Members of the U.S. House of Representatives should always be elected, never appointed
Four days ago, the U.S. House overwhelmingly passed H.R. 841, the Continuity of Representation Act, by a vote of 329 to 68.
Here's a brief history:
June 20, 2003
The Liberty Committee issues the following alert: "The clock is ticking. A well-orchestrated, well-financed campaign to quickly amend the Constitution is underway. A proposed constitutional amendment would take away your right to vote for your U.S. representative. We can't and won't stand by and let our republic be gutted by this amendment."
This alert was in response to the "Continuity of Government" (COG) report made public on June 4, 2003. The report calls for a constitutional amendment that would allow the appointment of members of the U.S. House of Representatives under vaguely defined circumstances. At the June 4th press conference, COG touted their proposed constitutional amendment and predicted there would be no opposition to it. Their prediction was wrong, as was their proposed constitutional amendment.
July 23, 2003
The Liberty Committee begins organizing the opposition at a briefing for members of Congress and their staffs. Congressmen Ron Paul (R-Texas) and Vic Snyder (D-Arkansas) spoke persuasively against the COG proposal, as did Charles E. Rice, professor emeritus of Notre Dame Law School who was our special guest expert.
July 24, 2003
Congressmen Sensenbrenner, Dreier, Miller, Cole, Chabot, and Paul introduce the Continuity in Representation Act (H.R. 2844) as the alternative to the COG proposal. H.R. 2844 is the practical and proper solution because it requires states to promptly hold special elections of U.S. House members; not special appointments.
April 22, 2004
The U.S. House passes H.R. 2844 by a vote of 306 to 97.
Even though H.R. 2844 overwhelmingly passed, that did not keep the political elite of COG from pushing their proposed constitutional amendment, H.J. Res. 83.
June 2, 2004
The U.S. House soundly defeats COG's amendment by a vote of 63 to 353.
The 108th Congress comes to a close in December of 2004. At this point, COG's constitutional amendment has been defeated. Unfortunately, our alternative H.R. 2844 does not become law because the U.S. Senate did not vote on it. Sponsors of H.R. 2844 promise to reintroduce the Continuity in Representation Act when the 109th Congress convenes in January 2005.
February 16, 2005
Congressmen Sensenbrenner, Dreier, Miller, Chabot, Bartlett, Paul and Cole
reintroduce the Continuity in Representation Act. This time, the bill is assigned H.R. 841.
March 3, 2005
The U.S. House passes H.R. 841 by a vote of 329 to 68 -- and this brings us back to today.
We must now get the U.S. Senate to pass H.R. 841 and get President Bush to sign it because we agree with our country's founders that members of the U.S. House should always be elected, never appointed.
Contact your Senator and make it clear that the House of Representatives must remain The Peoples house.
