A bill to provide that the President must seek congressional approval before engaging members of the United States Armed Forces in military humanitarian operations.

Summary: Military Humanitarian Operations Act of 2012 - Prohibits the President from deploying members of the Armed Forces into the territory, airspace, or waters of a foreign country for a military humanitarian operation unless: (1) the President submits to Congress a formal authorization request, and (2) Congress enacts a specific authorization.

Defines a "military humanitarian operation" as a military operation involving the deployment of members or weapons systems of the Armed Forces where hostile activities are reasonably anticipated and with the aim of preventing or responding to a humanitarian catastrophe, including its regional consequences, or addressing a threat posed to international peace and security.

Provides for the consideration of a joint resolution of approval of such use.

of Approval.--
            (1) Introduction and placement on calendar.--If the 
        President submits a formal request under subsection (a)(1) for 
        authorization to use members of the Armed Forces for a military 
        humanitarian operation, then within 1 calendar day of such 
        request, the majority leader of the Senate and the Speaker of 
        the House of Representatives shall introduce an identical joint 
        resolution in the Senate and the House of Representatives 
        calling for consideration of the military humanitarian 
        operation and shall place such resolution directly on the 
        calendar of the respective House.
            (2) Floor consideration.--
                    (A) In general.--It shall be in order for any 
                Member of the respective House to move to proceed to 
                the consideration of a resolution introduced under 
                paragraph (1), and all points of order against the 
                resolution (and against consideration of the 
                resolution) are waived. The motion is highly privileged 
                in the House of Representatives and is privileged in 
                the Senate and is not debatable. The motion is not 
                subject to amendment, to a motion to postpone, or to a 
                motion to proceed to the consideration of other 
                business. A motion to reconsider the vote by which the 
                motion is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in 
                order. If a motion to proceed to the consideration of 
                the resolution is agreed to, the resolution shall 
                remain the unfinished business of the respective House 
                until disposed of.
                    (B) Debate.--Debate on the resolution, and on all 
                debatable motions and appeals in connection therewith, 
                shall be limited to not more than 4 hours, which shall 
                be divided equally between those favoring and those 
                opposing the resolution. A motion further to limit 
                debate is in order and not debatable. An amendment to, 
                or a motion to postpone, or a motion to proceed to the 
                consideration of other business, or a motion to 
                recommit the resolution is not in order. A motion to 
                reconsider the vote by which the resolution is agreed 
                to or disagreed to is not in order.
                    (C) Vote on final passage.--Immediately following 
                the conclusion of the debate on the resolution, and a 
                single quorum call at the conclusion of the debate if 
                requested in accordance with the rules of the 
                appropriate House, the vote on final passage of the 
                resolution shall occur. The vote shall occur not later 
                than 48 hours after submission of a formal request 
                under subsection (a)(1), unless the President waives 
                such deadline, in which case the vote in each House 
                shall occur on the next calendar day each respective 
                House is in session.
                    (D) Rulings of the chair on procedure.--Appeals 
                from the decisions of the Chair relating to the 
                application of the rules of the Senate or the House of 
                Representatives, as the case may be, to the procedure 
                relating to a resolution described in paragraph (1) 
                shall be decided without debate.
            (3) Coordination with action by other house.--If, before 
        the passage by one House of a resolution of that House 
        described in paragraph (1), that House receives from the other 
        House a resolution described in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) the resolution of the other House shall not be 
                referred to a committee; and
                    (B) with respect to the resolution of the House 
                receiving the resolution, the procedure in the 
                receiving House shall be the same as if no joint 
                resolution had been received from the other House until 
                the vote on final passage, when the joint resolution 
                received from the other House shall supplant the joint 
                resolution of the receiving House.
            (4) Rules of house of representatives and senate.--This 
        subsection is enacted by Congress--
                    (A) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the 
                Senate and House of Representatives, respectively, and 
                as such it is deemed a part of the rules of each House, 
                respectively, but applicable only with respect to the 
                procedure to be followed in that House in the case of a 
                resolution described in paragraph (1), and it 
                supersedes other rules only to the extent that it is 
                inconsistent with such rules; and
                    (B) with full recognition of the constitutional 
                right of either House to change the rules (so far as 
                relating to the procedure of that House) at any time, 
                in the same manner and to the same extent as in the 
                case of any other rule of that House.

SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY.

    If any provision of this Act is held to be unconstitutional, the 
remainder of the Act shall not be affected.