Should we have a congressional disability amendment?

samsmart said:

Okay, I'm going to take on the job of asshole and ask this question.

Should we have an amendment to the Constitution regarding Representatives and Senators who are unable to discharge their powers and duties so that another person may have their seat and represent their constituents?

The reason why I ask is because of Gabrielle Giffords. She's the Representative of Arizona's 8th district. Since assuming her 3rd term on January 3 of 2011, she has missed 98% of the votes in Congress. This is, of course, because she was shot on January 8 of 2011.

Now I absolutely commend her for her struggles in recovering from that shooting, and do not in any way seek to take away from that. Also, I wish her nothing but the best in her recovery. I will also be the first to praise her and her husband for their bravery in dealing with this tragedy that struck them.

Even so, Arizona's 8th district is being unrepresented in Congress. And that really doesn't sit well with me.

We have the 25th Amendment to deal with Presidential succession and disability in order to officially clear the matter. However, we have no manner to deal with Representatives and Senators who are unable to discharge their duties. And I think that their duties are equally as important as those of the President.

So should we have an amendment that provides for procedures to replace an elected Representative or Senator who is unable to do his or her duty in Congress?

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Catawba said:

I would guess Representative Gifford's constituents already have a mechanism to replace her but have chosen not to at this time. Am I wrong about that?

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samsmart said:

As far as I know, there is no mechanism for disabled Representatives and Senators.

The closest thing there is is recall elections. But those are more done for corrupt officials or to unseat officials who became too unpopular before the end of their term.

But neither of those apply. Giffords is not corrupt and she is still popular. However, she is still too physically disabled to execute the powers and duties she was elected to perform on behalf of her constituents.

So I think there should be some kind of mechanism in place for members of Congress who are not corrupt and are still popular but suffer from some kind of disability that prevents them from serving their position they were elected to.

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99percenter said:

Lets have an amendment to ban sale of guns to mentally ill teabaggers and we won't need to have this discussion.

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samsmart said:

As far as I know, there is no mechanism for disabled Representatives and Senators.

The closest thing there is is recall elections. But those are more done for corrupt officials or to unseat officials who became too unpopular before the end of their term.

But neither of those apply. Giffords is not corrupt and she is still popular. However, she is still too physically disabled to execute the powers and duties she was elected to perform on behalf of her constituents.

So I think there should be some kind of mechanism in place for members of Congress who are not corrupt and are still popular but suffer from some kind of disability that prevents them from serving their position they were elected to.

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Catawba said:

It appears it will be resolved by May:

"Mr. Rogers acknowledged that nobody was certain what Ms. Giffords would decide between now and May, when her nominating papers to run for re-election are due. “If she decided she wanted to do something else,” he said, “it would be a wide-open race.”

“The voters may be trying to calibrate the trajectory of her recovery, where will she be in March or June or September,” Mr. McNulty said. “But, personally, I think none of that matters. I am not intimidated by that. The esteem in which she is held is so high that the voters will give her as much time as she wants. They will consider it is all up to her.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/16/us/politics/supporters-of-gabrielle-giffords-find-reasons-to-cheer.html

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samsmart said:

Except this doesn't resolve the issue if it happens again in a different district to a different Representative or Senator. And it doesn't address the fact that Arizona's 8th congressional district is being unrepresented in Congress.

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