b) DETERMINATION.—The determination under sub-
section (a) shall be made if the Commission finds that the 
President is temporarily or permanently impaired by phys-
ical illness or disability, mental illness, mental deficiency, 
or alcohol or drug use to the extent that the person lacks 
sufficient understanding or capacity to execute the powers 
and duties of the office of President. 
SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP. 
(a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission 
shall be composed of 11 members, appointed as follows: 
(1) Two members appointed by the majority 
leader of the Senate. 
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(2) Two members appointed by the minority 
leader of the Senate. 
(3) Two members appointed by the Speaker of 
the House of Representatives. 
(4) Two members appointed by the minority 
leader of the House of Representatives. 
(5) Two members— 
(A) one of whom is appointed jointly by 
the two appointing individuals under para-
graphs (1) through (4) who are members of, or 
caucus with, the Democratic party; 
(B) one of whom is appointed jointly by 
the two appointing individuals under para-
graphs (1) through (4) who are members of, or 
caucus with, the Republican party; and 
(C) each of whom has served as President, 
Vice President, Secretary of State, Attorney 
General, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary 
of Defense, or Surgeon General. 
(6) One member, to serve as Chair of the Com-
mission, appointed by simple majority vote of the 10 
members appointed under paragraphs (1) through 
(5). 
(b) CRITERIA FOR APPOINTMENT.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Each member appointed to 
the Commission under paragraphs (1) through (4) 
of subsection (a) shall be a physician. Of the two 
members appointed by each individual under such 
paragraphs, one shall be a physician with a specialty 
in psychiatry. The Chair shall be either a physician 
or an individual appointed under paragraph (5) of 
subsection (a), or both. 
(2) LIMITATIONS.—A member appointed under 
subsection (a) may not, at the time the member is 
appointed or serving as a member on the Commis-
sion, be— 
(A) an elected official to any Federal, 
State, or local office; 
(B) an employee (as that term is defined 
in section 2105 of title 5, United States Code, 
including any employee of the United States 
Postal Service or the Postal Regulatory Com-
mission); or 
(C) a member of the Armed Forces, in-
cluding reserve components thereof. 
(3) PHYSICIAN DEFINED.—In this subsection, 
the term ‘‘physician’’ means a doctor of medicine li-
censed to practice medicine, surgery, or osteopathy 
in a State. 
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(c) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member shall receive 
travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, 
in accordance with applicable provisions under subchapter 
I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code. 
(d) TERMS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each member shall be ap-
pointed for a term of 4 years. A member may serve 
after the expiration of that member’s term until a 
successor has taken office. 
(2) APPOINTMENT.—Each member shall be ap-
pointed during the period beginning on the date that 
a Presidential election is held and ending on the 
date that is 30 days after such election date. 
(3) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commission 
shall be filled in the manner in which the original 
appointment was made, not later than 30 days after 
the vacancy occurs. Any member appointed to fill a 
vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term 
for which the member’s predecessor was appointed 
shall be appointed only for the remainder of that 
term. 
SEC. 5. EXAMINATION OF THE PRESIDENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—A concurrent resolution described 
in this subsection is a concurrent resolution directing the 
Commission to conduct an examination of the President 
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to determine whether the President is incapacitated, either 
mentally or physically, the title of which is ‘‘Directing the 
Oversight Commission on Presidential Capacity to conduct 
an examination of the President’’, and the text of which 
consists solely of a directive to the Commission to conduct 
the examination. 
(b) PROCEDURES.—The provisions of section 2908 
(other than subsection (a)) of the Defense Base Closure 
and Realignment Act of 1990 shall apply to the consider-
ation of a concurrent resolution described in subsection 
(a) in the same manner as such provisions apply to a joint 
resolution described in section 2908(a) of such Act. 
(c) SPECIAL RULES.—For purposes of applying sub-
section (b) with respect to such provisions, the following 
rules shall apply: 
(1) Any reference to the Committee on Armed 
Services of the House of Representatives shall be 
deemed a reference to the Committee on the Judici-
ary of the House of Representatives and any ref-
erence to the Committee on Armed Services of the 
Senate shall be deemed a reference to the Committee 
on the Judiciary of the Senate. 
(2) Any reference in subsection (c) to a ‘‘20-day 
period’’ shall be deemed a reference to a ‘‘48-hour 
period’’. 
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(3) Any reference in subsection (d) to ‘‘the 
third day’’ shall be deemed a reference to ‘‘the first 
day’’. 
(4) Any reference to the date on which the 
President transmits a report shall be deemed a ref-
erence to the date on which a Member of Congress 
introduced a concurrent resolution described in sub-
section (a). 
(d) EXAMINATION.—Not later than 72 hours after 
the adoption by Congress of the concurrent resolution de-
scribed in subsection (a), the Commission shall conduct 
the examination described under such subsection. 
SEC. 6. REPORT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 72 hours after 
completing the examination under section 4(d), and not-
withstanding the HIPAA privacy regulations (as defined 
in section 1180(b)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1320d–9(b)(3))), the Commission shall submit a 
report to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and 
the President pro tempore of the Senate describing the 
findings and conclusions of the examination. 
(b) CONSIDERATION.—Any refusal by the President 
to undergo such examination shall be taken into consider-
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ation by the Commission in reaching a conclusion in the 
report under subsection (a). 
Æ 
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