mr. speaker , our forefathers fought a revolution . 
they fought a revolution for freedom against a power that at that time was much greater than the sum of this nation . 
they fought against private gentry . 
george mason said at the constitutional convention that `` the people will be represented ; they ought therefore to choose their representatives. '' this is a conceptual framework that has governed this body for more than 2 centuries . 
today , even though times have changed , the spirit of mason lives on . 
and with god 's blessing we will never have to use this piece of legislation . 
but we have to seriously consider the issue of the continuity in congress . 
we have specifically designed authority to other members of this body to call the house back into session should i not be here to do it . 
we have changed the rules of the house to allow it to function if members are incapacitated . 
today we debate a bill that calls for the states to provide special elections if more than 100 members are killed . 
and yes , even though we have provided for rules if members are incapacitated , we have a constitutional responsibility to ensure the american people have full representation in this congress . 
congress has always been for the people and by the people . 
and in keeping with the great traditions of our country , we need to keep it that way . 
last congress we overwhelmingly passed a very similar bill to the one we are debating today . 
it was improved by the congress with various amendments , many from the other side of the aisle , which the gentleman from ohio ( mr. ney ) xz4002930 has incorporated into this bill . 
we heard a desire to make sure that this bill specifically allows for primaries ; that language is incorporated in this bill . 
and my good friend , the gentleman from missouri ( mr. skelton ) xz4003770 , wanted to make sure that the military ballots from overseas were counted . 
we have incorporated that suggestion into this bill . 
i discussed with the democratic leader the idea of increasing the number of days from 45 to 49 , 7 weeks , to provide the 7 weeks for these special elections . 
i thought it was important to add a few more days . 
however , 60 days is too long a time for the framework of the national crisis because of our role under the war powers act . 
the bill we had adopted last congress with the support of 306 members was a very good bill . 
the gentleman from ohio ( mr. ney ) xz4002930 and the gentleman from wisconsin ( mr. sensenbrenner ) xz4003650 have even a better bill this year , and i expect the same overwhelming bipartisan support . 
in closing , we face a significant threat . 
what makes america great is that we can come together during times of national tragedy . 
and my point is that after september 11 , partisan bickering was on the back burner , and we were able to come together and do great things for the american people . 
terrorists hate everything we stand for , especially our democracy . 
their whole object is to disrupt and destroy . 
in the event of the unthinkable , this bill strikes a blow to the heart of the terrorists and allows this body to reconstitute itself as quickly as possible , therefore carrying on the spirit of mason and of this great nation . 
i urge the defeat of the motion to recommit . 
i urge the passage of this bill . 
