House May Vote on Incapacitation

[NewJerseyDem]

http://www.rollcall.com/issues/50_8/news/6282-1.html

The House Rules Committee plans to move forward as early as this week with a rule change allowing the Speaker to reduce the quorum requirement in the event of mass incapacitation of lawmakers.

Under a draft version of the proposal circulating last week, the Speaker could lower the number of Members required for the House to conduct business after two lengthy quorum calls had failed to produce a majority and the Sergeant-at-Arms reported that “catastrophic circumstances ... render Members incapable of attending the proceedings.”

Almost three years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the House still lacks a way to proceed in the event large numbers of Members were rendered unable to perform their duties, but not killed, in a disaster.

Sources indicated Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) wants to move the issue before the recess and the upcoming party conventions, although consideration of the measure could be pushed back until after Labor Day. A spokeswoman for Rules Chairman David Dreier (R-Calif.) confirmed that the panel was “moving forward.” Hastert’s office did not return calls for comment.

[lapfog_1]

1. Grabbing my tinfoil hat

and jamming it on my head extra tight... with two or three
layers.

[IndianaGreen]

21. Why is Hastert doing this now?

I already got my hat on!

:tinfoilhat:

[mike_c]

2. keeping fear front and center....

Ah, the war on terra.

[Jackpine Radical]

3. Like, if all the Dems in the House get picked up one night

and "incapacitated" due to incarceration, the Pugs need some legal means of proceeding in their absence.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

4. Bingo.

[Amarant]

6. Wouldn't make any sense

if the repubs were willing to kill off every dem member of congress then they would be at a point where they wouldn't give a damn about congress. They would just declare bush dictator and do whatever they wanted.

[Amarant]

5. This isn't a bad thing I suppose

as in order for the rule to be used (as far as I can tell) huge numbers of congress people would have to be literally dead or disabled. So it's not as if 4 members can come in, have the rule invoked, and do whatever they want in normal situations.

If they couldn't establish a qurom then they couldn't conduct business - and in such a situation they would certainly need to.

[jimshoes]

8. In this day and age

could this not be done in special circumstances via electronic means like video phone or some such thing. I'm guessing that the rule now is that they must all meet in one place.

[Amarant]

11. According to the constitution

yes, they must meet in one place.

[Walt Starr]

7. There's nothing to stop them

The repukes could all be in Washington during a recess, the Dems off in home states, code red is declared, and the Repukes could do any damn thing they please.

Lovely...

:eyes:

Ranks right up there with canceled elections.

[NewJerseyDem]

10. The Sergeant-at-Arms

He has to declare that many members have been incapacitated so he could stop them. However, what happens if he is killed also? I assume that the only way a large number of congressmen would be killed is an attack on the Capitol and then the Sergeant-at-Arms might die as well so that would present a problem. I think that a solution may be needed for the risk of incapacitation but depending on the Sergeant-at-Arms doesn't seem like a good idea.

[Amarant]

12. IF that ever happened

that THAT many officials were dead - congress would probably be irrelevent anyway, as martial law would probably have been declared.

[CharlesGroce]

9. The story makes everyone think of terror and the conventions but...

what this law would really do is allow a very small minority of House members to declare laws: like laws against abortion, amendments to the constitution, etc.

I think that if there is some emergency, legislation can wait for a little order don't you think?

[Demeter]

13. How Many GOP Members Were In Town the Morning

that plane crashed in Pennsylvania? How many had a good reason to be out of range of the terrorists==accidentally or on purpose? I'm sorry, this just makes it look like they will stop at nothing to keep power, regardless of the will of the nation.

[tlcandie]

14. You know they are just going to continue rolling those dice till they

come up with something that will stick so * can remain in his hot little WH seat come November.

This isn't the last thing we will be seeing that makes us pull out our :tinfoilhat: just like it isn't the first!

They are so quick to pull rabbits out of the hat, it's hard to keep up with them. Slight of hand...peanut shell games...con men all!

[BeFree]

15. OMGawd

If the $400 billion a year we spend on defense can't save 500 congresscritters from death and disablement, what does that say about the rest of us?

And if congress isn't comfortable with the arangements, what does that say about our country? I thought boosh said we were safer now?

[bluestateguy]

16. Who do these people think they are

Being a congressman is not rocket science. I know they think it is, but it really is not so tough. New citizen legislators can easily be chosen to replace the "incapacitated" politicians.

[truthisfreedom]

17. it must be tough trying to make these decisions in the public eye, through

the lens of the bush 2000 election theft. i'm sure there are a lot of Congresspeople who would like to do the right thing, but it's almost impossible to take action when everything you do is scrutinized with LIHOP, MIHOP, and election fraud suspicion. once John and John take over, these decisions will be much easier and clearer.

[Bridget Burke]

18. All the 9/11 accounts mention the evacuation of Congressional leaders

National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice was in a bunker beneath the White House at the time.

"At that moment, you have to worry about the continuity of the United States government," she recalled. "It was very clear that Washington was under attack."

Vice President Dick Cheney, also in the White House bunker, said officials arranged for the evacuation of the congressional leadership, especially House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., third in line of presidential succession.

The congressional leaders flew aboard military helicopters to a top-secret bunker — the "Mount Weather" Emergency Operations Facility in Bluemont, Va. — where they stayed until returning to Washington in the afternoon. The bunker is part of a nuclear survival plan and equipped with food and phones.

"There was a granite-like stone on the sides," said Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss. "I mean, literally there it was, like a cave."

http://abcnews.go.com/onair/DailyNews/sept11_moments_4.html

I haven't been able to find out who, exactly, was evacuated. Besides Hastert & Lott, that is.

[struggle4progress]

19. kick

:kick:

[fortyfeetunder]

20. Do I need to get fitted with a tinfoil hat too?

Why is all this talk sounding like they are anticipating (=planning) for something to happen? Sure smells like it to me....

Just the other day, our group was told of "shelter in place" rooms in our building, in case of certain events, we had to retreat to these rooms and not go outdoors...

[Hekate]

22. Alcoa or Reynolds Wrap?

Shiny side out or in?

Ahhh, fashionistas: This fall brown shirts with 3-piece suits will be all the rage with power-brokers; for the rest of us, tin-foil hats will be the hot accessory.

Hekate