House mulls elections for time of crisis

The House's No.3 Republican is talking with others about what to do.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- On Sept. 11, 2001, the fourth hijacked plane crashed into a Pennsylvania field, the quick action of passengers possibly saving the U.S. Capitol from becoming a fireball. Now, 21/2 years later, Congress is readying its response.
The House today takes up legislation that would require a special elections within 45 days of the speaker confirming that a terrorist attack or other catastrophic event had left at least 100 seats vacant in the 435-seat body.
Supporters, led by Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., say this approach would assure the House's rapid recovery while preserving a heritage in which every member of the House is an elected representative.
Political vacuum?
But critics argue that this could leave Congress in a political vacuum for weeks at a time of terrible crisis. Democrats say the GOP leadership has denied them the chance to discuss other alternatives, including constitutional amendments that would allow for temporary appointments before elections could be held.
They noted that within days after Sept. 11, Congress passed critical legislation, approving billions in emergency funds, compensating victims and supporting the use of military force.
"Dare we tempt fate and not provide for an interim solution?" asked Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., one of several lawmakers who has proposed amending the Constitution.
Sensenbrenner is backed by House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., who regards appointments as a betrayal of the principles laid down by the Founding Fathers, said his spokesman, John Feehery.
But Republican leaders on Wednesday said that, because of the strong interest, they would address the constitutional question. House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier, R-Calif., said he had assurances from Sensenbrenner that the Judiciary panel would vote on a constitutional amendment in the next few weeks.
The House's No. 3 Republican, Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, also is holding talks with Larson and other Democrats on the complex issue of defining when a lawmaker is incapacitated by an attack, which is not addressed by the Sensenbrenner bill.
What's already allowed
The Senate already allows governors to appoint senators when a vacancy occurs prior to an election. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, has proposed a constitutional change giving states the flexibility to come up with their own methods of quickly filling seats in the aftermath of a terrorist attack on Congress.
Amendments to the Constitution require a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate and ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures.
Rep. Brian Baird, D-Wash., who has pursued the continuity issue since the Sept. 11 attacks, said "jaws drop" when people hear that Congress has yet to prepare itself for catastrophe. "A constitutional crisis could result and the nation would be left without a functioning Congress for the first time in its history and at the worst time in its history," he said at an outdoor news conference, the Capitol Dome conspicuous in the Washington skyline.
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