Assuring Continuity of Government

Abstract

This is a short comment on Seth Barrett Tillman's MODEL CONTINUITY OF CONGRESS STATUTE. I am a great admirer of Tillman's work. There are few people who are so interested in, and knowledgeable about, the consequences of what most people unfortunately dismiss as the minutiae of constitutional procedure. The problem he has now turned his attention to - how to assure a functioning Congress in case of catastrophic disasters - is extremely important, and his model statute provides the basis for what should be a continuing conversation.

In any event, whether or not Seth Barrett Tillman has delivered the last word on what a framework statute should look like, which is almost certainly not the case, he has given us a very valuable first cut at a precise delineation of what might work to preserve our Republican Form of Government even under extreme conditions. This is a signal act of good citizenship, as well as of careful lawyering. I hope that his proposal gets the attention that it deserves.

Keywords: congress, continuity, chadha