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 
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 
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; 
(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, 
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 
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-
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 
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 the Sen-
ate 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 
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