If a national security agency head becomes medically incapacitated, a House-passed bill would require notifications

The House of Representatives on Monday passed, by voice vote, a bill to require notifications within 24 hours after an agency head who is a member of the National Security Council becomes medically incapacitated. 

The legislation is a response to an incident in January when Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin did not inform President Joe Biden and other national security officials that he was hospitalized in relation to a prostate cancer diagnosis until days after the fact. 

“As someone who served in the armed forces for nearly 10 years, I was alarmed by reports back in January that those at the highest levels in the chain of command were not informed when Secretary of Defense Austin required an unexpected leave of absence due to health challenges,” bill sponsor Rep. Jennifer Kiggans, R-Va., said while debating the measure on the House floor. “For days, essential members of the National Security Council, including the president, were left in the dark regarding his status, causing a serious breach of command and control that is the bedrock of America’s defense supremacy.”  

In testimony before the House Armed Services Committee two months ago, Austin said there was never a lapse in authority during his hospitalization but acknowledged there was a “breakdown in notifications.”  

“We did not handle this right, and I did not handle it right,” he said. The secretary also detailed changes the department is making to continuity of operations plans. 

The legislation would require the individual serving in an acting capacity as the agency head to notify the president, comptroller general, Senate majority and minority leaders, House speaker and House minority leader. 

House Democrats also backed the bill. 

“Consistent with the spirit of transparency embodied in the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, which requires congressional leadership to be notified if the president is unable to discharge the duties of his or her office, I agree that Congress should be notified if an agency head who is a member of the NSC is similarly incapacitated,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., ranking member of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, during the floor debate. 

The office of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., did not immediately reply to a request for comment about when or if his chamber might vote on the measure.