IA 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. J. RES. 75 

To amend the War Powers Resolution. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 15, 2017 

Mr. DEFAZIO submitted the following joint resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on 

Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 

case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 

the committee concerned 

JOINT RESOLUTION 

To amend the War Powers Resolution. 

1 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives

2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘War Powers Amend5 ments of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REVISION OF WAR POWERS RESOLUTION. 

7 The War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1541–1548) 

8 is amended by striking out all after the resolving clause 

9 and inserting in lieu thereof the following: 


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1 ‘‘SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; PURPOSE; CONGRESSIONAL 

2 LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY. 

3 ‘‘(a) SHORT TITLE.—This joint resolution may be 

4 cited as the ‘War Powers Resolution’. 

5 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this joint resolu6 tion to fulfill the intent of the framers of the Constitution 

7 of the United States and ensure that the collective judg8 ment of both the Congress and the President will apply 

9 to— 

10 ‘‘(1) the introduction of the Armed Forces into 

11 hostilities; 

12 ‘‘(2) the continued use of the Armed Forces in 

13 hostilities; and 

14 ‘‘(3) the participation of the Armed Forces in 

15 certain military operations of the United Nations. 

16 ‘‘(c) CONGRESSIONAL LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY.— 

17 Among the powers granted to the Congress by the Con18 stitution are— 

19 ‘‘(1) the power to declare war; 

20 ‘‘(2) the power of the purse (‘No Money shall 

21 be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of 

22 Appropriations made by Law’); and 

23 ‘‘(3) the power to make all laws necessary and 

24 proper for carrying into execution not only its own 

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1 stitution in the Government of the United States, or 

2 in any department or officer thereof. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 2. EMERGENCY USES OF THE ARMED FORCES IN HOS4 TILITIES. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Armed Forces may be intro6 duced into hostilities only as follows: 

7 ‘‘(1) DECLARATION OF WAR.—Pursuant to a 

8 declaration of war by the Congress. 

9 ‘‘(2) SPECIFIC STATUTORY AUTHORIZATION.— 

10 In accordance with a specific statutory authoriza11 tion. 

12 ‘‘(3) ARMED ATTACK ON UNITED STATES.—To 

13 the extent necessary— 

14 ‘‘(A) to repel an armed attack upon the 

15 United States; 

16 ‘‘(B) to take necessary and appropriate re17 taliatory actions in the event of such an attack; 

18 or 

19 ‘‘(C) to forestall the direct and imminent 

20 threat of such an attack. 

21 ‘‘(4) ARMED ATTACK ON THE ARMED

22 FORCES.—To the extent necessary— 

23 ‘‘(A) to repel an armed attack against 

24 Armed Forces located outside the United 

25 States; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) to forestall the direct and imminent 

2 threat of such an attack. 

3 ‘‘(5) EVACUATION OF UNITED STATES CITI4 ZENS.—To the extent necessary to protect United 

5 States citizens or nationals while evacuating them as 

6 rapidly as possible from a situation, outside the 

7 United States, that directly and imminently threat8 ens their lives or liberty and— 

9 ‘‘(A) the threatened deprivation of life or 

10 liberty is contrary to international law or is oth11 erwise illegal; and 

12 ‘‘(B) in a case where the source of the 

13 threat is within a foreign country, the threat is 

14 supported by the government of that country or 

15 the government of that country is unable or un16 willing to control the situation. 

17 The President shall make every effort to terminate 

18 any such threat without using the Armed Forces. 

19 Before using the Armed Forces to protect United 

20 States citizens or nationals being evacuated from a 

21 foreign country in accordance with this paragraph, 

22 the President shall, where possible, obtain the con23 sent of the government of that country. 


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1 ‘‘(b) CONDITIONS ON EMERGENCY USE OF ARMED

2 FORCES.—Any use of the Armed Forces in accordance 

3 with paragraph (3), (4), or (5) of subsection (a)— 

4 ‘‘(1) is subject to the requirements of sections 

5 3, 4, and 5; and 

6 ‘‘(2) shall be limited, in terms of the Armed 

7 Forces which are used and the manner in which they 

8 are used, to such use as is essential in order to 

9 achieve the purpose described in that paragraph. 

10 ‘‘(c) FUNDING LIMITATION.—Funds appropriated or 

11 otherwise made available under any law may not be obli12 gated or expended for any introduction, other than an in13 troduction described in subsection (a), of the Armed 

14 Forces into hostilities. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 3. CONSULTATION BETWEEN THE PRESIDENT AND 

16 CONGRESS. 

17 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENTS FOR CONSULTATION.—(1) The 

18 President, in every possible instance, shall consult with the 

19 Congress before the Armed Forces are introduced into 

20 hostilities in accordance with paragraph (3), (4), or (5) 

21 of section 2(a). After every such introduction, the Presi22 dent shall consult regularly with the Congress until the 

23 Armed Forces are no longer in hostilities. 

24 ‘‘(2) The President, in every possible instance, shall 

25 consult with the Congress— 


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1 ‘‘(A) before Armed Forces are introduced into 

2 the territory, airspace, or waters of a foreign country 

3 while equipped for combat, except for deployments 

4 which relate solely to supply, replacement, repair, or 

5 training of such forces; 

6 ‘‘(B) before Armed Forces are introduced into 

7 the territory, airspace, or waters of a foreign country 

8 in which there are already Armed Forces equipped 

9 for combat if such introduction would substantially 

10 enlarge the number of Armed Forces equipped for 

11 combat located in that country or otherwise substan12 tially increase the military capabilities of such 

13 forces; or 

14 ‘‘(C) before committing Armed Forces to an op15 eration authorized by the United Nations Security 

16 Council under chapter VII of the United Nations 

17 Charter. 

18 ‘‘(b) EXECUTIVE-LEGISLATIVE CONSULTATIVE

19 GROUP.—The consultation required by subsection (a) 

20 shall include participation by— 

21 ‘‘(1) the President and those senior executive 

22 branch officials designated by the President; 

23 ‘‘(2) an equal number of Members of the House 

24 of Representatives designated by— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the Speaker of the House of Rep2 resentatives; and 

3 ‘‘(B) the Minority Leader of the House of 

4 Representatives; and 

5 ‘‘(3) an equal number of Members of the Sen6 ate designated— 

7 ‘‘(A) by the President pro tempore of the 

8 Senate; and 

9 ‘‘(B) the Minority Leader of the Senate. 

10 ‘‘(c) WHAT CONSULTATION REQUIRES.—In order to 

11 satisfy the consultation requirement of this section, the 

12 President must ask Members of Congress for their advice 

13 and opinions before the decision is made to introduce the 

14 Armed Forces. Such consultation requires that all infor15 mation relevant to the situation must be made available 

16 to the Members of Congress being consulted. The con17 sultation requirement of this section is not met, however, 

18 if the Congress is merely informed about the situation. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 4. REPORTS TO THE CONGRESS. 

20 ‘‘(a) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—The President 

21 shall submit the report described in subsection (b) within 

22 48 hours after the Armed Forces are introduced into hos23 tilities in accordance with paragraph (3), (4), or (5) of 

24 section 2(a). 


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1 ‘‘(b) DESCRIPTION OF REPORT REQUIRED.—The re2 port required by subsection (a) is a written report sub3 mitted by the President to the Speaker and Minority 

4 Leader of the House of Representatives and the President 

5 pro tempore and Minority Leader of the Senate on the 

6 same calendar day, setting forth— 

7 ‘‘(1) the circumstances necessitating the intro8 duction of the Armed Forces; 

9 ‘‘(2) the specific constitutional and legislative 

10 authority under which such introduction took place; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(3) the estimated scope and duration of the 

13 hostilities or the involvement of the Armed Forces, 

14 as the case may be. 

15 Any such report shall state expressly that it is being sub16 mitted pursuant to this section. 

17 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—The President 

18 shall provide such other information as the Congress may 

19 request in the fulfillment of its constitutional responsibil20 ities with respect to committing the Nation to war and 

21 to the use of the Armed Forces abroad. 

22 ‘‘(d) CONTINUING REPORTS.—Whenever the Armed 

23 Forces are introduced into hostilities the President shall, 

24 so long as the Armed Forces continue to be involved in 

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1 cally on the status of such hostilities as well as on the 

2 scope and estimated duration of such hostilities, but in 

3 no event shall the President report to the Congress less 

4 often than once every six months. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 5. CONGRESSIONAL ACTION WITH RESPECT TO HOS6 TILITIES. 

7 ‘‘(a) RECEIPT OF SECTION 4(a) REPORT.—Each re8 port submitted pursuant to section 4(a) shall be referred 

9 to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep10 resentatives and to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

11 of the Senate for appropriate action. If, when the report 

12 is transmitted, the Congress has adjourned sine die or has 

13 adjourned for any period in excess of three calendar days, 

14 the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 

15 President pro tempore of the Senate, if they deem it advis16 able (or if they are petitioned by at least 30 percent of 

17 the membership of their respective Houses) shall jointly 

18 request the President to convene the Congress in order 

19 that it may consider the report and take appropriate ac20 tion pursuant to this section. 

21 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENT FOR SPECIFIC STATUTORY AU22 THORIZATION FOR CONTINUED INVOLVEMENT.—Within 

23 60 calendar days after the Armed Forces are introduced 

24 into hostilities in accordance with paragraph (3), (4), or 


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1 (5) of section 2(a), the President shall remove the Armed 

2 Forces from those hostilities unless the Congress— 

3 ‘‘(1) has declared war; 

4 ‘‘(2) has enacted a joint resolution providing 

5 specific authorization for such use of the Armed 

6 Forces; 

7 ‘‘(3) has extended by law such 60-day period; or 

8 ‘‘(4) is physically unable to meet as a result of 

9 an armed attack upon the United States. 

10 This 60-day period shall be extended for not more than 

11 an additional 30 days if the President determines and cer12 tifies to the Congress in writing that unavoidable military 

13 necessity respecting the safety of the Armed Forces re14 quires the continued use of the Armed Forces in the 

15 course of bringing about their prompt removal from hos16 tilities. 

17 ‘‘(c) FUNDING LIMITATION.—Unless one of the num18 bered paragraphs of subsection (b) applies, after the expi19 ration of the period specified in that subsection (including 

20 any extension of that period in accordance with that sub21 section), funds appropriated or otherwise made available 

22 under any law may not be obligated or expended to con23 tinue the involvement of the Armed Forces in the hos24 tilities. This subsection does not, however, prohibit the use 

25 of funds to remove the Armed Forces from hostilities. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 6. CONGRESSIONAL EXPEDITED PROCEDURES. 

2 ‘‘(a) RESOLUTIONS SUBJECT TO PROCEDURES.—As 

3 used in this section, the term ‘privileged resolution’ means 

4 a joint resolution— 

5 ‘‘(1) that provides specific authorization for the 

6 use of the Armed Forces in hostilities, so long as 

7 that resolution contains only provisions which are 

8 relevant to those hostilities; and 

9 ‘‘(2) that is introduced after the President has 

10 submitted a written request to the Congress for en11 actment of such an authorization with respect to 

12 those or related hostilities. 

13 ‘‘(b) PROCEDURE IN HOUSE OF REPRESENTA14 TIVES.—(1) This subsection applies to the consideration 

15 of a privileged resolution in the House of Representatives. 

16 ‘‘(2) A privileged resolution introduced in the House 

17 of Representatives shall be referred, upon introduction, to 

18 the Committee on Foreign Affairs. A privileged resolution 

19 shall not be sequentially referred. 

20 ‘‘(3)(A) If, at the end of 10 calendar days after the 

21 introduction of a privileged resolution, the Committee on 

22 Foreign Affairs has not reported that resolution, that 

23 committee shall be discharged from further consideration 

24 of that resolution and that resolution shall be considered 

25 a privileged resolution and placed on the appropriate cal26 endar of the House. 


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1 ‘‘(B) After a privileged resolution has been placed on 

2 the appropriate calendar, no other resolution with respect 

3 to the same or related hostilities may be reported by or 

4 be discharged from any committee under this subsection 

5 while the first resolution— 

6 ‘‘(i) is before the House of Representatives (in7 cluding remaining on the calendar); 

8 ‘‘(ii) is before the Senate (including remaining 

9 on the calendar) unless the Senate has had a vote 

10 on final passage with respect to the resolution and 

11 a majority of those voting did not vote in the affirm12 ative; 

13 ‘‘(iii) is before a committee of conference or 

14 otherwise awaiting disposition of amendments be15 tween the Houses; or 

16 ‘‘(iv) is awaiting transmittal to the President or 

17 is before the President. 

18 ‘‘(4)(A)(i) At any time after a privileged resolution 

19 has been placed on the appropriate calendar, it is in order 

20 for any Member of the House of Representatives to move 

21 that the House resolve itself into the Committee of the 

22 Whole House on the State of the Union for the consider23 ation of that resolution. The motion is highly privileged. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) The motion under clause (i) is in order even if 

2 a previous motion to the same effect has been disagreed 

3 to. 

4 ‘‘(B) All points of order against a privileged resolu5 tion and consideration of the resolution are waived. If the 

6 motion under subparagraph (A) is agreed to, the privi7 leged resolution shall remain the unfinished business of 

8 the House until disposed of, to the exclusion of all other 

9 business, except as provided in paragraph (5)(A). A mo10 tion to reconsider the vote by which the motion described 

11 in subparagraph (A) is disagreed to is not in order. 

12 ‘‘(C) General debate on a privileged resolution shall 

13 not exceed 4 hours, which shall be divided equally between 

14 a Member favoring and a Member opposing the resolution. 

15 ‘‘(D)(i) At the conclusion of general debate, a privi16 leged resolution shall be considered for amendment under 

17 the 5-minute rule. 

18 ‘‘(ii) Debate on all amendments shall not exceed 12 

19 hours. After the expiration of that period, no further 

20 amendments shall be in order. 

21 ‘‘(iii) Except as provided in the next sentence, debate 

22 on each amendment, and any amendments thereto, shall 

23 not exceed one hour. If the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

24 reports an amendment in the nature of a substitute to the 

25 text of a privileged resolution, that amendment shall be 


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1 considered to be original text for purposes of amendment 

2 and debate on each amendment to that amendment, and 

3 any amendments thereto, shall not exceed one hour. 

4 ‘‘(E) At the conclusion of consideration of amend5 ments to a privileged resolution, the Committee of the 

6 Whole shall rise and report the resolution back to the 

7 House, and the previous question shall be considered as 

8 ordered on the resolution, with any amendments adopted 

9 in the Committee of the Whole, to final passage without 

10 intervening motion, except one motion to recommit with 

11 or without instructions. 

12 ‘‘(5)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), if, 

13 before the passage by the House of Representatives of a 

14 privileged resolution of the House, the House receives a 

15 privileged resolution from the Senate with respect to the 

16 same or related hostilities, then the following procedures 

17 shall apply: 

18 ‘‘(i) The resolution of the Senate shall not be 

19 referred to a committee. 

20 ‘‘(ii) With respect to the privileged resolution of 

21 the House— 

22 ‘‘(I) the procedure in the House shall be 

23 the same as if no resolution had been received 

24 from the Senate; but 


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1 ‘‘(II) the vote on final passage shall be on 

2 the resolution of the Senate (if the resolutions 

3 are identical), or on the resolution of the Senate 

4 (if they are not identical) with the text of the 

5 resolution of the House inserted in lieu of the 

6 text of the resolution of the Senate; and the 

7 vote on final passage shall occur without debate 

8 or any intervening action. 

9 ‘‘(iii) Upon disposition of a privileged resolution 

10 received from the Senate, consideration of the privi11 leged resolution of the House shall no longer be priv12 ileged under this section. 

13 ‘‘(B) If the House receives from the Senate a privi14 leged resolution before any privileged resolution is intro15 duced in the House with respect to the same or related 

16 hostilities, then the resolution of the Senate shall be re17 ferred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the pro18 cedures in the House with respect to that resolution shall 

19 be the same under this subsection as if the resolution re20 ceived had been introduced in the House. 

21 ‘‘(C) If the House receives from the Senate a privi22 leged resolution after the House has disposed of an iden23 tical privileged resolution, it shall be in order to proceed 

24 by a highly privileged, nondebatable motion to consider25 ation of the resolution of the Senate, and that resolution 


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1 shall be disposed of without debate and without amend2 ment. 

3 ‘‘(6) A motion to disagree to amendments of the Sen4 ate to a privileged resolution of the House and request 

5 or agree to a conference with the Senate, or a motion to 

6 insist on the House amendments to a privileged resolution 

7 of the Senate and request or agree to a conference of the 

8 Senate, is highly privileged. 

9 ‘‘(7)(A) If the conferees are unable to agree on resolv10 ing the differences between the two Houses with respect 

11 to a privileged resolution within 72 hours after the second 

12 House is notified that the first House has agreed to con13 ference, they shall report back to their respective House 

14 in disagreement. 

15 ‘‘(B) Notwithstanding any rule of the House of Rep16 resentatives concerning the printing of conference reports 

17 in the Congressional Record or concerning any delay in 

18 the consideration of such reports, a conference report with 

19 respect to a privileged resolution, including a report filed 

20 in disagreement, shall be acted on in the House of Rep21 resentatives not later than 2 session days after the first 

22 House files the report or, in the case of the House acting 

23 first, the report has been available for 2 hours. The con24 ference report (and any amendment reported in disagree25 ment) shall be deemed to have been read. Debate on such 


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1 a conference report shall be limited to 3 hours, equally 

2 divided between, and controlled by the Majority Leader 

3 and the Minority Leader (or their designees). 

4 ‘‘(C) As used in subparagraph (B), the term ‘session 

5 day’ means a day on which the House of Representatives 

6 convenes. 

7 ‘‘(8) This subsection is enacted by the House of Rep8 resentatives— 

9 ‘‘(A) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 

10 the House of Representatives, and as such it is 

11 deemed a part of the Rules of the House, but appli12 cable only with respect to the procedure to be fol13 lowed in the House in the case of a privileged resolu14 tion, and it supersedes other rules only to the extent 

15 that it is inconsistent with such rules; and 

16 ‘‘(B) with full recognition of the constitutional 

17 right of the House to change its rules (so far as re18 lating to the procedure of the House) at any time, 

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

20 the case of any other rule of the House. 

21 ‘‘(c) PROCEDURES IN THE SENATE.—(1) This sub22 section applies to the consideration of a privileged resolu23 tion in the Senate. 

24 ‘‘(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘ses25 sion days’ means days on which the Senate is in session. 


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1 ‘‘(3) A privileged resolution introduced in the Senate 

2 shall be referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. 

3 ‘‘(4)(A) If the Committee on Foreign Relations has 

4 not reported a privileged resolution (or an identical resolu5 tion) at the end of 7 calendar days after the introduction 

6 of that resolution, that committee shall be discharged from 

7 further consideration of that resolution, and that resolu8 tion shall be placed on the appropriate calendar of the 

9 Senate. 

10 ‘‘(B) After a committee reports or is discharged from 

11 a privileged resolution, no other resolution with respect to 

12 the same or related hostilities may be reported by or be 

13 discharged from such committee while the first resolu14 tion— 

15 ‘‘(i) is before the Senate (including remaining 

16 on the calendar); 

17 ‘‘(ii) is before the House of Representatives (in18 cluding remaining on the calendar), unless the 

19 House has had a vote on final passage with respect 

20 to the resolution and a majority of those voting did 

21 not vote in the affirmative; 

22 ‘‘(iii) is before a committee of conference or 

23 otherwise awaiting disposition of amendments be24 tween the Houses; or 


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1 ‘‘(iv) is awaiting transmittal to the President or 

2 is before the President. 

3 ‘‘(5)(A)(i) When the committee to which a privileged 

4 resolution is referred has reported, or has been discharged 

5 under paragraph (4) from further consideration of that 

6 resolution, it is at any time thereafter in order (even 

7 though a previous motion to the same effect has been dis8 agreed to) for any Member of the Senate to move to pro9 ceed to the consideration of the resolution, notwith10 standing any rule or precedent of the Senate, including 

11 Rule 22. Except as provided in clause (ii) of this subpara12 graph or subparagraph (B) of this paragraph (insofar as 

13 it relates to germaneness and relevancy of amendments), 

14 all points of order against a privileged resolution and con15 sideration of the resolution are waived. The motion is priv16 ileged and is not debatable. The motion is not subject to 

17 a motion to postpone. A motion to reconsider the vote by 

18 which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to shall be in 

19 order, except that such motion may not be entered for fu20 ture disposition. If a motion to proceed to the consider21 ation of a privileged resolution is agreed to, the resolution 

22 shall remain the unfinished business of the Senate, to the 

23 exclusion of all other business, until disposed of, except 

24 as otherwise provided in paragraph (6)(A). 


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1 ‘‘(ii) Whenever a point of order is raised in the Senate 

2 against the privileged status of a resolution that has been 

3 laid before the Senate and been initially identified as privi4 leged for consideration under this subsection upon its in5 troduction, such point of order shall be submitted directly 

6 to the Senate. The point of order, ‘The resolution is not 

7 privileged under the War Powers Resolution’, shall be de8 cided by the yeas and the nays after four hours of debate, 

9 equally divided between, and controlled by, the Member 

10 raising the point of order and the manager of the resolu11 tion, except that in the event the manager is in favor of 

12 such point of order, the time in opposition thereto shall 

13 be controlled by the Minority Leader or his designee. Such 

14 point of order shall not be considered to establish prece15 dent for determination of future cases. 

16 ‘‘(B)(i) Consideration in the Senate of a privileged 

17 resolution, and all amendments and debatable motions in 

18 connection therewith, shall be limited to not more than 

19 12 hours, which, except as otherwise provided in this sub20 section, shall be equally divided between, and controlled 

21 by, the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader, or by 

22 their designees. The Majority Leader or the Minority 

23 Leader or their designees may, from the time under their 

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1 ator during the consideration of any amendment, debat2 able motion, or appeal. 

3 ‘‘(ii) Only amendments which are germane and rel4 evant to a privileged resolution are in order. 

5 ‘‘(iii) Debate on any amendment to a privileged reso6 lution shall be limited to two hours, except that this limita7 tion does not apply to an amendment in the nature of a 

8 substitute to the text of the resolution that is reported 

9 by the Committee on Foreign Relations. Debate on any 

10 amendment to an amendment shall be limited to 1 hour. 

11 ‘‘(iv) The time of debate for each amendment shall 

12 be equally divided between, and controlled by, the mover 

13 of the amendment and the manager of the resolution, ex14 cept that in the event the manager is in favor of any such 

15 amendment, the time in opposition thereto shall be con16 trolled by the Minority Leader or his designee. 

17 ‘‘(v) One amendment by the Minority Leader is in 

18 order to be offered under a 1-hour time limitation imme19 diately following the expiration of the 12-hour time limita20 tion if the Minority Leader has had no opportunity prior 

21 thereto to offer an amendment to the privileged resolution. 

22 One amendment may be offered to the amendment of the 

23 Minority Leader under the preceding sentence, and debate 

24 shall be limited on such amendment to one-half hour which 

25 shall be equally divided between, and controlled by, the 


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1 mover of the amendment and the manager of the resolu2 tion, except that in the event the manager is in favor of 

3 any such amendment, the time in opposition thereto shall 

4 be controlled by the Minority Leader or his designee. 

5 ‘‘(vi) A motion to postpone or a motion to recommit 

6 a privileged resolution is not in order. A motion to recon7 sider the vote by which a privileged resolution is agreed 

8 to or disagreed to is in order, except that such motion 

9 may not be entered for future disposition, and debate on 

10 such motion shall be limited to 1 hour. 

11 ‘‘(C) Whenever all the time for debate on a privileged 

12 resolution has been used or yielded back, no further 

13 amendments may be proposed, except as provided in sub14 paragraph (B)(iii), and the vote on the adoption of the 

15 resolution shall occur without any intervening motion or 

16 amendment, except that a single quorum call at the con17 clusion of the debate if requested in accordance with the 

18 Rules of the Senate may occur immediately before such 

19 vote. 

20 ‘‘(D) Appeals from the decisions of the Chair relating 

21 to the application of the Rules of the Senate to the proce22 dure relating to a privileged resolution shall be limited to 

23 one-half hour of debate, equally divided between, and con24 trolled by, the Member making the appeal and the man25 ager of the resolution, except that in the event the manVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:17 Feb 16, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HJ75.IH HJ75

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1 ager is in favor of any such appeal, the time in opposition 

2 thereto shall be controlled by the Minority Leader or his 

3 designee. 

4 ‘‘(6)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), if, 

5 before the passage by the Senate of a privileged resolution 

6 of the Senate, the Senate receives a privileged resolution 

7 from the House of Representatives with respect to the 

8 same or related hostilities, then the following procedures 

9 shall apply: 

10 ‘‘(i) The privileged resolution of the House of 

11 Representatives shall not be referred to a committee. 

12 ‘‘(ii) With respect to the privileged resolution of 

13 the Senate— 

14 ‘‘(I) the procedure in the Senate shall be 

15 the same as if no resolution had been received 

16 from the House of Representatives; but 

17 ‘‘(II) the resolution of the House of Rep18 resentatives shall be considered to have been 

19 read for the third time; the vote on final pas20 sage shall be on the resolution of the House of 

21 Representatives (if such resolutions are iden22 tical) or on the resolution of the House of Rep23 resentatives (if not identical), with the text of 

24 the resolution of the Senate inserted in lieu of 

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1 resentatives; and such vote on final passage 

2 shall occur without debate or any intervening 

3 action. 

4 ‘‘(iii) Upon disposition of a privileged resolution 

5 received from the House of Representatives, it shall 

6 no longer be in order to consider the resolution origi7 nated in the Senate. 

8 ‘‘(B) If the Senate receives a privileged resolution 

9 from the House of Representatives before any privileged 

10 resolution is introduced in the Senate with respect to the 

11 same or related hostilities, then the resolution received 

12 shall be referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations, 

13 and the procedures in the Senate with respect to that reso14 lution shall be the same under this section as if the resolu15 tion received had been introduced in the Senate. 

16 ‘‘(7) If the Senate receives a privileged resolution 

17 from the House of Representatives after the Senate has 

18 disposed of an identical privileged resolution, it shall be 

19 in order to proceed by nondebatable motion to consider20 ation of the resolution received by the Senate, and that 

21 resolution shall be disposed of without debate and without 

22 amendment. 

23 ‘‘(8)(A)(i) The time for debate in the Senate on all 

24 motions required for the disposition of amendments be25 tween the Houses shall not exceed 2 hours, equally divided 


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1 between, and controlled by, the mover of the motion and 

2 the manager of the resolution at each stage of the pro3 ceedings between the two Houses, except that in the event 

4 the manager is in favor of any such motion, the time in 

5 opposition thereto shall be controlled by the Minority 

6 Leader or his designee. In the case of any disagreement 

7 between the two Houses of Congress with respect to a 

8 privileged resolution which is not resolved, any Senator 

9 may make any motion or motions referred to in this clause 

10 within 2 session days after action by the second House 

11 or before the appointment of conferees, whichever comes 

12 first. 

13 ‘‘(ii) In the event the conferees are unable to agree 

14 within 72 hours after the second House is notified that 

15 the first House has agreed to conference, they shall report 

16 back to their respective House in disagreement. 

17 ‘‘(iii) Notwithstanding any rule in the Senate con18 cerning the printing of conference reports in the Congres19 sional Record or concerning any delay in the consideration 

20 of such reports, such report, including a report filed or 

21 returned in disagreement, shall be acted on in the Senate 

22 not later than 2 session days after the first House files 

23 the report or, in the case of the Senate acting first, the 

24 report is first made available on the desks of the Senators. 

25 Debate in the Senate on a conference report or a report 


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1 filed or returned in disagreement on any such resolution 

2 shall be limited to 3 hours, equally divided between, and 

3 controlled by, the Majority Leader and the Minority Lead4 er, and their designees. 

5 ‘‘(B) If a privileged resolution is vetoed by the Presi6 dent, the time for debate in consideration of the veto mes7 sage on such measure shall be limited to 20 hours in the 

8 Senate, equally divided between, and controlled by, the 

9 Majority Leader and the Minority Leader, and their des10 ignees. 

11 ‘‘(9) This subsection is enacted by the Senate— 

12 ‘‘(A) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 

13 the Senate, as such it is deemed a part of the Rules 

14 of the Senate but applicable only with respect to the 

15 procedure to be followed in the Senate in the case 

16 of a privileged resolution, and it supersedes other 

17 rules only to the extent that it is inconsistent with 

18 such rules; and 

19 ‘‘(B) with full recognition of the constitutional 

20 right of the Senate to change its rules (so far as re21 lating to the procedure of the Senate) at any time, 

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

23 the case of any other rule of the Senate. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 7. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

2 ‘‘(a) STANDING OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.—Any 

3 Member of Congress may bring an action in the United 

4 States District Court for the District of Columbia for de5 claratory judgment and injunctive relief on the ground 

6 that the President or the Armed Forces have not complied 

7 with any provision of this joint resolution. 

8 ‘‘(b) JUSTICIABILITY.—In any action described in 

9 subsection (a), the court shall not decline to make a deter10 mination on the merits on the ground that the issue of 

11 compliance is a political question or is otherwise nonjus12 ticiable. 

13 ‘‘(c) CONGRESSIONAL INTENT.—Notwithstanding the 

14 number, position, or party affiliation of any plaintiffs in 

15 an action described in subsection (a), it is the intent of 

16 the Congress that the court— 

17 ‘‘(1) infer congressional disapproval of the in18 volvement of the Armed Forces in hostilities; and 

19 ‘‘(2) find that an impasse exists between the 

20 Congress and the executive branch which requires 

21 judicial resolution. 

22 ‘‘(d) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION.—Any court in 

23 which an action described in subsection (a) is heard shall 

24 accord such action the highest priority and shall announce 

25 its judgment as speedily as the requirements of article III 

26 of the Constitution permit. 


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1 ‘‘(e) JUDICIAL REMEDY.—(1) If the court in an ac2 tion described in subsection (a) finds that the President 

3 has failed to submit a report required by section 4(a) of 

4 this joint resolution, the court shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) direct the President to submit that report; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(B) specify the date on which the Armed 

8 Forces were introduced into hostilities. 

9 ‘‘(2) If the court in an action described in subsection 

10 (a) finds that section 2 or section 5(b) of this joint resolu11 tion has been violated, the court shall direct the President 

12 to remove the Armed Forces from the hostilities. The 

13 Armed Forces shall be removed pursuant to the court’s 

14 order— 

15 ‘‘(A) immediately; or 

16 ‘‘(B) if the President determines and certifies 

17 to the Congress in writing that unavoidable military 

18 necessity respecting the safety of the Armed Forces 

19 requires the continued use of the Armed Forces in 

20 the course of bringing about their prompt removal 

21 from hostilities, within a period not to exceed 30 

22 days after the order is issued. 

23 ‘‘(f) APPEALS.—Any judgment in an action described 

24 in subsection (a) shall be directly appealable to the United 

25 States Supreme Court. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 8. RULES OF INTERPRETATION. 

2 ‘‘(a) OTHER STATUTES AND TREATIES.—Authority 

3 to introduce the Armed Forces into hostilities shall not 

4 be inferred— 

5 ‘‘(1) from any provision of law (including any 

6 provision in effect before the date of enactment of 

7 this joint resolution), including any provision con8 tained in any appropriation Act, unless that provi9 sion specifically authorizes the introduction of the 

10 Armed Forces into hostilities and states that it is in11 tended to constitute specific statutory authorization 

12 within the meaning of this joint resolution; or 

13 ‘‘(2) from any treaty heretofore or hereafter 

14 ratified unless that treaty is implemented by legisla15 tion specifically authorizing the introduction of the 

16 Armed Forces into hostilities and stating that it is 

17 intended to constitute specific statutory authoriza18 tion within the meaning of this joint resolution. 

19 ‘‘(b) CONGRESSIONAL ACTION OR INACTION.—The 

20 failure of the Congress to adopt a measure— 

21 ‘‘(1) terminating, limiting, or prohibiting the in22 volvement of the Armed Forces in hostilities; or 

23 ‘‘(2) finding that the President or the Armed 

24 Forces are acting in violation of this joint resolution, 

25 may not be construed as indicating congressional author26 ization or approval of, or acquiescence in, the involvement 


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1 of the Armed Forces in any hostilities or as a finding by 

2 the Congress that such involvement is consistent with this 

3 joint resolution. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS. 

5 ‘‘For purposes of this joint resolution, the following 

6 definitions apply: 

7 ‘‘(1) ARMED FORCES.—The term ‘Armed 

8 Forces’ means the armed forces of the United 

9 States. 

10 ‘‘(2) HOSTILITIES.—The term ‘hostilities’ in11 cludes a situation where overt acts of warfare are 

12 taking place, such as— 

13 ‘‘(A) the exchange of fire between regular 

14 or irregular military forces; or 

15 ‘‘(B) the aerial or naval bombardment of 

16 military or civilian targets by regular or irreg17 ular military forces, 

18 regardless of whether the Armed Forces are partici19 pating in the exchange of fire or the bombardment. 

20 ‘‘(3) INTRODUCE.—The term ‘introduce’ in21 cludes— 

22 ‘‘(A) any commitment, engagement, or 

23 other involvement of the Armed Forces in hos24 tilities, including the taking of self-defense 


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1 measures by the Armed Forces in response to 

2 an attack or threatened attack; 

3 ‘‘(B) the assigning or detailing of members 

4 of the Armed Forces to command, coordinate, 

5 participate in the movement of, accompany, or 

6 provide logistical support or training for any 

7 foreign regular or irregular military forces if 

8 those forces are involved in hostilities (regard9 less of whether those hostilities involve insur10 gent forces or the military forces of a foreign 

11 country); and 

12 ‘‘(C) the assigning or detailing of members 

13 of the Armed Forces to an operation authorized 

14 by the United Nations Security Council under 

15 chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. 

16 ‘‘(4) UNITED STATES; COUNTRY.—The terms 

17 ‘United States’ and ‘country’, when used in a geo18 graphic sense, include territories and possessions. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 10. SEPARABILITY CLAUSE. 

20 ‘‘If any provision of this joint resolution or the appli21 cation thereof to any person or circumstance is held in22 valid, the remainder of the joint resolution and the appli23 cation of such provision to any other person or cir24 cumstance shall not be affected thereby.’’. 

Æ 


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