Keeping order in Congress

Dave Brooks

Imagine if a nuclear device were detonated in Washington D.C. during

the State of the Union address, killing the president, vice

president, most of his cabinet and both houses of Congress.

Who would be in charge? Who would govern the military, the justice

system or trade?

Essentially one person, a presidential cabinet member routinely

kept in an undisclosed location during the speech. As for both houses

of Congress, there would be no immediate replacements; individual

states would have to call special elections.

“That would take at least three to four months,” said Rick Dykema,

chief of staff to Rep. Dana Rohrabacher who is introducing a

constitutional amendment to ensure the continuity of Congress in the

event of a large-scale terrorist attack.

The Huntington Beach representative is proposing that candidates

for the House of Representatives choose three alternates to appear on

the ballot alongside the candidate’s name. The amendment would also

require the president to choose two additional vice presidential

candidates when running for office.

“This provides a clear path of succession to voters,” Rohrabacher

said. “If a congressmen were to be killed or incapacitated, there

would be a clear chain of command for replacement.”

The law is a response to fears about a possible doomsday attack on

the nation’s capital tracing back to the early days of the Cold War.

During the four-decade nuclear standoff with the Soviet Union, a

doomsday policy centered around the belief that an enemy nuclear

launch could be detected by radar, giving the military an opportunity

to evacuate lawmakers to a secure facility.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Sept. 11 attacks a

decade later, the nuclear threat changed. Lawmakers became more

concerned about the possibility of a terrorist cell or extremist

group smuggling a nuclear device into the Beltway and detonating it

without warning.

“In that situation, most of the country would be left intact and

physically unaffected by an attack,” Dykema said. “I doubt those

people would want to live under marshal law.”

The beleaguering effort to pass a constitutional amendment through

-- any change requires two-thirds of both the House and Senate and

majority ratification from three-fourths of state legislatures --

makes enactment a daunting task. Rohrabacher also recently introduced

a different constitutional amendment that would allow some foreign

born citizens, such as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, to become

president.

Dykema said the congressional continuity amendment should receive

bipartisan support because it takes into account legislator’s

concerns that replacements be democratically elected and all House

districts have representation in the event of an attack.

If a lawmaker can’t meet their legislative obligations, either

from illness or death, the alternates would step in, by ranked order,

until a special election was held.

As for the newly appointed vice presidential candidates, the

executive office would decide their role in the cabinet.

Rohrabacher’s amendment would also eliminate the current vice

president’s role as the president of the senate and tie-break voter.

“In the event of a tie, the bill would fail,” said Dykema.

UC Irvine political science professor Mark Petracca said

Rohrabacher’s amendment was more of a publicity stunt than a

substantive policy change.

“If something like that were to happen, my guess is that our last

worry would be who our next representative in Congress is,” he said.

“I’m not even sure what role Congress would play. In this situation

it would be the executive branch’s role to repel an attack.”

He characterized Rohrabacher’s amendment as a distraction.

“He should be busy figuring out how to bring the troops home in

Iraq,” he said. “We might as well have an amendment detailing how

often the White House is painted.”

In contrast, Orange County Republican leader Scott Baugh said he

supported Rohrabacher’s efforts.

“It’s great that he’s looking for a solution for what could be a

real threat,” he said. “We live in a different day and we need a

continuity plan.”

Rohrabacher’s bill is so new, Congress has not had a chance to

debate its merits, but at least one conflicting proposal has been

introduced by democratic Rep. Brian Baird of Washington state.

According to a press release from Baird’s office, the

representative has introduced a bill that would reconstitute the

House of Representatives in the event that a major catastrophes kill

a majority, or 218 members.

Under that proposal, before taking office, the representative

would present the chief executive of his home state with at least two

replacement nominees. If the representative were to die or become

incapacitated, the states would appoint one of the replacements, who

would serve until another individual was elected through mandated

special elections.