presenting his successor's budget or delivering the State of the Union Address.

The main fear regarding lameduck Members of Congress is that laws may be passed by those who no longer represent the people. On the other side of the debate, opponents of the proposed constitutional amendment argue that the present time interval is satisfactory and that no compelling reason has been demonstrated for a constitutional amendment. They argue that the present time periods between election and inauguration are needed for a smooth transition between outgoing and incoming administrations.

Opponents further argue that the selection by a new President of important Cabinet and other top-level officers must be carefully selected and should not be hurried. Our form of government is significantly different from other countries, such as Great Britain, where changes in the top-elected officials do not carry the repercussions we feel with a change of Presidents.

To assist the subcommittee in its consideration of the proposed constitutional amendment, we have invited several distinguished and knowledgeable witnesses. Every attempt has been made to hear from both sides on this issue.

[The prepared statements of Senator Thurmond and Senator Grassley follow:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. STROM THURMOND, A U.S. Senator From tHE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY

Mr. Chairman, Senate Joint Resolution 71 proposes that the Constitution be amended to change the dates on which the terms of the President, Vice President, and Members of Congress begin. If adopted, this amendment would change the beginning of the terms of the President and Vice President, presently set by the Twentieth Amendment at noon on January 20th, to noon on November 20th. The commencement of the terms of Senators and Congresmen would likewise be moved back from noon, January 3rd to noon, November 15th. These changes are intended to accomplish several things.

First, the period between the Federal election day and the beginning of the term of the President-a period of potential danger to the continued well-being of the Republic-would be drastically reduced.

Second, assuming that there was a change in the Administration, the major messages from the Chief Executive to Congress such as the State of the Union address and the newly proposed budget, would become the responsibility of the new Administration. Assuming that the practice of presenting these messages after mid-January would be continued, the new President would have an additional two months in which to prepare these communications.

Next, the additional time given the Senate and the House of Representatives in November and December could be used to improve the scheduling of congressional functions. Ostensibly, both Houses of the Congress could utilize this time to organize themselves and prepare for the heavier legislative workload which usually begins with the receipt of the budget.

Finally, changing the date of the inauguration of the President and the Vice President would have the potential for allowing this event to occur during weather better suited to an outdoor activity.

Proposals such as the one embodied in S.J. Res. 71 have been introduced into Congress for more than two decades. Momentum for such change has apparently not been great due to the fact that in order to effectuate it would also require a change in the Federal election day. While this would not present a major obstacle for the Federal government, altering the general election day would have the potential for creating substantial problems for the States, many of which have the general election date set in their State constitutions.

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF IOWA

Thank you Mr. Chairman.

I am pleased to be able to be here today to hear the testimony of some of this body's most distinguished present and former members on S.J. Res. 71. This amendment would abolish lame-duck sessions of the Congress by ending post-election sessions of the Congress on the Fifteenth Day of November of even-numbered years, rather than on the Third of January of odd-numbered years.

Lame-duck Congressional sessions and “lame duck" presidents, it is argued by the proponents of this amendment, are inherently undemocratic in that there is no way for the public to effectively express its disapproval of actions taken by the Congress after the election. Sometimes, it seems, that the only thing that these post-election sessions of the Congress do is raise taxes and congressional salaries. But at the same time, these sessions may be the only occasions in which members of the Congress are willing to "bite the bullet" and make the tough decisions that must be made on the budget.

As one Senator that has not developed a position on this amendment, I look forward to hearing today's testimony and an opportunity to review the record of this hearing.

[The joint resolution, S.J. Res. 71, introduced by Senator Pell, follows:]

II

98TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION

S. J. RES. 71

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to the commencement of the terms of office of the President, Vice President, and Members of Congress.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 23 (legislative day, MARCH 21), 1983

Mr. PELL (for himself and Mr. MATHIAS) introduced the following joint resolution; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

JOINT RESOLUTION

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to the commencement of the terms of office of the President, Vice President, and Members of Congress.

1

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives 2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the fol4 lowing article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitu5 tion of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents 6 and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the 7 legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within 8 seven years after the date of its submission to the States for 9 ratification:

1

"The terms of the office of the President and Vice 2 President shall end at noon on the twentieth day of Novem3 ber, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon 4 on the fifteenth day of November of the years preceding the 5 years in which such terms would have ended if this article 6 had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall

7 then begin.".

Senator HATCH. As chairman of the subcommittee, I would like to thank each of our witnesses for coming. Our first witness is Senator Pell. He is the chief draftsman of this proposal and is of course very knowledgeable about government and congressional affairs. We are pleased and honored to have him appear before the subcommittee this morning. I would also like to thank him for the extensive efforts he and his staff have made with my staff in arranging for this hearing.

Our second witness at the table, of course, is our distinguished Senator from Maryland, my good friend, Charles McC. Mathias. He is the cosponsor of Senate Joint Resolution 71 and a very important member of the full Judiciary Committee in this Congress. Šenator Mathias is a member of the full Judiciary Committee, as I have mentioned, and we are certainly pleased to welcome both of you here this morning.

So, Senator Pell, we will begin with you.

STATEMENTS OF HON. CLAIBORNE PELL, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND, AND HON. CHARLES McC. MATHIAS, JR., A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF MARYLAND Senator PELL. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for permitting me to appear before you today as the sponsor, together with Senator Mathias, of the legislation we are considering, Senate Joint Resolution 71.

And I want to extend to you my heartfelt thanks and gratitude for agreeing to hold a hearing on this proposal and for the really outstanding cooperation we have had from your staff and the committee and the staff of Senator Mathias in preparing for this hearing.

My own testimony will be brief, because I know we all want to allow the greatest time possible to hear the informed and expert views of the witnesses who have agreed to appear today to present the arguments pro and con concerning this proposed amendment to our Constitution.

The Constitution now provides, in the 20th amendment, that the terms of Senators and Representatives shall begin at noon on January 3, following their election, and the terms of office of the Presi

dent and Vice President shall begin at noon on January 20, following their election.

The amendment that Senator Mathias and I propose provides that the terms of Senators and Representatives shall begin at noon on November 15, following election, and the President and Vice President shall begin their terms at noon on November 20, 5 days later, following their election.

I have proposed this change with Senator Mathias because it appears to me to be clear that the time now provided between Federal elections on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November and the installation of elected officials is much too long, and this prolonged transition imposes serious disadvantages for a democratic government in the conduct of both our domestic and foreign affairs.

Obviously, we do not require 2 to 22 months to determine who the victors are in our Federal elections. Indeed, our problem is that the results of our elections seem to be known too soon, through vote projections by the news media before the polls have even closed. Voting machines, computerized data processing and instant communications make it possible for the American people to know rapidly the results of our elections.

Having cast their votes and expressed their will, our people deserve a prompt installation of the Government they have chosen, and a prompt implementation of the policies they have endorsed. Instead, the American people are confronted with a seemingly interminable transition period, with the Government still formally in the hands of a lameduck President and a lameduck Congress.

The term "lameduck" is absolutely appropriate. A lameduck can't fly and a lameduck President or Congress cannot accomplish very much either. They have been deprived of the real authority which rests on the consent of the governed, but they still bear the responsibility for the conduct of government.

The lameduck transition period holds a strong temptation for mischief on the part of the lameducks through hasty implementation-by legislation, regulation, or appointment-of policies rejected or brought into question by the elections.

In our foreign affairs, the prolonged transition is a time of greater vulnerability for our Nation. Other nations during our transition can either seek immediate action on outstanding problems or postpone actions and pending agreements in the expectation of better results with a new administration. In either case, other nations are given policy and bargaining options that are clearly to their advantage and clearly to the disadvantage of the United States.

At best, a long transition period is a time when the ship of state lies becalmed in the waters. At worst, the transition can be a period of unwise decisions or at least decisions that do not reflect the expressed will of the American people.

For the President-elect, the long transition also poses serious problems. As he or she turns from an election campaign to forming a government, the President-elect faces a long period of intense competition for influence and ascendancy in the new administration. It is a period of leaked rumors and reports which threaten to