[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 51 (Tuesday, April 20, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H2157-H2158]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        CONTINUITY OF GOVERNMENT

  (Mr. DeLAY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, before I start my remarks, I was just moved 
by the prayer by the chaplain, and I hope everyone hearing our voice 
and through the miracle of television can pick that up on the Web site 
and read it once again because it is a prayer that the American people 
need to focus on and take to heart.
  Mr. Speaker, by taking up the Continuity in Representation Act this 
week, the House will not only address a glaring deficiency in Federal 
law, it will also make an unequivocal statement about America's 
national resolve on the war on terror.
  None of us in this Chamber or in this Nation wants to think of a 
scenario that would compel the Speaker to invoke this legislation, but 
such are the responsibilities of leadership in the post-9/11 world.
  The bill will therefore put in place a process by which Congress can 
quickly reconstitute itself after a catastrophic event. If such an 
event occurs and an extreme number of resulting vacancies threaten the 
continuity of congressional activity, the Speaker may, under this 
legislation, order States to call special elections to fill those 
vacancies within 45 days.
  By passing this legislation, we will guarantee the failure of any 
terrorist

[[Page H2158]]

attempt to decapitate the legislative branch of the United States 
Government. But just as importantly, the vote this week will show our 
Nation and our enemies two things: our unity and our resolve. The 
Continuity in Representation Act has bipartisan support thanks to the 
long and tireless work of the distinguished gentleman from Wisconsin 
(Mr. Sensenbrenner), chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary. And 
despite our policy differences, everyone on both sides of the aisle can 
plainly see the need that this bill meets; and everyone has come to 
this issue, even in an election year, with sincerity and patriotism.
  Many believe that bipartisanship disappears whenever the calendar 
year ends with an even number, but this issue and this bill disprove 
that cynical assumption.
  The vote this week will also affirm once again our national 
commitment to victory in the war on terror. Our prosecution of this war 
must be relentless and comprehensive. On the battlefield we have to 
continue to take the war to the terrorists. And here at home we have to 
maintain a united front and advance every policy we can to support our 
troops and discourage our enemies.
  So with this legislation that we pass this week, the House will send 
a very clear message to those enemies that no amount of violence that 
they hope to visit upon us will interrupt the continuity of our 
national service.

                          ____________________