H.R. 8275 — Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of the Office Act

This section establishes in the legislative branch the Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of the Office as the body designated by Congress to carry out section 4 of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution. (Section 4 authorizes the Vice President, together with a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or such other body as Congress may by law provide, to declare the President unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office and to devolve them on the Vice President as Acting President.)

This section establishes the duties of the Commission, if directed by Congress under section 5, to conduct a medical examination of the President to determine mental or physical incapacity to discharge presidential powers and duties. The Commission must find incapacity if the President is temporarily or permanently impaired—due to lack of sufficient understanding or capacity to execute those duties—by (1) physical illness or disability, (2) mental illness or deficiency, (3) alcohol or drug use, or (4) any other condition rendering the President unable to execute those duties.

This section establishes a 17-member Commission, with appointments as follows: (1) two each by the Senate majority leader, Senate minority leader, House Speaker, and House minority leader; (2) eight former high-ranking executive branch officers (four jointly by Democratic appointees under (1) and four by Republican appointees under (1)), each having served as President, Vice President, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Defense, or Surgeon General; and (3) one Chair, appointed by simple majority vote of the other 16 members (quorum of 50% plus one) and ineligible to be among those 16. If appointments are incomplete, the Commission proceeds with members duly appointed. It requires initial appointments of the 16 members within 10 days of enactment (Chair within 3 days thereafter), with terms until January 1, 2031; subsequent appointments by January 10 following presidential elections (beginning 2028), with 4-year terms; and vacancies filled within 30 days for the remainder of the term. Commissioners appointed under (1) must be physicians (one per appointing official specializing in psychiatry), with "physician" defined as a doctor of medicine licensed to practice medicine, surgery, or osteopathy in a state; the Chair must be a physician, meet the criteria under (2), or both. No member may be an elected official; federal employee (per 5 U.S.C. §2105, including Postal Service); or Armed Forces member (including reserves). It authorizes travel expenses, including per diem, per subchapter I of 5 U.S.C. chapter 57.

This section establishes an expedited procedure for Congress to adopt a concurrent resolution directing the Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of the Office to examine the President for mental or physical incapacity, with the Commission required to conduct the examination within 72 hours of adoption. The procedure applies consideration provisions of section 2908 (other than subsection (a)) of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990—i.e., fast-track rules limiting debate and amendments—with modifications including (1) referral to the Judiciary Committees of the House and Senate (from the Armed Services Committees), (2) a 48-hour period (from 20 days), (3) the first day (from the third day), and (4) the date of resolution introduction (from the date of a presidential report).

This section directs the Commission, not later than 72 hours after completing the examination under section 5 and notwithstanding HIPAA privacy regulations, to transmit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate—in consultation with the Vice President—a report that includes (1) the declaration described in section 4 of the 25th Amendment as to whether the President is able to discharge the powers and duties of the office, and (2) the findings and conclusions of the examination. If the Vice President disagrees with the declaration or any other conclusion, the report must include the Vice President's statement setting forth the disagreement and basis therefor. The Commission must consider any refusal by the President to undergo the examination in reaching its conclusions.