Free Republic

<p>Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to take up the critical problem of ensuring the continuity of Congress in the event of a catastrophic terrorist strike. Provisions for such a possibility should be made lest an attack paralyze the government and impugn its legitimacy.</p>

House Panel Prepares House for Catastrophic Attack By Jim Abrams Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - A House committee recommended legislation Wednesday that would provide for fast special elections if a terrorist attack killed or incapacitated many House members. The measure would require expedited elections under "extraordinary circumstances" when the speaker of the House announces that vacancies in the 435-member chamber exceed 100. The bill, approved 18-10, stipulates that parties choose candidates within 10 days of that announcement and that state elections be held within 45 days. The legislation has also been approved by the House Administration Committee and now...

<p>WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Pentagon Tuesday morning is scheduled to conduct a so-called "continuity-of-government" exercise, scheduled as a direct result of the heightened terror threat level, U.S. officials said.</p> <p>During the exercise, key Pentagon officials are to be notified that they are to move immediately to secret locations where the government has established alternative facilities, according to the officials.</p>

More than two years after the attacks of September 11, Congress is finally taking the necessary action to protect the nation by ensuring that our government continues to operate in the wake of another attack. Today I introduce a proposal to provide for the continuity of congressional operations, and in coming weeks, I will submit legislation to fix problems in our current system of presidential succession. These important issues demand the serious attention of Congress. I was not in Washington when American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon. Nor was I a member of Congress a month later when a...

<p>Two days after September 11, Congress approved legislation expediting benefits for public safety officers killed or injured in the line of duty that day.Three days after September 11, Congress appropriated $40 billion in emergency funds for recovery from and response to the attacks, as well as legislation authorizing the use of military force.A week later, Congress approved additional legislation to stabilize and secure our economy and our airports, and to provide compensation for the victims of the September 11 attacks.And in subsequent weeks, Congress enacted several other bills and appropriations measures to bolster national security and upgrade our capabilities to combat terrorism.</p>

Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - Congressional leaders must deal with the political crisis that could be created if a majority of members of the House of Representatives were incapacitated or killed by a terrorist attack. That was the message three Democrats delivered in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol Thursday beside a large photograph showing the effects of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, to help end World War II. "If a bomb of that nature or greater were to be exploded in this city, probably no member of Congress in the vicinity of the capital would survive that attack,"...

<p>House Republicans yesterday introduced a bill requiring speedy elections if an attack kills at least 100 House members, a proposal designed to counter calls for a constitutional change to allow the appointment of representatives.</p> <p>"We alone, of all federal officials, have been directly elected by the people, never appointed," said Rep. David Dreier, California Republican. "I believe the Framers did this for a reason ... We cannot let terrorists force us to change the structure they created for us."</p>

Two very different Washington veterans - one a longtime confidant of Democratic presidents, the other a crusty, savvy Wyoming Republican - have joined forces to confront an ominous but plausible question. What's more, they also have supplied a possible answer to the problem it highlights. What if United Airlines Flight 93 had reached its destination on Sept. 11, 2001? Flight 93 was the plane hijackers may well have hoped to crash into the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Instead, it went down in a Pennsylvania field. The likely result of such a decapitating attack would be not only national trauma,...

<p>Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge could be added to the presidential line of succession as part of a terrorist-protection measure gathering bipartisan approval across Capitol Hill.</p> <p>The bill quietly passed the Senate Friday before the Fourth of July recess and has broad support among House leaders.</p>

Ridge May Move Up in Succession List By JIM ABRAMS .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) - Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge could move up to eighth in the line of presidential succession, leapfrogging 10 other Cabinet members in a congressional effort to better prepare for a catastrophic attack on Washington. Under legislation approved by the Senate and now pending in the House, Ridge would move from 18th to eighth, behind Attorney General John Ashcroft and in front of Interior Secretary Gale Norton, in the line to succeed the president in a disaster. The measure sped through the Senate without...

Ridge May Move Up in Succession List By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 2:37 p.m. ET WASHINGTON (AP) -- Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge could move up to eighth in the line of presidential succession, leapfrogging 10 other Cabinet members in a congressional effort to better prepare for a catastrophic attack on Washington. Under legislation approved by the Senate and now pending in the House, Ridge would move from 18th to eighth, behind Attorney General John Ashcroft and in front of Interior Secretary Gale Norton, in the line to succeed the president in a disaster. The measure sped through the...

<p>It almost happened on September 11. Had Flight 93 crashed into the U.S. Capitol, even worse, had terrorists managed to place a nuclear weapon aboard that aircraft or the plane that hit the Pentagon, the result would have been an almost complete decapitation of government. Terrorists may well be planning another attack on Washington. Before that happens, policy-makers must make provisions for the legitimate expeditions and decisive transfer of power to maintain the constitutional extension of government authority and preserve the continuity of Congress. To that end, they should pay close attention to the recommendations to be released today by the Continuity of Government Commission.</p>

<p>WASHINGTON - The Constitution must be amended to ensure the continuity of government in case Congress is wiped out by a terrorist attack, a blue-ribbon bipartisan commission will recommend Wednesday.</p> <p>If a Sept. 11-like attack destroyed Congress, the current system of holding special elections to fill vacancies in the House of Representatives would take too long - an average of four months, depending on the state - the panel found after a year-long study.</p>

What would happen if a bomb wiped out the federal government? Call him the Cassandra of Capitol Hill. For nearly two years Norman Ornstein, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, has been running around Washington auguring doom and calling on lawmakers to ponder a horrific question: What would have happened if United Flight 93, brought down in the fields of southwestern Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001, had departed Newark on time? "We know that United 93 crashed in Pennsylvania only because it left forty minutes late," Ornstein says; otherwise its passengers would not have learned that their hijackers...

Recent Suicide Attacks May Signal Secret Iraqi Strategy: Beware of Sneak Attacks With BioweaponsWe have all heard about the recent strategies employed by Saddam's elite Republican Guard. These new strategies have been carefully thought-out. They involve deception and the most vile of intentions. But more evil forms of ambush treachery may be unfolding in just a few days. First we heard reports of Iraqi troops pretending to surrender and then attacking at the last moment. Then we heard reports that Saddam's elite forces were throwing off their uniforms and dressing as civilians. Reportedly, they are hiding in civilian homes waiting...

Saddam May Be Plotting a "Doomsday Scenario" for America While the French Play Deceitful Word Games I have watched France defend Iraq despite everything they know about Saddam's regime. The French are clever and devious and treacherous. They are experts in manipulation and pompous pronouncements. They are not cowardly. Rather they prefer taking calculated risks. They are completely amoral and believe in following their own secret strategies. France is Waffling Again: Do Not Believe a Word They Say France says it "could help" if Saddam uses biological or chemical weapons on U.S. troops. I quote from an AP Report late...