00                       HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 31                                                                     
01 Relating to requesting the United States Congress to propose an amendment to the                                        
02 Constitution of the United States that would address emergency appointments to and                                      
03 powers of the United States Senate.                                                                                     
04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
05       WHEREAS the terrible events of September 11, 2001, have demonstrated that the                                   
06 United States is vulnerable to attack by terrorists; and                                                                
07       WHEREAS terrorists or other enemies of the United States have focused attacks on                                
08 important seats of governmental power; and                                                                              
09       WHEREAS the Constitution of the United States has procedures that are inadequate                                
10 to enable the United States Congress to continue to function if a majority of its seats were to                         
11 become vacant due to an attack on the United States or as a result of a natural disaster or other                       
12 emergency;                                                                                                              
13       BE IT RESOLVED by the Alaska State Legislature that the Congress of the United                                  
14 States is respectfully requested to propose and submit to the states an amendment to the                                
15 Constitution of the United States that would establish procedures to ensure that the United                             
01 States Congress will continue to function after emergencies which cause many vacancies in                               
02 the body; and be it                                                                                                     
03       FURTHER RESOLVED that the proposed amendment might contain procedures                                           
04 whereby, if a majority of the seats in the United States Senate become vacant, the legislatures                         
05 of each of the states with vacant seats would make appointments within 10 days to fill those                            
06 vacancies; and be it                                                                                                    
07       FURTHER RESOLVED that the proposed amendment also might permit the United                                       
08 States Senate to exercise all of the powers of the United States Congress if a majority of the                          
09 seats in the United States House of Representatives were to become vacant and might                                     
10 establish procedures under which the United States Senate would temporarily act as a                                    
11 unicameral body until vacancies in the United States House of Representatives are filled.                               
12       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Thomas Daschle, Majority                               
13 Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Trent Lott, Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the                            
14 Honorable J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable                                
15 Richard A. Gephardt, Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives; and to the                                   
16 Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the                                         
17 Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.