II 

Calendar No. 736 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4373 

[Report No. 118–316] 

To provide for congressional approval of national emergency declarations. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 21, 2024 

Mr. PAUL (for himself and Mr. PETERS) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs 

DECEMBER 19 (legislative day, DECEMBER 16), 2024 

Reported by Mr. PETERS, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To provide for congressional approval of national emergency 

declarations. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Reforming Emergency Powers to Uphold the Balances 


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1 and Limitations Inherent in the Constitution Act’’ or the 

2 ‘‘REPUBLIC Act’’. 

3 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

4 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF NATIONAL EMERGENCIES 

Sec. 101. Congressional review of national emergencies. 

Sec. 102. Reporting requirements. 

Sec. 103. Conforming repeal. 

Sec. 104. Effective date; applicability. 

TITLE II—LIMITATIONS ON EMERGENCY AUTHORITIES 

Sec. 201. Presidential war powers under Communications Act of 1934. 

Sec. 202. Limitations on International Emergency Economic Powers Act authorities. 

Sec. 203. Congressional approval requirement for use of Insurrection Act authorities. 

Sec. 204. Disclosure to Congress of presidential emergency action documents. 

5 TITLE I—CONGRESSIONAL RE6 VIEW OF NATIONAL EMER7 GENCIES 

8 SEC. 101. CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF NATIONAL EMER9 GENCIES. 

10 Title II of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 

11 1621 et seq.) is amended by striking sections 201 and 202 

12 and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 201. DECLARATIONS OF NATIONAL EMERGENCIES. 

14 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO DECLARE NATIONAL EMER15 GENCIES.—With respect to Acts of Congress authorizing 

16 the exercise, during the period of a national emergency, 

17 of any special or extraordinary power, the President is au18 thorized to declare such a national emergency by proclaVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Dec 20, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4373.RS S4373

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1 mation. Such proclamation shall immediately be trans2 mitted to Congress and published in the Federal Register. 

3 ‘‘(b) SPECIFICATION OF PROVISIONS OF LAW TO BE

4 EXERCISED.—No powers or authorities made available by 

5 statute for use during the period of a national emergency 

6 shall be exercised unless and until the President specifies 

7 the provisions of law under which the President proposes 

8 that the President or other officers will act in— 

9 ‘‘(1) a proclamation declaring a national emer10 gency under subsection (a); or 

11 ‘‘(2) one or more Executive orders relating to 

12 the emergency published in the Federal Register and 

13 transmitted to Congress. 

14 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION ON SUBSEQUENT ACTIONS IF

15 EMERGENCIES NOT APPROVED.— 

16 ‘‘(1) SUBSEQUENT DECLARATIONS.—If a joint 

17 resolution of approval is not enacted under section 

18 203 with respect to a national emergency before the 

19 expiration of the 30-day period described in section 

20 202(a), or with respect to a national emergency pro21 posed to be renewed under section 202(b), the Presi22 dent may not, during the remainder of the term of 

23 office of that President, declare a subsequent na24 tional emergency under subsection (a) with respect 

25 to the same circumstances. 


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1 ‘‘(2) EXERCISE OF AUTHORITIES.—If a joint 

2 resolution of approval is not enacted under section 

3 203 with respect to a power or authority specified by 

4 the President in a proclamation under subsection (a) 

5 or an Executive order under subsection (b)(2) with 

6 respect to a national emergency, the President may 

7 not, during the remainder of the term of office of 

8 that President, exercise that power or authority with 

9 respect to that emergency. 

10 ‘‘(d) EFFECT OF FUTURE LAWS.—No law enacted 

11 after the date of the enactment of this Act shall supersede 

12 this title unless it does so in specific terms, referring to 

13 this title, and declaring that the new law supersedes the 

14 provisions of this title. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 202. EFFECTIVE PERIODS OF NATIONAL EMER16 GENCIES. 

17 ‘‘(a) TEMPORARY EFFECTIVE PERIODS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A declaration of a national 

19 emergency shall remain in effect for 30 days from 

20 the issuance of the proclamation under section 

21 201(a) (not counting the day on which the proclama22 tion was issued) and shall terminate when that 30- 

23 day period expires unless there is enacted into law 

24 a joint resolution of approval under section 203 with 

25 respect to the proclamation. 


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1 ‘‘(2) EXERCISE OF POWERS AND AUTHORI2 TIES.—Any emergency power or authority made 

3 available under a provision of law specified pursuant 

4 to section 201(b) may be exercised pursuant to a 

5 declaration of a national emergency for 30 days 

6 from the issuance of the proclamation or Executive 

7 order (not counting the day on which such proclama8 tion or Executive order was issued). That power or 

9 authority may not be exercised after that 30-day pe10 riod expires unless there is enacted into law a joint 

11 resolution of approval under section 203 approv12 ing— 

13 ‘‘(A) the proclamation of the national 

14 emergency or the Executive order; and 

15 ‘‘(B) the exercise of the power or authority 

16 specified by the President in such proclamation 

17 or Executive order. 

18 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION IF CONGRESS IS UNABLE TO

19 CONVENE.—If Congress is physically unable to con20 vene as a result of an armed attack upon the United 

21 States or another national emergency, the 30-day 

22 periods described in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall 

23 begin on the first day Congress convenes for the 

24 first time after the attack or other emergency. 


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1 ‘‘(b) RENEWAL OF NATIONAL EMERGENCIES.—A na2 tional emergency declared by the President under section 

3 201(a) or previously renewed under this subsection, and 

4 not already terminated pursuant to subsection (a) or (c), 

5 shall terminate on the date that is 90 days after the Presi6 dent transmitted to Congress the proclamation declaring 

7 the emergency or Congress approved a previous renewal 

8 pursuant to this subsection, unless— 

9 ‘‘(1) the President publishes in the Federal 

10 Register and transmits to Congress an Executive 

11 order renewing the emergency; and 

12 ‘‘(2) there is enacted into law a joint resolution 

13 of approval renewing the emergency pursuant to sec14 tion 203 before the termination of the emergency or 

15 previous renewal of the emergency. 

16 ‘‘(c) TERMINATION OF NATIONAL EMERGENCIES.— 

17 ‘‘(1) TERMINATION DATE.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any national emer19 gency declared by the President under section 

20 201(a) shall terminate on the earliest of— 

21 ‘‘(i) the date provided for in sub22 section (a); 

23 ‘‘(ii) the date provided for in sub24 section (b); 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the date specified in an Act of 

2 Congress terminating the emergency; or 

3 ‘‘(iv) the date specified in a proclama4 tion of the President terminating the emer5 gency. 

6 ‘‘(B) 5-YEAR LIMITATION.—Under no cir7 cumstances may a national emergency declared 

8 by the President under section 201(a)— 

9 ‘‘(i) continue on or after the date that 

10 is 5 years after the date on which the na11 tional emergency was first declared; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a national emer13 gency declared before the date of the en14 actment of the Reforming Emergency Pow15 ers to Uphold the Balances and Limita16 tions Inherent in the Constitution Act, 

17 continue on or after the date that is 5 

18 years after such date of enactment. 

19 ‘‘(2) EFFECT OF TERMINATION.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Effective on the date 

21 of the termination of a national emergency 

22 under paragraph (1)— 

23 ‘‘(i) except as provided by subpara24 graph (B), any powers or authorities exerVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Dec 20, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4373.RS S4373

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1 cised by reason of the emergency shall 

2 cease to be exercised; 

3 ‘‘(ii) any amounts reprogrammed or 

4 transferred under any provision of law 

5 with respect to the emergency that remain 

6 unobligated on that date shall be returned 

7 and made available for the purpose for 

8 which such amounts were appropriated; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(iii) any contracts entered into under 

11 any provision of law relating to the emer12 gency shall be terminated. 

13 ‘‘(B) SAVINGS PROVISION.—The termi14 nation of a national emergency shall not af15 fect— 

16 ‘‘(i) any legal action taken or pending 

17 legal proceeding not finally concluded or 

18 determined on the date of the termination 

19 under paragraph (1); 

20 ‘‘(ii) any legal action or legal pro21 ceeding based on any act committed prior 

22 to that date; or 

23 ‘‘(iii) any rights or duties that ma24 tured or penalties that were incurred prior 

25 to that date. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 203. REVIEW BY CONGRESS OF NATIONAL EMER2 GENCIES. 

3 ‘‘(a) JOINT RESOLUTION OF APPROVAL DEFINED.— 

4 In this section, the term ‘joint resolution of approval’ 

5 means a joint resolution that contains only the following 

6 provisions after its resolving clause: 

7 ‘‘(1) A provision approving— 

8 ‘‘(A) a proclamation of a national emer9 gency made under section 201(a); 

10 ‘‘(B) an Executive order issued under sec11 tion 201(b)(2); or 

12 ‘‘(C) an Executive order issued under sec13 tion 202(b). 

14 ‘‘(2) A provision approving a list of all or a por15 tion of the provisions of law specified by the Presi16 dent under section 201(b) in the proclamation or 

17 Executive order that is the subject of the joint reso18 lution. 

19 ‘‘(b) PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDERATION OF JOINT

20 RESOLUTIONS OF APPROVAL.— 

21 ‘‘(1) INTRODUCTION.—After the President 

22 transmits to Congress a proclamation declaring a 

23 national emergency under section 201(a), or an Ex24 ecutive order specifying emergency powers or au25 thorities under section 201(b)(2) or renewing a na26 tional emergency under section 202(b), a joint resoVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Dec 20, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4373.RS S4373

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1 lution of approval may be introduced in either House 

2 of Congress by any member of that House. 

3 ‘‘(2) REQUESTS TO CONVENE CONGRESS DUR4 ING RECESSES.—If, when the President transmits to 

5 Congress a proclamation declaring a national emer6 gency under section 201(a), or an Executive order 

7 specifying emergency powers or authorities under 

8 section 201(b)(2) or renewing a national emergency 

9 under section 202(b), Congress has adjourned sine 

10 die or has adjourned for any period in excess of 3 

11 calendar days, the majority leader of the Senate and 

12 the Speaker of the House of Representatives, or 

13 their respective designees, acting jointly after con14 sultation with and with the concurrence of the mi15 nority leader of the Senate and the minority leader 

16 of the House, shall notify the Members of the Senate 

17 and House, respectively, to reassemble at such place 

18 and time as they may designate if, in their opinion, 

19 the public interest shall warrant it. 

20 ‘‘(3) COMMITTEE REFERRAL.—A joint resolu21 tion of approval shall be referred in each House of 

22 Congress to the committee or committees having ju23 risdiction over the emergency authorities invoked by 

24 the proclamation or Executive order that is the sub25 ject of the joint resolution. 


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1 ‘‘(4) CONSIDERATION IN SENATE.—In the Sen2 ate, the following shall apply: 

3 ‘‘(A) REPORTING AND DISCHARGE.—If the 

4 committee to which a joint resolution of ap5 proval has been referred has not reported it at 

6 the end of 10 calendar days after its introduc7 tion, that committee shall be automatically dis8 charged from further consideration of the reso9 lution and it shall be placed on the calendar. 

10 ‘‘(B) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDERATION.— 

11 Notwithstanding Rule XXII of the Standing 

12 Rules of the Senate, when the committee to 

13 which a joint resolution of approval is referred 

14 has reported the resolution, or when that com15 mittee is discharged under subparagraph (A) 

16 from further consideration of the resolution, it 

17 is at any time thereafter in order (even though 

18 a previous motion to the same effect has been 

19 disagreed to) for a motion to proceed to the 

20 consideration of the joint resolution, and all 

21 points of order against the joint resolution (and 

22 against consideration of the joint resolution) 

23 are waived. The motion to proceed is subject to 

24 4 hours of debate divided equally between those 

25 favoring and those opposing the joint resolution 


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1 of approval. The motion is not subject to 

2 amendment, or to a motion to postpone, or to 

3 a motion to proceed to the consideration of 

4 other business. 

5 ‘‘(C) AMENDMENTS.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro7 vided in clause (ii), no amendments shall 

8 be in order with respect to a joint resolu9 tion of approval. 

10 ‘‘(ii) AMENDMENTS TO STRIKE OR

11 ADD SPECIFIED PROVISIONS OF LAW.— 

12 Clause (i) shall not apply with respect to 

13 any amendment— 

14 ‘‘(I) to strike a provision or pro15 visions of law from the list required 

16 by subsection (a)(2); or 

17 ‘‘(II) to add to that list a provi18 sion or provisions of law specified by 

19 the President under section 201(b) in 

20 the proclamation or Executive order 

21 that is the subject of the joint resolu22 tion of approval. 

23 ‘‘(D) MOTION TO RECONSIDER FINAL

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1 sage of a joint resolution of approval shall not 

2 be in order. 

3 ‘‘(E) APPEALS.—Points of order, including 

4 questions of relevancy, and appeals from the de5 cision of the Presiding Officer, shall be decided 

6 without debate. 

7 ‘‘(5) CONSIDERATION IN HOUSE OF REP8 RESENTATIVES.—In the House of Representatives, 

9 the following shall apply: 

10 ‘‘(A) REPORTING AND DISCHARGE.—If any 

11 committee to which a joint resolution of ap12 proval has been referred has not reported it to 

13 the House within 10 calendar days after the 

14 date of referral, such committee shall be dis15 charged from further consideration of the joint 

16 resolution. 

17 ‘‘(B) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDERATION.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the 

19 third legislative day after each committee 

20 to which a joint resolution of approval has 

21 been referred reports it to the House or 

22 has been discharged from further consider23 ation, and except as provided in clause (ii), 

24 it shall be in order to move to proceed to 

25 consider the joint resolution in the House. 


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1 The previous question shall be considered 

2 as ordered on the motion to its adoption 

3 without intervening motion. The motion 

4 shall not be debatable. A motion to recon5 sider the vote by which the motion is dis6 posed of shall not be in order. 

7 ‘‘(ii) SUBSEQUENT MOTIONS TO PRO8 CEED TO JOINT RESOLUTION OF AP9 PROVAL.—A motion to proceed to consider 

10 a joint resolution of approval shall not be 

11 in order after the House has disposed of 

12 another motion to proceed on that resolu13 tion. 

14 ‘‘(C) FLOOR CONSIDERATION.—Upon 

15 adoption of the motion to proceed in accordance 

16 with subparagraph (B)(i), the joint resolution 

17 of approval shall be considered as read. The 

18 previous question shall be considered as ordered 

19 on the joint resolution to final passage without 

20 intervening motion except two hours of debate, 

21 which shall include debate on any amendments, 

22 equally divided and controlled by the sponsor of 

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1 sage of the joint resolution shall not be in 

2 order. 

3 ‘‘(D) AMENDMENTS.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro5 vided in clause (ii), no amendments shall 

6 be in order with respect to a joint resolu7 tion of approval. 

8 ‘‘(ii) AMENDMENTS TO STRIKE OR

9 ADD SPECIFIED PROVISIONS OF LAW.— 

10 Clause (i) shall not apply with respect to 

11 any amendment— 

12 ‘‘(I) to strike a provision or pro13 visions of law from the list required 

14 by subsection (a)(2); or 

15 ‘‘(II) to add to that list a provi16 sion or provisions of law specified by 

17 the President under section 201(b) in 

18 the proclamation or Executive order 

19 that is the subject of the joint resolu20 tion. 

21 ‘‘(6) RECEIPT OF RESOLUTION FROM OTHER

22 HOUSE.—If, before passing a joint resolution of ap23 proval, one House receives from the other a joint 

24 resolution of approval from the other House, then— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the joint resolution of the other 

2 House shall not be referred to a committee and 

3 shall be deemed to have been discharged from 

4 committee on the day it is received; and 

5 ‘‘(B) the procedures set forth in para6 graphs (3), (4), and (5), as applicable, shall 

7 apply in the receiving House to the joint resolu8 tion received from the other House to the same 

9 extent as such procedures apply to a joint reso10 lution of the receiving House. 

11 ‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The enactment of a 

12 joint resolution of approval under this section shall not 

13 be interpreted to serve as a grant or modification by Con14 gress of statutory authority for the emergency powers of 

15 the President. 

16 ‘‘(d) RULES OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE.—This sec17 tion is enacted by Congress— 

18 ‘‘(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 

19 the Senate and the House of Representatives, re20 spectively, and as such is deemed a part of the rules 

21 of each House, respectively, but applicable only with 

22 respect to the procedure to be followed in the House 

23 in the case of joint resolutions described in this sec24 tion, and supersedes other rules only to the extent 

25 that it is inconsistent with such other rules; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) with full recognition of the constitutional 

2 right of either House to change the rules (so far as 

3 relating to the procedure of that House) at any time, 

4 in the same manner, and to the same extent as in 

5 the case of any other rule of that House.’’. 

6 SEC. 102. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

7 Section 401 of the National Emergencies Act (50 

8 U.S.C. 1641) is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(d) REPORT ON EMERGENCIES.—The President 

11 shall transmit to Congress, with any proclamation declar12 ing a national emergency under section 201(a) or any Ex13 ecutive order specifying emergency powers or authorities 

14 under section 201(b)(2) or renewing a national emergency 

15 under section 202(b), a report, in writing, that includes 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘(1) A description of the circumstances necessi18 tating the declaration of a national emergency, the 

19 renewal of such an emergency, or the use of a new 

20 emergency authority specified in the Executive 

21 order, as the case may be. 

22 ‘‘(2) The estimated duration of the national 

23 emergency, or a statement that the duration of the 

24 national emergency cannot reasonably be estimated 

25 at the time of transmission of the report. 


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1 ‘‘(3) A summary of the actions the President or 

2 other officers intend to take, including any re3 programming or transfer of funds, and the statutory 

4 authorities the President and such officers expect to 

5 rely on in addressing the national emergency. 

6 ‘‘(4) In the case of a renewal of a national 

7 emergency, a summary of the actions the President 

8 or other officers have taken in the preceding 90-day 

9 period, including any reprogramming or transfer of 

10 funds, to address the emergency. 

11 ‘‘(e) PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO CONGRESS.— 

12 The President shall provide to Congress such other infor13 mation as Congress may request in connection with any 

14 national emergency in effect under title II. 

15 ‘‘(f) PERIODIC REPORTS ON STATUS OF EMER16 GENCIES.—If the President declares a national emergency 

17 under section 201(a), the President shall, not less fre18 quently than every 6 months for the duration of the emer19 gency, report to Congress on the status of the emergency 

20 and the actions the President or other officers have taken 

21 and authorities the President and such officers have relied 

22 on in addressing the emergency.’’. 

23 SEC. 103. CONFORMING REPEAL. 

24 Title III of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 

25 1631) is repealed. 


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1 SEC. 104. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—This title and the amendments 

3 made by this title shall— 

4 (1) take effect on the date of the enactment of 

5 this Act; and 

6 (2) except as provided in subsection (b), apply 

7 with respect to national emergencies declared under 

8 section 201 of the National Emergencies Act on or 

9 after that date. 

10 (b) APPLICABILITY TO RENEWALS OF EXISTING

11 EMERGENCIES.—When a national emergency declared 

12 under section 201 of the National Emergencies Act before 

13 the date of the enactment of this Act would expire or be 

14 renewed under section 202(d) of that Act (as in effect on 

15 the day before such date of enactment), that national 

16 emergency shall be subject to the requirements for renewal 

17 under section 202(b) of that Act, as amended by section 

18 101. 

19 TITLE II—LIMITATIONS ON 

20 EMERGENCY AUTHORITIES 

21 SEC. 201. PRESIDENTIAL WAR POWERS UNDER COMMU22 NICATIONS ACT OF 1934. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 706 of the Communica24 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 606) is amended— 

25 (1) by striking subsections (c) through (g); and 


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1 (2) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub2 section (c). 

3 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

4 Section 309(h) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

5 U.S.C. 309(h)) is amended— 

6 (1) by inserting ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘(2)’’; and 

7 (2) by striking ‘‘Act;’’ and all that follows and 

8 inserting ‘‘Act.’’. 

9 SEC. 202. LIMITATIONS ON INTERNATIONAL EMERGENCY 

10 ECONOMIC POWERS ACT AUTHORITIES. 

11 (a) PROHIBITION AGAINST USE OF AUTHORITIES

12 WITH RESPECT TO UNITED STATES PERSONS.—Section 

13 202 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act 

14 (50 U.S.C. 1701) is amended by adding at the end the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(c)(1) The authorities granted to the President by 

17 section 203 may not be exercised with respect to a United 

18 States person. 

19 ‘‘(2) In this section, the term ‘United States person’ 

20 means— 

21 ‘‘(A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully 

22 admitted for permanent residence to the United 

23 States; 

24 ‘‘(B) an entity— 


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1 ‘‘(i) organized under the laws of the 

2 United States or any jurisdiction within the 

3 United States; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) in which more than 50 percent of the 

5 controlling interest is owned by a person de6 scribed in subparagraph (A), (B)(i), or (C); or 

7 ‘‘(C) any person in the United States.’’. 

8 (b) EXCLUSION OF IMPOSITION OF DUTIES AND IM9 PORT QUOTAS.—Section 203 of the International Emer10 gency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702) is amend11 ed— 

12 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub13 section (d); and 

14 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(c)(1) The authority granted to the President by 

17 this section does not include the authority to impose duties 

18 or tariff-rate quotas or (subject to paragraph (2)) other 

19 quotas on articles entering the United States. 

20 ‘‘(2) The limitation under paragraph (1) does not 

21 prohibit the President from excluding all articles, or all 

22 of a certain type of article, imported from a country from 

23 entering the United States.’’. 


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1 SEC. 203. CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL REQUIREMENT FOR 

2 USE OF INSURRECTION ACT AUTHORITIES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 13 of title 10, United 

4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing new section: 

6 ‘‘§ 256. Congressional approval requirement 

7 ‘‘The President may not use authorities described in 

8 section 251, 252, or 253 unless Congress first enacts legis9 lation approving such use of authority.’’. 

10 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

11 at the beginning of chapter 13 of title 10, United States 

12 Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

13 section 255 the following new item: 

‘‘256. Congressional approval requirement.’’. 

14 SEC. 204. DISCLOSURE TO CONGRESS OF PRESIDENTIAL 

15 EMERGENCY ACTION DOCUMENTS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 days after the 

17 conclusion of the process for approval, adoption, or revi18 sion of any presidential emergency action document, the 

19 President shall submit that document to the appropriate 

20 congressional committees. 

21 (b) DOCUMENTS IN EXISTENCE BEFORE DATE OF

22 ENACTMENT.—Not later than 15 days after the date of 

23 the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to 

24 the appropriate congressional committees all presidential 


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1 emergency action documents in existence before such date 

2 of enactment. 

3 (c) OVERSIGHT.— 

4 (1) SENATE.—The Committee on Homeland 

5 Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate 

6 shall have— 

7 (A) continuing legislative oversight juris8 diction in the Senate with respect to the pro9 posal, creation, implementation, and execution 

10 of presidential emergency action documents; 

11 and 

12 (B) access to any and all presidential 

13 emergency action documents. 

14 (2) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—The Com15 mittee on Oversight and Accountability of the House 

16 of Representatives shall have— 

17 (A) continuing legislative oversight juris18 diction in the House of Representatives with re19 spect to the proposal, creation, implementation, 

20 and execution of presidential emergency action 

21 documents; and 

22 (B) access to any and all presidential 

23 emergency action documents. 

24 (3) DUTY TO COOPERATE.—All officers and em25 ployees of any Federal agency shall have the duty to 


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1 cooperate with the exercise of oversight jurisdiction 

2 described in this subsection. 

3 (4) SECURITY CLEARANCES.—The chairpersons 

4 and ranking members of the appropriate congres5 sional committees, and designated staff of those 

6 committees, shall be granted all security clearances 

7 required to access, and granted access to, presi8 dential emergency action documents, including under 

9 relevant Presidential or agency special access and 

10 compartmented access programs. 

11 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT13 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com14 mittees’’ means— 

15 (A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

16 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 

17 (B) the Committee on Oversight and Ac18 countability of the House of Representatives. 

19 (2) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 

20 agency’’— 

21 (A) has the meaning given the term ‘‘agen22 cy’’ in section 552(f) of title 5, United States 

23 Code; and 

24 (B) includes the Executive Office of the 

25 President, the Executive Office of the Vice 


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1 President, the Office of Management and Budg2 et, and the National Security Council. 

3 (3) PRESIDENTIAL EMERGENCY ACTION DOCU4 MENT.—The term ‘‘presidential emergency action 

5 document’’ refers to any document created by any 

6 Federal agency before, on, or after the date of the 

7 enactment of this Act, that is— 

8 (A) designated as a presidential emergency 

9 action document or presidential emergency ac10 tion directive; 

11 (B) designed to implement a presidential 

12 decision or transmit a presidential request when 

13 an emergency disrupts normal executive, legisla14 tive, judicial, or other Federal governmental 

15 processes; 

16 (C) a Presidential Policy Directive, regard17 less of whether the directive is available to the 

18 public, that triggers any change in policies, pro19 cedures, or operations of the Federal Govern20 ment upon the declaration by the President of 

21 an emergency; or 

22 (D) any other document, briefing, or plan, 

23 regardless of whether the document, briefing, or 

24 plan exists in any tangible or written form, that 

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1 eral Government upon the declaration by the 

2 President of an emergency. 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Re5 forming Emergency Powers to Uphold the Balances and 

6 Limitations Inherent in the Constitution Act’’ or the ‘‘RE7 PUBLIC Act’’. 

8 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

9 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF NATIONAL EMERGENCIES 

Sec. 101. Congressional review of national emergencies. 

Sec. 102. Reporting requirements. 

Sec. 103. Exclusion of certain national emergencies invoking International Emergency Economic Powers Act. 

Sec. 104. Conforming amendments. 

Sec. 105. Effective date; applicability. 

TITLE II—LIMITATIONS ON EMERGENCY AUTHORITIES 

Sec. 201. Protections for United States persons with respect to use of authorities 

under International Emergency Economic Powers Act. 

Sec. 202. Exclusion of authority to impose duties and import quotas from International Emergency Economic Powers Act. 

Sec. 203. Presidential war powers under Communications Act of 1934. 

Sec. 204. Disclosure to Congress of presidential emergency action documents. 

10 TITLE I—CONGRESSIONAL RE11 VIEW OF NATIONAL EMER12 GENCIES 

13 SEC. 101. CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF NATIONAL EMER14 GENCIES. 

15 The National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.) 

16 is amended by inserting after title I the following: 


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1 ‘‘TITLE II—DECLARATIONS OF 

2 FUTURE NATIONAL EMER3 GENCIES 

4 ‘‘SEC. 201. DECLARATIONS OF NATIONAL EMERGENCIES. 

5 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO DECLARE NATIONAL EMER6 GENCIES.—With respect to Acts of Congress authorizing the 

7 exercise, during the period of a national emergency, of any 

8 special or extraordinary power, the President is authorized 

9 to declare such a national emergency by proclamation. Such 

10 proclamation shall immediately be transmitted to Congress 

11 and published in the Federal Register. 

12 ‘‘(b) SPECIFICATION OF PROVISIONS OF LAW TO BE

13 EXERCISED.—No powers or authorities made available by 

14 statute for use during the period of a national emergency 

15 shall be exercised unless and until the President specifies 

16 the provisions of law under which the President proposes 

17 that the President or other officers will act in— 

18 ‘‘(1) a proclamation declaring a national emer19 gency under subsection (a); or 

20 ‘‘(2) one or more Executive orders relating to the 

21 emergency published in the Federal Register and 

22 transmitted to Congress. 

23 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION ON SUBSEQUENT ACTIONS IF

24 EMERGENCIES NOT APPROVED.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) SUBSEQUENT DECLARATIONS.—If a joint 

2 resolution of approval is not enacted under section 

3 203 with respect to a national emergency before the 

4 expiration of the 30-day period described in section 

5 202(a), or with respect to a national emergency pro6 posed to be renewed under section 202(b), the Presi7 dent may not, during the remainder of the term of of8 fice of that President, declare a subsequent national 

9 emergency under subsection (a) with respect to the 

10 same circumstances. 

11 ‘‘(2) EXERCISE OF AUTHORITIES.—If a joint res12 olution of approval is not enacted under section 203 

13 with respect to a power or authority specified by the 

14 President in a proclamation under subsection (a) or 

15 an Executive order under subsection (b)(2) with re16 spect to a national emergency, the President may not, 

17 during the remainder of the term of office of that 

18 President, exercise that power or authority with re19 spect to that emergency. 

20 ‘‘(d) EFFECT OF FUTURE LAWS.—No law enacted 

21 after the date of the enactment of this Act shall supersede 

22 this title unless it does so in specific terms, referring to this 

23 title, and declaring that the new law supersedes the provi24 sions of this title. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 202. EFFECTIVE PERIODS OF NATIONAL EMER2 GENCIES. 

3 ‘‘(a) TEMPORARY EFFECTIVE PERIODS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A declaration of a national 

5 emergency shall remain in effect for a period of 30 

6 calendar days from the issuance of the proclamation 

7 under section 201(a) (not counting the day on which 

8 the proclamation was issued) and shall terminate 

9 when such period expires unless there is enacted into 

10 law a joint resolution of approval under section 203 

11 with respect to the proclamation. 

12 ‘‘(2) EXERCISE OF POWERS AND AUTHORITIES.— 

13 Any emergency power or authority made available 

14 under a provision of law specified pursuant to section 

15 201(b) may be exercised pursuant to a declaration of 

16 a national emergency for a period of 30 calendar 

17 days from the issuance of the proclamation or Execu18 tive order (not counting the day on which such proc19 lamation or Executive order was issued). That power 

20 or authority may not be exercised after such period 

21 expires unless there is enacted into law a joint resolu22 tion of approval under section 203 approving— 

23 ‘‘(A) the proclamation of the national emer24 gency or the Executive order; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the exercise of the power or authority 

2 specified by the President in such proclamation 

3 or Executive order. 

4 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION IF CONGRESS IS UNABLE TO

5 CONVENE.—If Congress is physically unable to con6 vene as a result of an armed attack upon the United 

7 States or another national emergency, the 30-day pe8 riods described in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall begin 

9 on the first day Congress convenes for the first time 

10 after the attack or other emergency. 

11 ‘‘(b) RENEWAL OF NATIONAL EMERGENCIES.—A na12 tional emergency declared by the President under section 

13 201(a) or previously renewed under this subsection, and not 

14 already terminated pursuant to subsection (a) or (c), shall 

15 terminate on the date that is one year after the President 

16 transmitted to Congress the proclamation declaring the 

17 emergency or Congress approved a previous renewal pursu18 ant to this subsection, unless— 

19 ‘‘(1) the President publishes in the Federal Reg20 ister and transmits to Congress an Executive order 

21 renewing the emergency; and 

22 ‘‘(2) there is enacted into law a joint resolution 

23 of approval renewing the emergency pursuant to sec24 tion 203 before the termination of the emergency or 

25 previous renewal of the emergency. 


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1 ‘‘(c) TERMINATION OF NATIONAL EMERGENCIES.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any national emergency de3 clared by the President under section 201(a) shall ter4 minate on the earliest of— 

5 ‘‘(A) the date provided for in subsection (a); 

6 ‘‘(B) the date provided for in subsection (b); 

7 ‘‘(C) the date specified in an Act of Con8 gress terminating the emergency; or 

9 ‘‘(D) the date specified in a proclamation of 

10 the President terminating the emergency. 

11 ‘‘(2) EFFECT OF TERMINATION.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Effective on the date of 

13 the termination of a national emergency under 

14 paragraph (1)— 

15 ‘‘(i) except as provided by subpara16 graph (B), any powers or authorities exer17 cised by reason of the emergency shall cease 

18 to be exercised; 

19 ‘‘(ii) any amounts reprogrammed or 

20 transferred under any provision of law with 

21 respect to the emergency that remain unob22 ligated on that date shall be returned and 

23 made available for the purpose for which 

24 such amounts were appropriated; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) any contracts entered into pur2 suant to authorities provided as a result of 

3 the emergency shall be terminated. 

4 ‘‘(B) SAVINGS PROVISION.—The termination 

5 of a national emergency shall not affect— 

6 ‘‘(i) any legal action taken or pending 

7 legal proceeding not finally concluded or de8 termined on the date of the termination 

9 under paragraph (1); 

10 ‘‘(ii) any legal action or legal pro11 ceeding based on any act committed prior 

12 to that date; or 

13 ‘‘(iii) any rights or duties that ma14 tured or penalties that were incurred prior 

15 to that date. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 203. REVIEW BY CONGRESS OF NATIONAL EMER17 GENCIES. 

18 ‘‘(a) JOINT RESOLUTION OF APPROVAL DEFINED.—In 

19 this section, the term ‘joint resolution of approval’ means 

20 a joint resolution that contains only the following provi21 sions after its resolving clause: 

22 ‘‘(1) A provision approving— 

23 ‘‘(A) a proclamation of a national emer24 gency made under section 201(a); 


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1 ‘‘(B) an Executive order issued under sec2 tion 201(b)(2); or 

3 ‘‘(C) an Executive order issued under sec4 tion 202(b). 

5 ‘‘(2) A provision approving a list of all or a por6 tion of the provisions of law specified by the President 

7 under section 201(b) in the proclamation or Executive 

8 order that is the subject of the joint resolution. 

9 ‘‘(b) PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDERATION OF JOINT

10 RESOLUTIONS OF APPROVAL.— 

11 ‘‘(1) INTRODUCTION.—After the President trans12 mits to Congress a proclamation declaring a national 

13 emergency under section 201(a), or an Executive 

14 order specifying emergency powers or authorities 

15 under section 201(b)(2) or renewing a national emer16 gency under section 202(b), a joint resolution of ap17 proval may be introduced in either House of Congress 

18 by any member of that House. 

19 ‘‘(2) REQUESTS TO CONVENE CONGRESS DURING

20 RECESSES.—If, when the President transmits to Con21 gress a proclamation declaring a national emergency 

22 under section 201(a), or an Executive order speci23 fying emergency powers or authorities under section 

24 201(b)(2) or renewing a national emergency under 

25 section 202(b), Congress has adjourned sine die or has 


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1 adjourned for any period in excess of 3 calendar days, 

2 the majority leader of the Senate and the Speaker of 

3 the House of Representatives, or their respective des4 ignees, acting jointly after consultation with and the 

5 concurrence of the minority leader of the Senate and 

6 the minority leader of the House, shall notify the 

7 Members of the Senate and House, respectively, to re8 assemble at such place and time as they may des9 ignate if, in their opinion, the public interest shall 

10 warrant it. 

11 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATION IN SENATE.—In the Sen12 ate, the following shall apply: 

13 ‘‘(A) REPORTING AND DISCHARGE.—If the 

14 committee to which a joint resolution of ap15 proval has been referred has not reported it at 

16 the end of 10 calendar days after its introduc17 tion, that committee shall be automatically dis18 charged from further consideration of the resolu19 tion and it shall be placed on the calendar. 

20 ‘‘(B) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDERATION.— 

21 Notwithstanding Rule XXII of the Standing 

22 Rules of the Senate, when the committee to which 

23 a joint resolution of approval is referred has re24 ported the resolution, or when that committee is 

25 discharged under subparagraph (A) from further 


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1 consideration of the resolution, it is at any time 

2 thereafter in order (even though a previous mo3 tion to the same effect has been disagreed to) for 

4 a motion to proceed to the consideration of the 

5 joint resolution, and all points of order against 

6 the joint resolution (and against consideration of 

7 the joint resolution) are waived. The motion to 

8 proceed is subject to 4 hours of debate divided 

9 equally between those favoring and those oppos10 ing the joint resolution of approval. The motion 

11 is not subject to amendment, or to a motion to 

12 postpone, or to a motion to proceed to the consid13 eration of other business. 

14 ‘‘(C) FLOOR CONSIDERATION.—A joint reso15 lution of approval shall be subject to 10 hours of 

16 consideration, to be divided evenly between the 

17 proponents and opponents of the resolution. 

18 ‘‘(D) AMENDMENTS.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

20 in clause (ii), no amendments shall be in 

21 order with respect to a joint resolution of 

22 approval. 

23 ‘‘(ii) AMENDMENTS TO STRIKE OR ADD

24 SPECIFIED PROVISIONS OF LAW.—Clause (i) 


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1 shall not apply with respect to any amend2 ment— 

3 ‘‘(I) to strike a provision or provi4 sions of law from the list required by 

5 subsection (a)(2); or 

6 ‘‘(II) to add to that list a provi7 sion or provisions of law specified by 

8 the President under section 201(b) in 

9 the proclamation or Executive order 

10 that is the subject of the joint resolu11 tion of approval. 

12 ‘‘(E) MOTION TO RECONSIDER FINAL

13 VOTE.—A motion to reconsider a vote on passage 

14 of a joint resolution of approval shall not be in 

15 order. 

16 ‘‘(F) APPEALS.—Points of order, including 

17 questions of relevancy, and appeals from the de18 cision of the Presiding Officer, shall be decided 

19 without debate. 

20 ‘‘(4) CONSIDERATION IN HOUSE OF REPRESENTA21 TIVES.—In the House of Representatives, the fol22 lowing shall apply: 

23 ‘‘(A) REPORTING AND DISCHARGE.—If the 

24 committee to which a joint resolution of ap25 proval has been referred has not reported it to 


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1 the House within 10 calendar days after the date 

2 of referral, such committee shall be discharged 

3 from further consideration of the joint resolution. 

4 ‘‘(B) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDERATION.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the 

6 third legislative day after the committee to 

7 which a joint resolution of approval has 

8 been referred reports it to the House or has 

9 been discharged from further consideration, 

10 and except as provided in clause (ii), it 

11 shall be in order to move to proceed to con12 sider the joint resolution in the House. The 

13 previous question shall be considered as or14 dered on the motion to its adoption without 

15 intervening motion. The motion shall not be 

16 debatable. A motion to reconsider the vote 

17 by which the motion is disposed of shall not 

18 be in order. 

19 ‘‘(ii) SUBSEQUENT MOTIONS TO PRO20 CEED TO JOINT RESOLUTION OF AP21 PROVAL.—A motion to proceed to consider a 

22 joint resolution of approval shall not be in 

23 order after the House has disposed of an24 other motion to proceed on that resolution. 


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1 ‘‘(C) FLOOR CONSIDERATION.—Upon adop2 tion of the motion to proceed in accordance with 

3 subparagraph (B)(i), the joint resolution of ap4 proval shall be considered as read. The previous 

5 question shall be considered as ordered on the 

6 joint resolution to final passage without inter7 vening motion except two hours of debate, which 

8 shall include debate on any amendments, equally 

9 divided and controlled by the sponsor of the joint 

10 resolution (or a designee) and an opponent. A 

11 motion to reconsider the vote on passage of the 

12 joint resolution shall not be in order. 

13 ‘‘(D) AMENDMENTS.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

15 in clause (ii), no amendments shall be in 

16 order with respect to a joint resolution of 

17 approval. 

18 ‘‘(ii) AMENDMENTS TO STRIKE OR ADD

19 SPECIFIED PROVISIONS OF LAW.—Clause (i) 

20 shall not apply with respect to any amend21 ment— 

22 ‘‘(I) to strike a provision or provi23 sions of law from the list required by 

24 subsection (a)(2); or 


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1 ‘‘(II) to add to that list a provi2 sion or provisions of law specified by 

3 the President under section 201(b) in 

4 the proclamation or Executive order 

5 that is the subject of the joint resolu6 tion. 

7 ‘‘(5) RECEIPT OF RESOLUTION FROM OTHER

8 HOUSE.—If, before passing a joint resolution of ap9 proval, one House receives from the other a joint reso10 lution of approval from the other House, then— 

11 ‘‘(A) the joint resolution of the other House 

12 shall not be referred to a committee and shall be 

13 deemed to have been discharged from committee 

14 on the day it is received; and 

15 ‘‘(B) the procedures set forth in paragraphs 

16 (3) and (4), as applicable, shall apply in the re17 ceiving House to the joint resolution received 

18 from the other House to the same extent as such 

19 procedures apply to a joint resolution of the re20 ceiving House. 

21 ‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The enactment of a 

22 joint resolution of approval under this section shall not be 

23 interpreted to serve as a grant or modification by Congress 

24 of statutory authority for the emergency powers of the Presi25 dent. 


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1 ‘‘(d) RULES OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE.—This sec2 tion is enacted by Congress— 

3 ‘‘(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 

4 the Senate and the House of Representatives, respec5 tively, and as such is deemed a part of the rules of 

6 each House, respectively, but applicable only with re7 spect to the procedure to be followed in the House in 

8 the case of joint resolutions described in this section, 

9 and supersedes other rules only to the extent that it 

10 is inconsistent with such other rules; and 

11 ‘‘(2) with full recognition of the constitutional 

12 right of either House to change the rules (so far as re13 lating to the procedure of that House) at any time, 

14 in the same manner, and to the same extent as in the 

15 case of any other rule of that House. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 204. APPLICABILITY. 

17 ‘‘This title shall apply to a national emergency pursu18 ant to which the President proposes to exercise emergency 

19 powers or authorities made available under any provision 

20 of law that is not a provision of law described in section 

21 604(a).’’. 

22 SEC. 102. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

23 Section 401 of the National Emergencies Act (50 

24 U.S.C. 1641) is amended— 

25 (1) in subsection (c)— 


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1 (A) in the first sentence by inserting ‘‘, and 

2 make publicly available’’ after ‘‘transmit to Con3 gress’’; and 

4 (B) in the second sentence by inserting ‘‘, 

5 and make publicly available,’’ before ‘‘a final re6 port’’; and 

7 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(d) REPORT ON EMERGENCIES.—The President shall 

9 transmit to the entities described in subsection (g), with any 

10 proclamation declaring a national emergency under section 

11 201(a) or any Executive order specifying emergency powers 

12 or authorities under section 201(b)(2) or renewing a na13 tional emergency under section 202(b), a report, in writing, 

14 that includes the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) A description of the circumstances necessi16 tating the declaration of a national emergency, the re17 newal of such an emergency, or the use of a new 

18 emergency authority specified in the Executive order, 

19 as the case may be. 

20 ‘‘(2) The estimated duration of the national 

21 emergency, or a statement that the duration of the 

22 national emergency cannot reasonably be estimated at 

23 the time of transmission of the report. 

24 ‘‘(3) A summary of the actions the President or 

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1 programming or transfer of funds, and the statutory 

2 authorities the President and such officers expect to 

3 rely on in addressing the national emergency. 

4 ‘‘(4) The total expenditures estimated to be in5 curred by the United States Government during such 

6 six-month period which are directly attributable to 

7 the exercise of powers and authorities conferred by 

8 such declaration. 

9 ‘‘(5) In the case of a renewal of a national emer10 gency, a summary of the actions the President or 

11 other officers have taken in the preceding one-year pe12 riod, including any reprogramming or transfer of 

13 funds, to address the emergency. 

14 ‘‘(e) PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO CONGRESS.—The 

15 President shall provide to the entities described in sub16 section (g) such other information as such entities may re17 quest in connection with any national emergency in effect 

18 under title II. 

19 ‘‘(f) PERIODIC REPORTS ON STATUS OF EMER20 GENCIES.—If the President declares a national emergency 

21 under section 201(a), the President shall, not less frequently 

22 than every 6 months for the duration of the emergency, re23 port to the entities described in subsection (g) on the status 

24 of the emergency, the total expenditures incurred by the 

25 United States Government, and the actions the President 


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1 or other officers have taken and authorities the President 

2 and such officers have relied on in addressing the emer3 gency. 

4 ‘‘(g) ENTITIES DESCRIBED.—The entities described in 

5 this subsection are— 

6 ‘‘(1) the Speaker of the House of Representatives; 

7 ‘‘(2) minority leader of the House of Representa8 tives; 

9 ‘‘(3) the Committee on Transportation and In10 frastructure of the House of Representatives; and 

11 ‘‘(4) the Committee on Homeland Security and 

12 Governmental Affairs of the Senate.’’. 

13 SEC. 103. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN NATIONAL EMER14 GENCIES INVOKING INTERNATIONAL EMER15 GENCY ECONOMIC POWERS ACT. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The National Emergencies Act (50 

17 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), as amended by this title, is further 

18 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘TITLE VI—DECLARATIONS OF 

2 CERTAIN EMERGENCIES IN3 VOKING INTERNATIONAL 

4 EMERGENCY ECONOMIC POW5 ERS ACT 

6 ‘‘SEC. 604. APPLICABILITY. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—This title shall apply to a na8 tional emergency pursuant to which the President proposes 

9 to exercise emergency powers or authorities made available 

10 under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act 

11 (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). 

12 ‘‘(b) EFFECT OF ADDITIONAL POWERS AND AUTHORI13 TIES.—This title shall not apply to a national emergency 

14 or the exercise of emergency powers and authorities pursu15 ant to the national emergency if, in addition to the exercise 

16 of emergency powers and authorities described in subsection 

17 (a), the President proposes to exercise, pursuant to the na18 tional emergency, any emergency powers and authorities 

19 under any other provision of law.’’. 

20 (b) TRANSFER.—Sections 201, 202, and 301 of the Na21 tional Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), as such 

22 sections appeared on the day before the date of the enact23 ment of this Act, are— 

24 (1) transferred to title VI of such Act (as added 

25 by subsection (a)); 


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1 (2) inserted before section 604 of such title (as 

2 added by subsection (a)); and 

3 (3) redesignated as sections 601, 602, and 603, 

4 respectively. 

5 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Title II of the Na6 tional Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), as such 

7 title appeared the day before the date of the enactment of 

8 this Act, is amended by striking the heading for such title. 

9 SEC. 104. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

10 (a) NATIONAL EMERGENCIES ACT.—Title III of the 

11 National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1631) is repealed. 

12 (b) INTERNATIONAL EMERGENCY ECONOMIC POWERS

13 ACT.—Section 207(b) of the International Emergency Eco14 nomic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1706) is amended by striking 

15 ‘‘concurrent resolution’’ each place it appears and inserting 

16 ‘‘joint resolution’’. 

17 SEC. 105. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—This title and the amendments 

19 made by this title shall— 

20 (1) take effect on the date of the enactment of 

21 this Act; and 

22 (2) except as provided in subsection (b), apply 

23 with respect to national emergencies declared under 

24 section 201 of the National Emergencies Act on or 

25 after such date. 


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1 (b) APPLICABILITY TO RENEWALS OF EXISTING EMER2 GENCIES.—With respect to a national emergency declared 

3 under section 201 of the National Emergencies Act before 

4 the date of the enactment of this Act that would expire or 

5 be renewed under section 202(d) of that Act (as in effect 

6 on the day before such date of enactment), that national 

7 emergency shall be subject to the requirements for renewal 

8 under section 202(b) of that Act, as amended by section 101. 

9 (c) SUPERSESSION.—This title and the amendments 

10 made by this title shall supersede title II of the National 

11 Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.) as such title was 

12 in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act. 

13 TITLE II—LIMITATIONS ON 

14 EMERGENCY AUTHORITIES 

15 SEC. 201. PROTECTIONS FOR UNITED STATES PERSONS 

16 WITH RESPECT TO USE OF AUTHORITIES 

17 UNDER INTERNATIONAL EMERGENCY ECO18 NOMIC POWERS ACT. 

19 The International Emergency Economic Powers Act 

20 (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) is amended by inserting after sec21 tion 203 the following: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 203A. PROTECTIONS FOR UNITED STATES PERSONS. 

23 ‘‘(a) LIMITATIONS FOR NECESSITIES.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided by para25 graph (2) and in accordance with this section, no auVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Dec 20, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S4373.RS S4373

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1 thority provided under section 203 may be exercised 

2 to target a United States person. 

3 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR ISSUANCE OF GENERAL LI4 CENSES.—An authority provided under section 203 

5 may be exercised to target a United States person if 

6 the President has, before using the authority, issued 

7 a general license that ensures that the United States 

8 person has sufficient access to the necessities of life, 

9 including food, nutritional support, water, shelter, 

10 clothing, sanitation, medicine, health care and other 

11 vital services, and gainful employment where nec12 essary to provide the United States person a means 

13 for subsistence. 

14 ‘‘(3) DUE PROCESS FOR UNITED STATES PER15 SONS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—When taking an action 

17 pursuant to authority provided by section 203 to 

18 target a United States person, the President 

19 shall— 

20 ‘‘(i) provide contemporaneous notice of 

21 the action to the United States person; 

22 ‘‘(ii) not later than one week after tak23 ing the action, provide the United States 

24 person with the record on which the decision 

25 to take the action was based, including an 


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1 unclassified summary, or a redacted 

2 version, of any classified information that 

3 provides the United States person with sub4 stantially the same ability to respond to 

5 that information as the classified informa6 tion; 

7 ‘‘(iii) provide the United States person 

8 with the opportunity to request review of 

9 the decision and to submit information in 

10 support of that request; 

11 ‘‘(iv) provide the United States person 

12 with the opportunity for an administrative 

13 hearing not later than 90 days after re14 questing a review under clause (iii), unless 

15 the United States person agrees to a longer 

16 period; and 

17 ‘‘(v) render a written decision on a re18 quest for review under clause (iii) not later 

19 than 90 days after the hearing under clause 

20 (iv), or, if no such hearing is requested, not 

21 later than 90 days after the later of— 

22 ‘‘(I) the request for review; or 

23 ‘‘(II) the submission of informa24 tion in support of that request. 


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1 ‘‘(B) FAILURE TO RENDER TIMELY DECI2 SION.—Failure to render a decision within the 

3 time frame specified in subparagraph (A)(v) 

4 shall be considered an agency action for purposes 

5 of section 702 of title 5, United States Code. 

6 ‘‘(b) WARRANT FOR SEIZURE OF PROPERTY OF

7 UNITED STATES PERSONS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—When taking an action pur9 suant to authority provided by section 203 to target 

10 a United States person, the President may not block 

11 or otherwise prevent the access of the United States 

12 person to property in which the United States person 

13 has an ownership interest except pursuant to a war14 rant issued using the procedures described in the Fed15 eral Rules of Criminal Procedure (or, in the case of 

16 a court-martial or other proceeding under the Uni17 form Code of Military Justice (chapter 47 of title 10, 

18 United States Code), issued under section 846 of title 

19 10, United States Code (article 46 of the Uniform 

20 Code of Military Justice), in accordance with regula21 tions prescribed by the President) by a court of com22 petent jurisdiction. 

23 ‘‘(2) DELAYED WARRANTS.—To the extent con24 sistent with the Fourth Amendment to the Constitu25 tion of the United States, a court shall permit the 


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1 temporary blocking of property under section 203 

2 without a warrant on an emergency basis, or use 

3 other means lawfully available to the court, to enable 

4 the Federal Government to identify the property that 

5 is subject to blocking while reducing the risk of prop6 erty flight. 

7 ‘‘(c) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A United States person that 

9 is the target of an action taken by the President pur10 suant to any authority provided under section 203 

11 may bring an action in a United States court of com12 petent jurisdiction, after exhaustion of any available 

13 administrative remedies, to obtain judicial review of 

14 the lawfulness of that action, including whether the 

15 action was authorized by the Executive order or or16 ders specifying the measures to be taken under section 

17 203 in response to a determination issued under sec18 tion 202. 

19 ‘‘(2) CONDUCT OF REVIEW.—In an action 

20 brought under paragraph (1)— 

21 ‘‘(A) the review of the court shall be de 

22 novo; 

23 ‘‘(B) any party may introduce evidence not 

24 included in the administrative record; 


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1 ‘‘(C) any administrative record or portions 

2 thereof may be entered into evidence, and ques3 tions of authentication or hearsay shall bear on 

4 the weight to be accorded the evidence rather 

5 than its admissibility; 

6 ‘‘(D) classified information shall be handled 

7 in accordance with the Classified Information 

8 Procedures Act (18 U.S.C. App.), except that ref9 erences to the ‘defendant’ in such Act shall be 

10 deemed to apply to the plaintiff; and 

11 ‘‘(E) the court shall have the authority to 

12 order injunctive relief, actual damages, and at13 torneys’ fees. 

14 ‘‘(3) OTHER MEANS OF REVIEW.—The avail15 ability of judicial review under this subsection shall 

16 not preclude other available means of judicial review, 

17 including under section 702 of title 5, United States 

18 Code, except that a person may not exercise the right 

19 to judicial review under more than one provision of 

20 law. 

21 ‘‘(d) UNITED STATES PERSON DEFINED.—In this sec22 tion, the term ‘United States person’ means— 

23 ‘‘(1) a United States national; or 

24 ‘‘(2) an entity— 


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1 ‘‘(A) organized under the laws of the United 

2 States or any jurisdiction within the United 

3 States; and 

4 ‘‘(B) in which more than 50 percent of the 

5 controlling interest is owned by a person de6 scribed in paragraph (1).’’. 

7 SEC. 202. EXCLUSION OF AUTHORITY TO IMPOSE DUTIES 

8 AND IMPORT QUOTAS FROM INTERNATIONAL 

9 EMERGENCY ECONOMIC POWERS ACT. 

10 Section 203 of the International Emergency Economic 

11 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702) is amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection 

13 (d); and 

14 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(c)(1) The authority granted to the President by this 

17 section does not include the authority to impose duties or 

18 tariff-rate quotas or (subject to paragraph (2)) other quotas 

19 on articles entering the United States. 

20 ‘‘(2) The limitation under paragraph (1) does not pro21 hibit the President from excluding all articles, or all of a 

22 certain type of article, imported from a country from enter23 ing the United States.’’. 


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1 SEC. 203. PRESIDENTIAL WAR POWERS UNDER COMMU2 NICATIONS ACT OF 1934. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 706 of the Communications 

4 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 606) is amended— 

5 (1) by striking subsections (c) through (g); and 

6 (2) by redesignating subsection (h) as subsection 

7 (c). 

8 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Sec9 tion 309(h) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

10 309(h)) is amended— 

11 (1) by inserting ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘(2)’’; and 

12 (2) by striking ‘‘Act;’’ and all that follows and 

13 inserting ‘‘Act.’’. 

14 SEC. 204. DISCLOSURE TO CONGRESS OF PRESIDENTIAL 

15 EMERGENCY ACTION DOCUMENTS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 days after the con17 clusion of the process for approval, adoption, or revision 

18 of any presidential emergency action document, the Presi19 dent shall submit that document to the appropriate congres20 sional committees. 

21 (b) DOCUMENTS IN EXISTENCE BEFORE DATE OF EN22 ACTMENT.—Not later than 15 days after the date of the en23 actment of this Act, the President shall submit to the appro24 priate congressional committees all presidential emergency 

25 action documents in existence before such date of enactment. 

26 (c) OVERSIGHT.— 


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1 (1) SENATE.—The Committee on Homeland Se2 curity and Governmental Affairs of the Senate shall 

3 have— 

4 (A) continuing legislative oversight jurisdic5 tion in the Senate with respect to the proposal, 

6 creation, implementation, and execution of presi7 dential emergency action documents; and 

8 (B) access to any and all presidential emer9 gency action documents. 

10 (2) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—The Com11 mittee on Oversight and Accountability of the House 

12 of Representatives shall have— 

13 (A) continuing legislative oversight jurisdic14 tion in the House of Representatives with respect 

15 to the proposal, creation, implementation, and 

16 execution of presidential emergency action docu17 ments; and 

18 (B) access to any and all presidential emer19 gency action documents. 

20 (3) DUTY TO COOPERATE.—All officers and em21 ployees of any Federal agency shall have the duty to 

22 cooperate with the exercise of oversight jurisdiction 

23 described in this subsection. 

24 (4) SECURITY CLEARANCES.—The chairpersons 

25 and ranking members of the appropriate congresVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Dec 20, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S4373.RS S4373

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1 sional committees, and designated staff of those com2 mittees, shall be granted all security clearances re3 quired to access, and granted access to, presidential 

4 emergency action documents, including under rel5 evant Presidential or agency special access and com6 partmented access programs. 

7 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT9 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit10 tees’’ means— 

11 (A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

12 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 

13 (B) the Committee on Oversight and Ac14 countability of the House of Representatives. 

15 (2) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal agen16 cy’’— 

17 (A) has the meaning given the term ‘‘agen18 cy’’ in section 552(f) of title 5, United States 

19 Code; and 

20 (B) includes the Executive Office of the 

21 President, the Executive Office of the Vice Presi22 dent, the Office of Management and Budget, and 

23 the National Security Council. 

24 (3) PRESIDENTIAL EMERGENCY ACTION DOCU25 MENT.—The term ‘‘presidential emergency action docVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Dec 20, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00055 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S4373.RS S4373

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1 ument’’ refers to any document created by any Fed2 eral agency before, on, or after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act, that is— 

4 (A) designated as a presidential emergency 

5 action document or presidential emergency ac6 tion directive; 

7 (B) designed to implement a presidential 

8 decision or transmit a presidential request when 

9 an emergency disrupts normal executive, legisla10 tive, judicial, or other Federal governmental 

11 processes; 

12 (C) a Presidential Policy Directive, regard13 less of whether the directive is available to the 

14 public, that triggers any change in policies, pro15 cedures, or operations of the Federal Government 

16 upon the declaration by the President of an 

17 emergency; or 

18 (D) any other document, briefing, or plan, 

19 regardless of whether the document, briefing, or 

20 plan exists in any tangible or written form, that 

21 triggers any change in operations of the Federal 

22 Government upon the declaration by the Presi23 dent of an emergency. 


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Calendar No. 736 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4373 

[Report No. 118–316] 

A BILL 

To provide for congressional approval of national 

emergency declarations. 

DECEMBER 19 (legislative day, DECEMBER 16), 2024 

Reported with an amendment 


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