[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 728 Engrossed in House (EH)]
In the House of Representatives, U.S.,
July 22, 2004.
Whereas no regularly scheduled national election for Federal office has ever
been postponed for any reason;
Whereas regularly scheduled Federal elections took place as scheduled during the
Civil War, World War I, and World War II;
Whereas after having been re-elected in an election that took place while the
Civil War continued to rage, Abraham Lincoln said ``We can not have free
government without elections; and if the rebellion could force us to
forego, or postpone a national election it might fairly claim to have
already conquered and ruined us. . . . [T]he election, along with its
incidental and undesirable strife, has done good too. It has
demonstrated that a people's government can sustain a national election,
in the midst of a great civil war. Until now it has not been known to
the world that this was a possibility.'';
Whereas the terrorist bombings that took place in Spain on the eve of the
Spanish elections in March 2004 were almost certainly perceived by Al
Qaeda as having contributed to the defeat of the government that had
stood with the United States in the Global War on Terror;
Whereas terrorists may attempt to strike again against the United States in the
months leading up to the November 2004 Presidential election in an
attempt to alter or affect the election's outcome;
Whereas in the event that such a horrific attack were to occur, the actions of
millions of Americans across the Nation casting their ballots would
demonstrate powerfully the strength and resilience of our democracy;
Whereas there is no reason to believe that the men and women who administer
elections in jurisdictions across the Nation would be incapable of
determining how to react to a terrorist attack;
Whereas postponing an election in the aftermath of a terrorist attack would
demonstrate weakness, not strength, and would be interpreted as a
victory for the terrorists; and
Whereas under section 4 of article II of the Constitution, Congress has the
authority to determine the date on which a Presidential election shall
take place: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that--
(1) the actions of terrorists will never cause the date of any
Presidential election to be postponed; and
(2) no single individual or agency should be given the authority to
postpone the date of a Presidential election.
Attest:
Clerk.