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. 
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 ‘‘Presidential Succession 
Act of 2010’’. 
SEC. 2. PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION. 
Section 19 of title 3, United States Code, is amended 
to read as follows: 
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‘‘§ 19. Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice 
President; officers eligible to act 
‘‘(a)(1) If, by reason of death, resignation, removal 
from office, inability, or failure to qualify, there is neither 
a President nor Vice President to discharge the powers 
and duties of the office of President, then the highest indi-
vidual on the succession list who is not under disability 
to discharge the powers and duties of the office of Presi-
dent and not disqualified under subsection (c), shall serve 
as acting President. 
‘‘(2) The same rule shall also apply in the case of 
the death, resignation, removal from office, or inability of 
an individual serving as acting President under this sec-
tion if, by reason of death, resignation, removal from of-
fice, inability, or failure to qualify, there is no Vice Presi-
dent to discharge the powers and duties of the office of 
President. 
‘‘(b) An individual serving as acting President under 
this section shall continue to so serve until the expiration 
of the then current Presidential term, except that— 
‘‘(1) if his discharge of the powers and duties 
of the office is founded in whole or in part on the 
failure of both the President-elect and the Vice- 
President-elect to qualify, then he shall serve only 
until a President or Vice President qualifies; and 
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‘‘(2) if his discharge of the powers and duties 
of the office is founded in whole or in part on the 
inability of the President or Vice President, then he 
shall serve only until the removal of the disability of 
one of such individuals. 
‘‘(c)(1) For purposes of this section, the term ‘succes-
sion list’ means the following: The designated House lead-
er under subsection (d), the designated Senate leader 
under subsection (e), the Secretary of State, the Secretary 
of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney 
General, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of 
Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of 
Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the 
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Sec-
retary of Transportation, the Secretary of Energy, the 
Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 
the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Ambassador to 
the United Nations, the Ambassador to Great Britain, the 
Ambassador to Russia, the Ambassador to China, and the 
Ambassador to France. 
‘‘(2) The taking of the oath of office by an individual 
specified in the succession list shall not require his res-
ignation from the office by virtue of the holding of which 
he qualifies to serve as acting President. Such individual 
shall not receive compensation from holding that office 
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during the period that the individual serves as acting 
President or Vice President under this section, and shall 
be compensated for that period as provided under sub-
section (f). 
‘‘(3) The succession list shall include only such offi-
cers that are— 
‘‘(A) eligible to the office of President under the 
Constitution; 
‘‘(B) not under impeachment by the House of 
Representatives at the time the powers and duties of 
the office of President devolve upon them; and 
‘‘(C) except in the case of the designated House 
leader under subsection (d) and the designated Sen-
ate leader under subsection (e), appointed to the of-
fice involved, by and with the advice and consent of 
the Senate, prior to the time the powers and duties 
of the President devolve to such officer under this 
section. 
‘‘(d)(1) The designated House leader under this sub-
section is the individual whose name is submitted by the 
President in a written notification to the Clerk of the 
House of Representatives from among the following: The 
Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Majority 
Leader of the House of Representatives, or the Minority 
Leader of the House of Representatives. 
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‘‘(3) Until such time as the President first submits 
a notification under paragraph (1), the Majority Leader 
of the Senate is deemed to be the designated Senate leader 
under this subsection. 
‘‘(4) Each notification submitted by the President 
under this subsection shall be made publicly available. 
‘‘(f) During the period that any individual serves as 
acting President under this section, his compensation shall 
be at the rate then provided by law in the case of the 
President.’’. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING VOTES BY ELEC-
TORS AFTER DEATH OR INCAPACITY OF 
NOMINEES. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) during a Presidential election year, the 
nominees of each political party for the office of 
President and Vice President should jointly an-
nounce and designate on or before the final day of 
the convention (or related event) at which they are 
nominated the individuals for whom the electors of 
President and Vice President who are pledged to 
vote for such nominees should give their votes for 
such offices in the event that such nominees are de-
ceased or permanently incapacitated prior to the 
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date of the meeting of the electors of each State 
under section 7 of title 3, United States Code; 
(2) in the event a nominee for President is de-
ceased or permanently incapacitated prior to the 
date referred to in paragraph (1) (but the nominee 
for Vice President of the same political party is not 
deceased or permanently incapacitated), the electors 
of President who are pledged to vote for the nominee 
should give their votes to the nominee of the same 
political party for the office of Vice President, and 
the electors of Vice President who are pledged to 
vote for the nominee for Vice President should give 
their votes to the individual designated for such of-
fice by the nominees under paragraph (1); 
(3) in the event a nominee for Vice President 
is deceased or permanently incapacitated prior to the 
date referred to in paragraph (1) (but the nominee 
for President of the same political party is not de-
ceased or permanently incapacitated), the electors of 
Vice President who are pledged to vote for such 
nominee should give their votes to the individual des-
ignated for such office by the nominees under para-
graph (1); 
(4) in the event that both the nominee for 
President and the nominee for Vice President of the 
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same political party are deceased or permanently in-
capacitated prior to the date referred to in para-
graph (1), the electors of President and Vice Presi-
dent who are pledged to vote for such nominees 
should vote for the individuals designated for each 
such office by the nominees under paragraph (1); 
and 
(5) political parties should establish rules and 
procedures consistent with the procedures described 
in the preceding paragraphs, including procedures to 
obtain written pledges from electors to vote in the 
manner described in such paragraphs. 
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE CONTINUITY OF GOV-
ERNMENT AND THE SMOOTH TRANSITION OF 
EXECUTIVE POWER. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
(1) members of the Senate, regardless of polit-
ical party affiliation, agree that the American people 
deserve a Government that is failsafe and foolproof, 
and that terrorists should never have the ability to 
disrupt the operations of the Government; 
(2) continuity of governmental operations in the 
wake of a catastrophic terrorist attack remains a 
pressing issue of national importance before the 
United States Congress; 
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(3) at a minimum, terrorists should never have 
the ability, by launching a terrorist attack, to change 
the political party that is in control of the Govern-
ment, regardless of which party is in power; 
(4) whenever control of the White House shall 
change from one political party to another, the out-
going President and the incoming President should 
work together, and with the Senate to the extent de-
termined appropriate by the Senate, to ensure a 
smooth transition of executive power, in the interest 
of the American people; 
(5) under the current presidential succession 
statute in section 19 of title 3, United States Code, 
the members of the cabinet, defined as the heads of 
the statutory executive departments under section 
101 of title 5, United States Code, fall within the 
line of succession to the presidency; 
(6) during previous presidential transition peri-
ods, the incoming President has had to serve with 
cabinet members from the prior administration, in-
cluding subcabinet officials from the prior adminis-
tration acting as cabinet members, for at least some 
period of time; 
(7) the Constitution vests the appointment 
power of executive branch officials in the President, 
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by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
and nothing in this resolution is intended to alter ei-
ther the constitutional power of the President or the 
constitutional function of the Senate with regard to 
the confirmation of presidential nominees; 
(8) an incoming President cannot exercise the 
constitutional powers of the President, in order to 
ensure a smooth transition of Government, until 
noon on the 20th day of January, pursuant to the 
terms of the twentieth amendment to the Constitu-
tion; 
(9) cooperation between the incoming and the 
outgoing President is therefore the only way to en-
sure a smooth transition of Government; 
(10) Congress throughout history has acted 
consistently and in a bipartisan fashion to encourage 
measures to ensure the smooth transition of execu-
tive power from one President to another, such as 
through the enactment of the Presidential Transi-
tion Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note; Public Law 
88–277) and subsequent amendments; 
(11) Congress has previously concluded that 
‘‘[t]he national interest requires’’ that ‘‘the orderly 
transfer of the executive power in connection with 
the expiration of the term of office of a President 
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and the inauguration of a new President . . . be ac-
complished so as to assure continuity in the faithful 
execution of the laws and in the conduct of the af-
fairs of the Federal Government, both domestic and 
foreign’’ under the Presidential Transition Act of 
1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note; Public Law 88–277); 
(12) Congress has further concluded that 
‘‘[a]ny disruption occasioned by the transfer of the 
executive power could produce results detrimental to 
the safety and well-being of the United States and 
its people’’ under the Presidential Transition Act of 
1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note; Public Law 88–277); 
(13) Congress has previously expressed its in-
tent ‘‘that appropriate actions be authorized and 
taken to avoid or minimize any disruption’’ and 
‘‘that all officers of the Government so conduct the 
affairs of the Government for which they exercise re-
sponsibility and authority as (1) to be mindful of 
problems occasioned by transitions in the office of 
the President, (2) to take appropriate lawful steps to 
avoid or minimize disruptions that might be occa-
sioned by the transfer of the executive power, and 
(3) otherwise to promote orderly transitions in the 
office of President’’ under the Presidential Transi-
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tion Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note; Public Law 
88–277); 
(14) the National Commission on Terrorist At-
tacks Upon the United States established under title 
VI of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal 
Year 2003 (6 U.S.C. 101 note; Public Law 107– 
306) expressly recognized the need to ‘‘Improve the 
Transitions between Administrations’’ in its final re-
port; 
(15) the Commission specifically recommended 
that, ‘‘[s]ince a catastrophic attack could occur with 
little or no notice, we should minimize as much as 
possible the disruption of national security policy-
making during the change of administrations by ac-
celerating the process for national security appoint-
ments’’ and that ‘‘the process could be improved sig-
nificantly so transitions can work more effectively 
and allow new officials to assume their new respon-
sibilities as quickly as possible’’; 
(16) the Commission suggested that ‘‘[a] presi-
dent-elect should submit lists of possible candidates 
for national security positions to begin obtaining se-
curity clearances immediately after the election, so 
that their background investigations can be complete 
before January 20’’, that ‘‘[a] president-elect should 
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submit the nominations of the entire new national 
security team, through the level of under secretary 
of cabinet departments, not later than January 20’’, 
that ‘‘[t]he Senate, in return, should adopt special 
rules requiring hearings and votes to confirm or re-
ject national security nominees within 30 days of 
their submission’’, and that an outgoing Administra-
tion should work cooperatively with an incoming 
President to ensure a smooth transition, in the in-
terest of national security; and 
(17) there is no more important national secu-
rity position than the office of President, and thus 
it is essential to national security that any new ad-
ministration establish its own clear and stable line of 
succession to the presidency as quickly as possible. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that during the period preceding the end of a term 
of office in which a President will not be serving a suc-
ceeding term— 
(1) that President should consider submitting 
the nominations of individuals to the Senate who are 
selected by the President-elect for offices that fall 
within the line of succession; 
(2) the Senate should consider conducting con-
firmation proceedings and votes on the nominations 
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described under paragraph (1), to the extent deter-
mined appropriate by the Senate, between January 
3 and January 20 before the Inauguration; and 
(3) that President should consider agreeing to 
sign and deliver commissions for all approved nomi-
nations on January 20 before the Inauguration to 
ensure continuity of Government. 
Æ 
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