While the selection of a new House Speaker is dominating headlines, Congress should not lose focus on a key issue at the heart of the institution: continuity of Congress.
Three developments in the past year have highlighted the urgency of this issue.
- In an April 2022 report, AEI’s Continuity of Government Commission identified key obstacles to Congress being able to function after a catastrophe resulting in the death of many members. The core problem is that the House of Representatives would take several months to fill vacancies caused by a catastrophe, potentially leaving the House short of a quorum and unable to conduct business. The commission’s core recommendation was for a constitutional amendment enabling temporary appointments to the House until special elections could be held.
- Several prominent constitutional law scholars have affirmed the meaning of the Constitution’s quorum requirement (see full letter below). The Constitution makes clear that a majority of the House (218) constitutes a quorum. While there have been attempts to define the quorum requirement as less than a majority, the constitutional text and structure, legislative history, historical practice, and judicial precedent confirm that Congress cannot conduct its business without a true majority of its members.
- The House Modernization Committee spent considerable time studying the issue of continuity of Congress last year. It recognized continuity of Congress as a key issue. To address this issue, both the House and the Senate must act, and the Committee made a recommendation for joint House and Senate study of the issue.
Please see the attached letter from leading constitutional scholars Akhil Reed Amar, Philip C. Bobbitt, Charles J. Cooper, Michael C. Dorf, Scott A. Keller, and H. Jefferson Powell, who argue that the Constitution “expressly requires a majority of each House of Congress to conduct the nation’s business.”
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