Continuity of Government Commission

The Continuity of Government Commission was a think tank set up in 2002 to recommend improvements on the constitutional and statutory provisions for the continuity of government in the United States. It was set up by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and the Brookings Institution following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Former presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford served as its honorary co-chairmen.

In 2003 the Commission published its first report, which dealt with the death or incapacitation of several members of Congress in the event of a terrorist attack. It recommended a constitutional amendment to allow Congress to legislate for the temporary appointment of members of both houses of Congress in case a large number of members were either killed or rendered unable to perform their duties. The United States Senate already is covered by measures that allow replacements to be readily made to fill vacancies. The commission warned that it takes an average of four months to stage the special election needed to fill a vacancy in the United States House of Representatives, which meant that an attack on members of the House could kill or incapacitate so many members of the body that it would not be able to operate at all and might appear illegitimate if it did so. A major attack could mean that Congress would have to confirm a Vice President or fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court of the United States without the needed quorum to perform its obligations. The Commission's recommendations were based on already existing state constitutional provisions which allow for succession of state legislators.

In 2009, its second report recommended amending the rules for succession to the presidency, by removing members of Congress from the line of succession, and including people who do not normally reside in Washington, D.C. in case of a catastrophic attack on the city.

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