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. LOF-
GREN, 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 Com-
mittee 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 com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To establish the Commission on Presidential Capacity to 
Discharge the Powers and Duties of the Office, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Commission on Presi-
dential Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of 
the Office Act’’. 
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT. 
There is established a commission in the legislative 
branch to be known as the ‘‘Commission on Presidential 
Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of the Of-
fice’’ (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 any 
of the following conditions to the extent that the person 
lacks sufficient understanding or capacity to execute the 
powers and duties of the office of President: 
(1) Physical illness or disability. 
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(2) Mental illness or deficiency. 
(3) Alcohol or drug use. 
(4) Any other condition or contingency ren-
dering the President unable to execute the powers 
and duties of the office of the President. 
SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMISSION. 
(a) NUMBER.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Commission shall be 
composed of 17 members, appointed as follows: 
(A) Two members appointed by the major-
ity leader of the Senate. 
(B) Two members appointed by the minor-
ity leader of the Senate. 
(C) Two members appointed by the Speak-
er of the House of Representatives. 
(D) Two members appointed by the minor-
ity leader of the House of Representatives. 
(E) Eight members— 
(i) four of whom are former high- 
ranking executive branch officers appointed 
jointly by the two appointing individuals 
under subparagraphs (A) through (D) who 
are members of, or caucus with, the Demo-
cratic party; 
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(ii) four of whom are former high- 
ranking executive branch officers appointed 
jointly by the two appointing individuals 
under subparagraphs (A) through (D) who 
are members of, or caucus with, the Re-
publican party; and 
(iii) each of whom has served as 
President, Vice President, Secretary of 
State, Attorney General, Secretary of the 
Treasury, Secretary of Defense, or Sur-
geon General. 
(F) One member, to serve as Chair of the 
Commission, appointed by simple majority vote 
of the 16 members appointed under subpara-
graphs (A) through (E). The Chair may not be 
any member appointed under such subpara-
graphs. For purposes of appointing the Chair, 
a voting quorum shall be established by the 
presence of 50 percent plus one of the members 
appointed under such subparagraphs. 
(2) FAILURE
OF
APPOINTMENT.—If any ap-
pointment under paragraph (1) is not made, the 
Commission shall consist of the members duly ap-
pointed. 
(b) APPOINTMENT.— 
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(1) INITIAL APPOINTMENT.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—For the initial appoint-
ment of members to the Commission, each 
member under subparagraphs (A) through (E) 
of subsection (a)(1) shall be appointed not later 
than 10 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act. 
(B) CHAIR.—The members of the Commis-
sion appointed under subparagraph (A) shall 
appoint the Chair under subsection (a)(1)(F) 
not later than 3 days after the date the mem-
bers are so appointed. 
(C) TERM.—A member appointed under 
subparagraph (A) shall serve as a member of 
the Commission until January 1, 2025. A mem-
ber so appointed may serve after the expiration 
of that member’s term until a successor has 
taken office. 
(2) SUBSEQUENT APPOINTMENTS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—For any appointment 
of members to the Commission after the initial 
appointment under paragraph (1), each member 
under subparagraphs (A) through (E) of sub-
section (a)(1) shall be appointed not later than 
January 10 of the year immediately following 
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any year (beginning in 2024) in which a presi-
dential election is held. 
(B) CHAIR.—The members of the Commis-
sion appointed under subparagraph (A) shall 
appoint the Chair under subsection (a)(1)(F) 
not later than 10 days after the date the mem-
bers are so appointed. 
(C) TERM.—A member appointed under 
subparagraph (A) shall serve on the Commis-
sion for a term of 4 years. A member so ap-
pointed may serve after the expiration of that 
member’s term until a successor has taken of-
fice. 
(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. 
(c) CRITERIA FOR APPOINTMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each member appointed to 
the Commission under subparagraphs (A) through 
(D) of subsection (a)(1) shall be a physician. Of the 
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two members appointed by each individual under 
such paragraphs, one shall be a physician with a 
specialty in psychiatry. The Chair shall be a physi-
cian or an individual who meets the requirements of 
subsection (a)(1)(E)(iii), or both. In this paragraph, 
the term ‘‘physician’’ means a doctor of medicine li-
censed to practice medicine, surgery, or osteopathy 
in a State. 
(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. 
(d) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the Com-
mission shall receive travel expenses, including per diem 
in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with applicable provi-
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sions under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United 
States Code. 
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 
to determine whether the President is incapacitated, either 
mentally or physically, the title of which is ‘‘Directing the 
Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the 
Powers and Duties of the Office to conduct an examina-
tion of the President’’, and the text of which consists solely 
of a directive to the Commission to conduct the examina-
tion. 
(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-
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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’’. 
(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 5, and notwith-
standing 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, in consultation 
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with the Vice President, transmit a report to the Speaker 
of the House of Representatives and the President Pro 
Tempore of the Senate that shall include the declaration 
described in section 4 of the 25th Amendment providing 
whether the President is able to discharge the powers and 
duties of the office and otherwise describing the findings 
and conclusions of the examination. 
(b) DISAGREEMENT OF VICE PRESIDENT.—If the 
Vice President disagrees with the declaration or any other 
conclusion of the Commission under subsection (a), the 
report submitted under such subsection shall include a 
statement by the Vice President setting forth such dis-
agreement and the basis for such disagreement. 
(c) CONSIDERATION.—Any refusal by the President 
to undergo such examination shall be taken into consider-
ation by the Commission in reaching a conclusion in the 
report under subsection (a). 
Æ 
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