Reading Room Document

S.J. Res. I ‐‐ Presidential Inability and Vacancies in the Office of the Vice President

The document discusses the language and grammatical inconsistencies in Section 4 of S.J. Res. 1, which pertains to presidential inability and succession in the office of the Vice President. It highlights the use of "executive department" instead of "executive departments" and the singular use of "department" in the second paragraph, which was deemed to be a clerical error. The conclusion reached is that the phrase "the principal officers of the executive departments" refers to the Cabinet, as clarified in the history and intent of the proposed constitutional amendment. The document presents questions regarding the interpretation of the language and the impact of the grammatical inconsistencies on the proposed amendment. It also provides examples of how clerical errors in legislation are typically disregarded in interpretation.

July 30, 1965