US House passes bill on special election
www.chinaview.cn 2005-03-04 06:04:18
WASHINGTON, March 3 (Xinhuanet) -- The US House of Representativespassed a bill Thursday requiring special elections to be held within 49 days if more than 100 of its 435 members were killed in a catastrophic event.
The House voted by 329 to 68 to send the bill to the Senate. A similar bill was killed in the Senate last year after House approval.
Last year, the House rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would have permitted replacement by temporary appointments during exceptional circumstances.
Supporters of the proposed constitutional amendment said while 49 days would be too short to organize a special election, it was too long to leave the House with so many vacancies.
The US Constitution states all House members must be elected. Senate vacancies can be temporarily filled with gubernatorial appointments.
The House bill was seen as a precautionary measure to prepare for catastrophic events such as the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, which forced the evacuation of the Capitol. Enditem
