There has been a lot of talk lately about the application of Miranda rights in the battlefield context.

I want to state for the record that I disagree fundamentally with an amendment that became part of the Department of Defense authorization legislation last week that stated that military commissions should be the preferred forum for…

At a minimum, the presumption should be that our existing civilian and military legal systems are the proper venues for trying these cases, as is laid out in the administration's protocol.

It should be consisted of only elected Representatives, and the fact that as a practical matter you can't elect people quickly.

I think the message was given when the House voted down the Baird amendment by a vote of 63 yes to 353 no, that the House overwhelmingly opposed having appointed members, period.

I think that Mr. Baird's proposal and my own proposal will go a long way to making this country less vulnerable as it stands right now.

I would just suggest that having an alternate for a House and Senate Member would provide... for an elected Representative just always to be here in case of an emergency.

House Joint Resolution 53 would solve all of these constitutional problems by providing that each person who is elected to the House of Representatives or the Senate must be elected in combination with an alternate.

A study conducted by The Elections Center, a nonpartisan organization representing the Nation's election officials, has shown that expedited special elections can be conducted within a 45-day time frame.

Legislation passed by Mr. Sensenbrenner was also enacted to require States to hold special House elections when extraordinary circumstances cause mass vacancies in the House.

Just a few years ago, Congress acted in an overwhelmingly bipartisan fashion and passed the Continuity and Representative Act by huge margins that included the support of over two-thirds of the Democratic Caucus.

I have no doubt that the bond of the spirit of the American people will ensure that democracy prevails even in the most pressing conditions.

Without an elected House, the entire Federal Government could be run, laws could be written, without a single branch representing the popular will.

James Madison used the strongest of terms when stating the House must be composed of only those elected by the people.

After all the money that we have spent to save the banks, it is irresponsible for Congress to let this vicious cycle continue while an obvious and cost-free solution is starting us in the face.

I live in Alexandria and there was a vacancy in the House of Delegates in Alexandria and Governor Kaine called an election 16 days...

But what we worry about is the extraordinary circumstance where we fear there will be no House or no Senate...

That kind of error rate, in my opinion, makes this system unworkable.