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- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8548.IH H8548 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8548 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Commission on Presi- 2 dential Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of 3 the Office Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT. 5 There is established a commission in the legislative 6 branch to be known as the ‘‘Commission on Presidential 7 Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of the Of- 8 fice’’ (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). The 9 Commission shall serve as the body provided by law by 10 Congress to carry out section 4 of the 25th Amendment 11 to the Constitution of the United States. 12 SEC. 3. DUTY OF COMMISSION. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—If directed by Congress pursuant 14 to section 5, the Commission shall carry out a medical ex- 15 amination of the President to determine whether the 16 President is mentally or physically unable to discharge the 17 powers and duties of the office, as described under sub- 18 section (b). 19 (b) DETERMINATION.—The determination under sub- 20 section (a) shall be made if the Commission finds that the 21 President is temporarily or permanently impaired by any 22 of the following conditions to the extent that the person 23 lacks sufficient understanding or capacity to execute the 24 powers and duties of the office of President: 25 (1) Physical illness or disability. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8548.IH H8548 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8548 IH (2) Mental illness or deficiency. 1 (3) Alcohol or drug use. 2 (4) Any other condition or contingency ren- 3 dering the President unable to execute the powers 4 and duties of the office of the President. 5 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMISSION. 6 (a) NUMBER.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be 8 composed of 17 members, appointed as follows: 9 (A) Two members appointed by the major- 10 ity leader of the Senate. 11 (B) Two members appointed by the minor- 12 ity leader of the Senate. 13 (C) Two members appointed by the Speak- 14 er of the House of Representatives. 15 (D) Two members appointed by the minor- 16 ity leader of the House of Representatives. 17 (E) Eight members— 18 (i) four of whom are former high- 19 ranking executive branch officers appointed 20 jointly by the two appointing individuals 21 under subparagraphs (A) through (D) who 22 are members of, or caucus with, the Demo- 23 cratic party; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8548.IH H8548 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8548 IH (ii) four of whom are former high- 1 ranking executive branch officers appointed 2 jointly by the two appointing individuals 3 under subparagraphs (A) through (D) who 4 are members of, or caucus with, the Re- 5 publican party; and 6 (iii) each of whom has served as 7 President, Vice President, Secretary of 8 State, Attorney General, Secretary of the 9 Treasury, Secretary of Defense, or Sur- 10 geon General. 11 (F) One member, to serve as Chair of the 12 Commission, appointed by simple majority vote 13 of the 16 members appointed under subpara- 14 graphs (A) through (E). The Chair may not be 15 any member appointed under such subpara- 16 graphs. For purposes of appointing the Chair, 17 a voting quorum shall be established by the 18 presence of 50 percent plus one of the members 19 appointed under such subparagraphs. 20 (2) FAILURE OF APPOINTMENT.—If any ap- 21 pointment under paragraph (1) is not made, the 22 Commission shall consist of the members duly ap- 23 pointed. 24 (b) APPOINTMENT.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8548.IH H8548 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8548 IH (1) INITIAL APPOINTMENT.— 1 (A) IN GENERAL.—For the initial appoint- 2 ment of members to the Commission, each 3 member under subparagraphs (A) through (E) 4 of subsection (a)(1) shall be appointed not later 5 than 10 days after the date of enactment of 6 this Act. 7 (B) CHAIR.—The members of the Commis- 8 sion appointed under subparagraph (A) shall 9 appoint the Chair under subsection (a)(1)(F) 10 not later than 3 days after the date the mem- 11 bers are so appointed. 12 (C) TERM.—A member appointed under 13 subparagraph (A) shall serve as a member of 14 the Commission until January 1, 2025. A mem- 15 ber so appointed may serve after the expiration 16 of that member’s term until a successor has 17 taken office. 18 (2) SUBSEQUENT APPOINTMENTS.— 19 (A) IN GENERAL.—For any appointment 20 of members to the Commission after the initial 21 appointment under paragraph (1), each member 22 under subparagraphs (A) through (E) of sub- 23 section (a)(1) shall be appointed not later than 24 January 10 of the year immediately following 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8548.IH H8548 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8548 IH any year (beginning in 2024) in which a presi- 1 dential election is held. 2 (B) CHAIR.—The members of the Commis- 3 sion appointed under subparagraph (A) shall 4 appoint the Chair under subsection (a)(1)(F) 5 not later than 10 days after the date the mem- 6 bers are so appointed. 7 (C) TERM.—A member appointed under 8 subparagraph (A) shall serve on the Commis- 9 sion for a term of 4 years. A member so ap- 10 pointed may serve after the expiration of that 11 member’s term until a successor has taken of- 12 fice. 13 (3) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commission 14 shall be filled in the manner in which the original 15 appointment was made, not later than 30 days after 16 the vacancy occurs. Any member appointed to fill a 17 vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term 18 for which the member’s predecessor was appointed 19 shall be appointed only for the remainder of that 20 term. 21 (c) CRITERIA FOR APPOINTMENT.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each member appointed to 23 the Commission under subparagraphs (A) through 24 (D) of subsection (a)(1) shall be a physician. Of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8548.IH H8548 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8548 IH two members appointed by each individual under 1 such paragraphs, one shall be a physician with a 2 specialty in psychiatry. The Chair shall be a physi- 3 cian or an individual who meets the requirements of 4 subsection (a)(1)(E)(iii), or both. In this paragraph, 5 the term ‘‘physician’’ means a doctor of medicine li- 6 censed to practice medicine, surgery, or osteopathy 7 in a State. 8 (2) LIMITATIONS.—A member appointed under 9 subsection (a) may not, at the time the member is 10 appointed or serving as a member on the Commis- 11 sion, be— 12 (A) an elected official to any Federal, 13 State, or local office; 14 (B) an employee (as that term is defined 15 in section 2105 of title 5, United States Code, 16 including any employee of the United States 17 Postal Service or the Postal Regulatory Com- 18 mission); or 19 (C) a member of the Armed Forces, in- 20 cluding reserve components thereof. 21 (d) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the Com- 22 mission shall receive travel expenses, including per diem 23 in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with applicable provi- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8548.IH H8548 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8548 IH sions under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United 1 States Code. 2 SEC. 5. EXAMINATION OF THE PRESIDENT. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—A concurrent resolution described 4 in this subsection is a concurrent resolution directing the 5 Commission to conduct an examination of the President 6 to determine whether the President is incapacitated, either 7 mentally or physically, the title of which is ‘‘Directing the 8 Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the 9 Powers and Duties of the Office to conduct an examina- 10 tion of the President’’, and the text of which consists solely 11 of a directive to the Commission to conduct the examina- 12 tion. 13 (b) PROCEDURES.—The provisions of section 2908 14 (other than subsection (a)) of the Defense Base Closure 15 and Realignment Act of 1990 shall apply to the consider- 16 ation of a concurrent resolution described in subsection 17 (a) in the same manner as such provisions apply to a joint 18 resolution described in section 2908(a) of such Act. 19 (c) SPECIAL RULES.—For purposes of applying sub- 20 section (b) with respect to such provisions, the following 21 rules shall apply: 22 (1) Any reference to the Committee on Armed 23 Services of the House of Representatives shall be 24 deemed a reference to the Committee on the Judici- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8548.IH H8548 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8548 IH ary of the House of Representatives and any ref- 1 erence to the Committee on Armed Services of the 2 Senate shall be deemed a reference to the Committee 3 on the Judiciary of the Senate. 4 (2) Any reference in subsection (c) to a ‘‘20-day 5 period’’ shall be deemed a reference to a ‘‘48-hour 6 period’’. 7 (3) Any reference in subsection (d) to ‘‘the 8 third day’’ shall be deemed a reference to ‘‘the first 9 day’’. 10 (4) Any reference to the date on which the 11 President transmits a report shall be deemed a ref- 12 erence to the date on which a Member of Congress 13 introduced a concurrent resolution described in sub- 14 section (a). 15 (d) EXAMINATION.—Not later than 72 hours after 16 the adoption by Congress of the concurrent resolution de- 17 scribed in subsection (a), the Commission shall conduct 18 the examination described under such subsection. 19 SEC. 6. REPORT. 20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 72 hours after 21 completing the examination under section 5, and notwith- 22 standing the HIPAA privacy regulations (as defined in 23 section 1180(b)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 24 1320d–9(b)(3))), the Commission shall, in consultation 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8548.IH H8548 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8548 IH with the Vice President, transmit a report to the Speaker 1 of the House of Representatives and the President Pro 2 Tempore of the Senate that shall include the declaration 3 described in section 4 of the 25th Amendment providing 4 whether the President is able to discharge the powers and 5 duties of the office and otherwise describing the findings 6 and conclusions of the examination. 7 (b) DISAGREEMENT OF VICE PRESIDENT.—If the 8 Vice President disagrees with the declaration or any other 9 conclusion of the Commission under subsection (a), the 10 report submitted under such subsection shall include a 11 statement by the Vice President setting forth such dis- 12 agreement and the basis for such disagreement. 13 (c) CONSIDERATION.—Any refusal by the President 14 to undergo such examination shall be taken into consider- 15 ation by the Commission in reaching a conclusion in the 16 report under subsection (a). 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8548.IH H8548 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS