HR6972-118

Passed House

To amend title 5, United States Code, to require an Executive agency whose head is a member of the National Security Council to notify the Executive Office of the President, the Comptroller General of the United States, and congressional leadership of such head becoming medically incapacitated within 24 hours, and for other purposes.

118th Congress Introduced Jan 11, 2024

Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.

Summary

What This Bill Does

This bill requires that when the head of an executive agency who sits on the National Security Council becomes medically incapacitated, key officials must be notified within 24 hours. This applies to Cabinet secretaries and other officials involved in national security decisions.

Who Benefits and How

Congress and the Executive Office of the President gain enhanced visibility into leadership continuity for national security agencies. The GAO gains oversight capability. The public benefits from improved transparency about who is exercising national security authority during leadership transitions.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Acting agency heads and first assistants face new notification requirements within 24-72 hours. If the initial 24-hour notification is missed, a more detailed report is required explaining the failure to notify and documenting who exercised authority during the incapacity.

Key Provisions

  • 24-hour notification requirement for medical incapacity of NSC member agency heads
  • Advance notice required for planned medical procedures where incapacity is expected
  • 72-hour detailed reporting requirement if initial notification is missed
  • Reports must identify who served in an acting capacity and what authorities they exercised
  • Notifications go to White House, GAO, and bipartisan congressional leadership

Evidence Chain:

This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.

At a Glance

What This Bill Does

Requires 24-hour notification to the Executive Office of the President, GAO, and congressional leadership when heads of National Security Council member agencies become medically incapacitated

Key Policy Areas

National Security, Government Operations, Transparency

Primary Purpose

Requires 24-hour notification to the Executive Office of the President, GAO, and congressional leadership when heads of National Security Council member agencies become medically incapacitated

Policy Domains

National Security Government Operations Transparency

Main Body

Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
  • Congress
  • Executive Office of the President
  • General Public
Model: N/A | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: eh

Contextual inference, no direct clause citation

Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
  • Acting Agency Heads
  • First Assistants to Agency Heads
  • NSC Member Agencies
Model: N/A | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: eh

Contextual inference, no direct clause citation

Legislative Progress

Passed House
Introduced Committee Passed
Dec 17, 2024

Reported by Mr. Peters, with an amendment

May 7, 2024

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland …

Jan 11, 2024

Mrs. Kiggans of Virginia (for herself, Mr. Davis of North …

Jan 11, 2024 (inferred)

Passed House (inferred from eh version)

Stakeholder Effects

cui bono?

How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.

Government
13 mentions across 3 clauses
+9 positive -4 negative

Acting Agency Heads of NSC Member Agencies, Congress, Executive Office of the President

Positive-direction: Congress, Executive Office of the President, GAO

Negative-direction: Acting Agency Heads of NSC Member Agencies, First Assistants to NSC Member Agency Heads

5/5
sections analyzed
Full impact breakdown

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
National Security Government Operations
Actor Mappings
"the_head"
→ Head of an Executive agency who is a member of the National Security Council
"appropriate_federal_officials"
→ Executive Office of the President, GAO, and congressional leadership (Senate Majority/Minority Leaders, Speaker, House Minority Leader)

Key Definitions

Terms defined in this bill

2 terms
"medical incapacity" §2

The head of an Executive agency is unable to perform the functions and duties of the office due to sickness, injury, or other medical condition

"appropriate Federal officials" §2b

Executive Office of the President, Comptroller General, Senate Majority and Minority Leaders, Speaker of the House, House Minority Leader

We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.

Learn more about our methodology