PRESIDENTIAL INABILITY AND VACANCIES IN THE OFFICE OF VICE PRESIDENT S.J. Res. 13, S.J. Res. 28, S.J. Res. 35, S.J. Res. 84, S.J. Res. 138, S.J. Res. 139, S.J. Res. 140, S.J. Res. 143, RELATING TO THE PROBLEM OF PRESIDENTIAL INABILITY JANUARY 22, 23; FEBRUARY 24, 25, 28; MARCH 5, 1964 Printed for the use of the Committee on the JudiciaryERSITY STANFORD JUL 1964 U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE GOV'T DOCUMENT Brownell, Herbert, former Attorney General of the United States, New Bayh, Hon. Birch, a U.S. Senator from the State of Indiana, chairman of the Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments__ Biddle, Francis, former Attorney General of the United States, Washing- 142 134 Church, Hon. Frank, a U.S. Senator from the State of Idaho... Craig, Walter, president, American Bar Association, Phoenix, Ariz... Ervin, Hon. Sam J., Jr., a U.S. Senator from the State of North Carolina__ Hruska, Hon. Roman L., a U.S. Senator from the State of Nebraska.. 69 179 Javits, Hon. Jacob J., a U.S. Senator from the State of New York.... 51 Keating, Hon. Kenneth B., a U.S. Senator from the State of New York. 21, 233 Nixon, Hon. Richard M., former Vice President of the United States. 40 67 29 57 166 234 91 Rossiter, Clinton, professor of American institutions, Cornell University- Ayres, Hon. William H., Congressman from the State of Ohio.. Brown, Hon. Edmund G., Governor of the State of California.. Π Church, Hon. Frank, a U.S. Senator from the State of Idaho.. Eisenhower, Hon. Dwight D., former President of the United States. Ervin, Hon. Sam J., Jr., a U.S. Senator from the State of North Carolina_ Hofstadter, Samuel H., Justice, Supreme Court, State of New York.___ Katzenbach, Nicholas deB., Deputy Attorney General of the United States- McKeage, Everett D., San Francisco, Calif McCarthy, Hon. Eugene, a U.S. Senator from the State of Minnesota__-- Pearson, Hon. James B., a U.S. Senator from the State of Kansas. Pell, Hon. Claiborne, a U.S. Senator from the State of Rhode Island.. Rockefeller, Hon. Nelson, Governor of the State of New York.. Saltonstall, Hon. Leverett, a U.S. Senator from the State of Massachusetts- Wyman, Hon. Louis C., a Congressman from the State of New Hampshire_ PRESIDENTIAL INABILITY AND VACANCIES IN THE OFFICE OF VICE PRESIDENT WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 1964 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS Washington, D.C. Senator BAYH. The subcommittee will please convene. We are here this morning to consider the problems of Presidential succession and Presidential inability. Notice of these hearings has been duly published in the Congressional Record of January 16, 1964. It is certainly no stretch of the imagination to say that the subjects that we are met to consider this morning are complex and significant questions. They deserve our urgent attention. There are no quick and easy solutions. But certainly the problems are not insoluble. These are not new problems, to be sure. They have been the subject of discussion from time to time since the adoption of our Constitution. But they have a ringing urgency today with the tragedy of our martyred President so fresh in our memory. The first of our problems is that we have a void in the Vice Presidency today. It is an almost unbelievable fact of American history that on 16 different occasions totaling more than 38 years in time we have been without a Vice President. In any one of those years something could have happened to the President. This would have required an officer other than the Vice President to act as President. Eight times in our history a President has died in office and has been succeeded by the Vice President. Each time this has happened, it has been a severe shock to the Nation. But each time, our Government has withstood the test. We have had orderly transfer of Executive authority. We pray we may never be faced, however, with the supreme test-the loss of a President and Vice President within the same 4-year term of office. But we must prepare for such an eventuality. For whatever tragedy may befall our national leaders, the Nation must continue in stability, functioning to preserve a society in which freedom may prosper. It seems clear that the best way to assure this is to make certain that the Nation always has a Vice President as well as a President. It is significant that every measure placed before this committee since 1 |