# 119-hjres-199: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to temporarily fill vacancies in the House of Representatives to further the continuity of Congress.

119-hjres-199, Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to temporarily fill vacancies in the House of Representatives to further the continuity of Congress., is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Timmons, William R. [R-SC-4] (R-SC); status introduced (as of 2026-07-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hjres-199
- As of: 2026-07-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hjres-199
- Congress: 119
- Title: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to temporarily fill vacancies in the House of Representatives to further the continuity of Congress.
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-07-02
- Sponsor: Rep. Timmons, William R. [R-SC-4] (R-SC)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Congress
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-07-12

## Summary

**Fills House vacancies quickly with predesignated temporary replacements.** It would require every Representative, immediately after taking the oath, to provide a list of at least five qualified designees. If a Representative dies, the state's chief executive would pick a designee from the most recent list within 10 days and the Speaker would immediately seat that person to serve until a special election picks a new Member. - Constituents: Districts would have an interim voting Representative seated right away, so they keep representation in the House until a special election. - Representatives: Each Member would need to keep a current list of at least five people who meet the constitutional qualifications to serve as temporary designees. - State chief executives: The governor or equivalent would have a 10-day deadline to choose a designee from the Representative's most recent list. - House operations: The selected designee would be treated as a full Representative for all laws, rules, and regulations while serving.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Rep. Cleaver, Emanuel [D-MO-5] (D-MO), 2026-07-02T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Faster temporary House replacements: benefit, high. If ratified by three-fourths of the States within seven years, this would create a temporary process to fill House seats when a Representative dies. New Representatives would need to give the House a list of at least five qualified designees right after taking the oath. If a Representative dies, th…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025
- 119-hr-6644: 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act
- 119-hr-2725: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025
- 119-hr-137: TCJA Permanency Act
- 119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act
- 119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act

## Sources
- [119-hjres-199 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-joint-resolution/199)

## Related
- [119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4669)
- [119-hr-6644: 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6644)
- [119-hr-2725: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2725)
- [119-hr-137: TCJA Permanency Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-137)
- [119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1262)
- [119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage A…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-842)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hjres-199 (as of 2026-07-12).