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1 1 (March 28, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goveoue0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional_______ R.fesearchS Srvfce The Twenty-Fifth Amendment and Presidential Inability, Part 5: Congressional Debates March 28, 2024 This Legal Sidebar post is the fifth in a seven-part series that discusses the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. In an effort to ensure that the United States will always possess a functioning President and Vice President, the Twenty-Fifth Amendment seeks to promote the prompt, orderly, and democratic transfer of executive power. In particular, the Amendment establishes procedures for addressing presidential inability and vacancies that arise in the presidency or vice presidency. Because Congress may play a role in implementing the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, understanding the Amendment's history and drafting may assist Congress in its legislative activities. This Sidebar post discusses major congressional debates surrounding the Twenty-Fifth Amendment's framing. Other Sidebars in this series discuss the Twenty-Fifth Amendment's procedures; the framing of the Presidential Succession Clause at the Constitutional Convention of 1787; the history of presidential succession; early congressional action on the Amendment in Congress; and the Amendment's implementation and unresolved issues. Additional information on this topic is available at the Constitution Annotated: Analysis and Interpretation of the U.S. Constitution and in several CRS reports. Major Congressional Debates House and Senate debates on the joint resolutions proposing the Twenty-Fifth Amendment centered on the language that would become Section 4, which addresses the involuntary transfer of the President's powers and duties to the Vice President during episodes of presidential inability. By contrast, Sections 1, 2, and 3 do not appear to have been as controversial. Section 1 codifies the precedent first established in 1841 by President John Tyler upon the death of President William Henry Harrison that if the President dies, resigns, or is removed from office as a result of impeachment proceedings, then the Vice President shall become President. Section 2, which establishes the process for filling a vice-presidential vacancy, was intended to ensure that the nation would always possess a Vice President who would be compatible with the President, could serve as President if called upon, and would likely continue the President's policies. To promote accountability to the electorate, the Twenty-Fifth Amendment's framers Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB11135 CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress