Garret Graff: “As congressional leaders sniped their way through the coronavirus crisis this week—wrestling with how to act and help avert a massive economic shock amid a quickly evolving tsunami of national closures, collapsing stock prices and a worsening pandemic—an even more ominous thought hung in the background of Capitol Hill: A pandemic, particularly one whose primary victims are over 60, presents the long-feared, worst-case scenario for Congress’ existence itself.”
“Since the end of World War II, efforts to force the House and Senate to confront how it would function in an emergency have stalled, and even the lackluster efforts after 9/11 to improve congressional continuity planning fell short of addressing the potential impact of a pandemic: While the outright death of senators and representatives poses its own unique set of problems for the body and democracy, an illness like COVID-19 that threatens to sicken a wide swath of members threatens to paralyze or destabilize the entire legislative branch of government when its quick action is most needed.”
