I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4928 

To provide for clarification and limitations with respect to the exercise of 

national security powers, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 26, 2023 

Mr. MCGOVERN (for himself and Ms. MACE) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition 

to the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, and 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 

A BILL 

To provide for clarification and limitations with respect to 

the exercise of national security powers, and for other 

purposes. 

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 ‘‘National Security Reforms and Accountability Act’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 


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TITLE I—WAR POWERS REFORM 

Sec. 101. Short title. 

Sec. 102. Purpose and policy. 

Sec. 103. Consultation and notification. 

Sec. 104. Specific statutory authorization required. 

Sec. 105. Congressional priority procedures for joint resolution. 

Sec. 106. Interpretation of joint resolution. 

Sec. 107. Judicial review. 

Sec. 108. Termination of funding; termination of use of military force. 

Sec. 109. Law of Armed Conflict, international humanitarian law, and the treaty obligations of the United States. 

Sec. 110. Definitions. 

TITLE II—ARMS EXPORT REFORM 

Sec. 201. Short title. 

Sec. 202. Congressional review and approval of certain sales, exports, leases, 

and loans of defense articles and services. 

Sec. 203. Prohibition on transfer of defense articles and defense services to 

countries that commit genocide or violations of international 

humanitarian law. 

TITLE III—NATIONAL EMERGENCIES REFORM ACT 

Sec. 301. Short title. 

Sec. 302. Congressional review of national emergencies. 

Sec. 303. Reporting requirements. 

Sec. 304. Disclosures to Congress of presidential documents relating to emergency actions. 

Sec. 305. Conforming amendments. 

Sec. 306. Effective date; applicability. 

1 TITLE I—WAR POWERS REFORM 

2 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

3 This title may be cited as the ‘‘War Powers Resolu4 tion Modernization and Accountability Act’’. 

5 SEC. 102. PURPOSE AND POLICY. 

6 Section 2 of the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 

7 1541) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘imminent in9 volvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the 

10 circumstances’’ and inserting ‘‘there is a serious risk 

11 of hostilities’’; 


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1 (2) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘declare war, 

2 exercise enumerated war powers, and’’ after ‘‘Con3 gress shall have the power to’’; and 

4 (3) in subsection (c)— 

5 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph 

6 (1)— 

7 (i) by striking ‘‘powers’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘authority’’; and 

9 (ii) by striking ‘‘imminent involvement 

10 in hostilities is clearly indicated by the cir11 cumstances’’ and inserting ‘‘there is a seri12 ous risk of hostilities’’; and 

13 (B) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 

14 follows: ‘‘(3) when necessary to repel a sudden 

15 attack, or respond to a concrete, specific, and 

16 immediate threat of such a sudden attack upon 

17 the United States, its territories or possessions, 

18 United States forces, or United States citi19 zens.’’. 

20 SEC. 103. CONSULTATION AND NOTIFICATION. 

21 Section 3 of the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 

22 1542) is amended— 

23 (1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘AND

24 NOTIFICATION’’ after ‘‘CONSULTATION’’; 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘The President’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘(a) The President’’; 

3 (3) by inserting ‘‘, including with the appro4 priate congressional committees and leadership,’’ 

5 after ‘‘consult with Congress’’; 

6 (4) by striking ‘‘imminent involvement in hos7 tilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘there is a serious risk of hostilities’’; 

9 (5) by striking ‘‘until United States Armed 

10 Forces’’ and inserting ‘‘, including submitting to the 

11 appropriate congressional committees and leadership 

12 any and all information and materials relied on to 

13 justify the decision to introduce and continue the de14 ployment of United States forces, until such forces’’; 

15 and 

16 (6) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(b) The President shall notify the Congress, includ18 ing the appropriate congressional committees and leader19 ship— 

20 ‘‘(1) before United States forces are introduced 

21 into the territory, airspace, or waters of a foreign 

22 country while equipped for combat, except with re23 spect to deployments that relate solely to supply, re24 placement, repair, or training of such forces; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) before United States forces are introduced 

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

3 country in which there are already United States 

4 forces equipped for combat if the introduction of 

5 such forces would substantially enlarge the overall 

6 number of United States forces equipped for combat 

7 located in that country or otherwise substantially in8 crease the military capabilities of United States 

9 forces. 

10 ‘‘(c) In the event that circumstances prohibit the no11 tification required by subsection (b) prior to the introduc12 tion of United States forces, the President shall provide 

13 such notification not later than 48 hours after such intro14 duction, including an explanation of why it could not be 

15 offered prior to such introduction. 

16 ‘‘(d) The notification required by subsection (b) or 

17 (c) shall include, at a minimum, the circumstances necessi18 tating the introduction of United States forces, the statu19 tory or constitutional authority for such introduction, and 

20 the expected scope and duration of the use of such 

21 forces.’’. 

22 SEC. 104. SPECIFIC STATUTORY AUTHORIZATION RE23 QUIRED. 

24 The War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1541 et seq.) 

25 is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking sections 4, 5, 6, and 7; 

2 (2) by redesignating sections 8, 9, and 10 as 

3 sections 6, 11, and 12, respectively; and 

4 (3) by inserting after section 3 the following: 

5 ‘‘SPECIFIC STATUTORY AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED

6 ‘‘SEC. 4. (a) In the absence of a declaration of war, 

7 and except as provided in subsection (b), United States 

8 forces may be introduced into hostilities or into situations 

9 where there is a serious risk of hostilities only if, before 

10 introducing such forces— 

11 ‘‘(1) the President submits to the appropriate 

12 congressional committees and leadership an initial 

13 report in accordance with the requirements of sub14 section (d)(1) for the use of such forces; and 

15 ‘‘(2) the Congress enacts a specific statutory 

16 authorization for the use of such forces. 

17 ‘‘(b)(1) In the absence of a declaration of war, in any 

18 case in which United States forces are introduced into hos19 tilities or into situations where there is a serious risk of 

20 hostilities— 

21 ‘‘(A) when necessary to repel a sudden attack, 

22 or respond to a concrete, specific, and immediate 

23 threat of such a sudden attack, upon the territory, 

24 airspace, or waters of the United States, United 

25 States forces, or United States citizens; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the time required to obtain prior specific 

2 statutory authorization for the use of such forces as 

3 required under subsection (a) would prevent an ef4 fective defense against the attack or threat of at5 tack, 

6 the President shall, not later than 48 hours after ordering 

7 the use of such forces, inform the appropriate congres8 sional committees and leadership of the President’s deci9 sion and describe the use of such forces, the justification 

10 for the use of such forces without prior specific statutory 

11 authorization, and certify whether hostilities have con12 cluded or are continuing. 

13 ‘‘(2)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), not 

14 later than seven calendar days after ordering the use of 

15 United States forces as described in paragraph (1), the 

16 President shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

17 committees and leadership— 

18 ‘‘(i) a request for specific statutory authoriza19 tion for the use of such forces; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) a report that meets the requirements of 

21 subsection (d)(1)(B). 

22 ‘‘(B) The requirement to submit a request for specific 

23 statutory authorization for the use of United States forces 

24 under subparagraph (A) shall not apply in any case in 

25 which the President— 


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1 ‘‘(i) has withdrawn, removed, or otherwise 

2 ceased the use of such forces; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) has certified to the appropriate congres4 sional committees and leadership that the President 

5 does not anticipate introducing United States forces 

6 into hostilities or into situations where there is a se7 rious risk of hostilities for a substantially similar 

8 purpose. 

9 ‘‘(c)(1) If the Congress does not enact a specific stat10 utory authorization for the use of United States forces 

11 under subsection (b) within 20 days of the introduction 

12 of such forces into hostilities or a situation where there 

13 is a serious risk of hostilities, the President shall with14 draw, remove, or otherwise cease the use of such forces. 

15 ‘‘(2) The 20-day period described in paragraph (1) 

16 shall be extended for not more than an additional 10 days 

17 if the President determines and certifies to the Congress 

18 in writing that unavoidable military necessity respecting 

19 the safety of such forces requires the continued use of 

20 such forces for the sole purpose of bringing about the safe 

21 removal of such forces. 

22 ‘‘(d)(1)(A) If the Congress does enact a specific stat23 utory authorization for the use of United States forces 

24 under subsection (a) or (b), the President shall submit to 


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1 the appropriate congressional committees and leadership 

2 a report in writing on the use of such forces— 

3 ‘‘(i) not less frequently than every 30 days; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) as new information becomes available or 

5 whenever there is a material change in the informa6 tion previously reported under this paragraph. 

7 ‘‘(B) The report required by subparagraph (A) shall, 

8 with respect to each use of United States forces, include 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘(i) The circumstances necessitating the use of 

11 such forces. 

12 ‘‘(ii) An identification of enemy and opposing 

13 forces. 

14 ‘‘(iii) The specific United States constitutional 

15 and statutory authorities and international law au16 thorities for the use of such forces with respect to 

17 each enemy and opposing force identified pursuant 

18 to clause (ii), including an explanation of whether 

19 the use of such forces is consistent with existing 

20 United States international legal obligations. 

21 ‘‘(iv) The total cost of the use of such forces 

22 since the introduction of such forces into hostilities 

23 or into situations where there is a serious risk of 

24 hostilities. 


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1 ‘‘(v) The estimated scope and duration of the 

2 use of such forces, including the personnel and 

3 weapons to be deployed. 

4 ‘‘(vi) The country or countries in which such 

5 forces are deployed. 

6 ‘‘(vii) A description of— 

7 ‘‘(I) the mission of such forces; 

8 ‘‘(II) the outcomes or benchmarks that 

9 would indicate the mission is complete; and 

10 ‘‘(III) the length of time it is expected to 

11 take to meet the objectives of the mission. 

12 ‘‘(viii) An identification of United States allied 

13 or partner forces or multilateral organizations that 

14 are or may be involved in the deployment. 

15 ‘‘(ix) The risk to United States persons or 

16 property involved in the deployment. 

17 ‘‘(x) Any other information as may be required 

18 to fully inform Congress. 

19 ‘‘(C) The report required by subparagraph (A)— 

20 ‘‘(i) shall be submitted in unclassified form 

21 without any designation relating to dissemination 

22 control; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) may include a classified annex only to the 

24 extent required to protect the national security of 

25 the United States. 


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1 ‘‘(2) If the Congress does enact a specific statutory 

2 authorization for the use of United States forces under 

3 subsection (a) or (b), the Director of the Congressional 

4 Budget Office shall submit to the appropriate congres5 sional committees and leadership— 

6 ‘‘(A) a report in writing that contains an anal7 ysis and estimate of the costs of such use of forces 

8 not less frequently than every 180 days until termi9 nation of the specific statutory authorization; and 

10 ‘‘(B) a report in writing that contains a final 

11 analysis of the costs of such use of forces not later 

12 than 30 days after the date of termination of the 

13 specific statutory authorization. 

14 ‘‘(e) In the event hostilities in which United States 

15 forces are engaged extend to a country, organization, or 

16 enemy or opposing force that is not identified in a specific 

17 statutory authorization pursuant to which United States 

18 forces are operating— 

19 ‘‘(1) such extension shall be deemed to con20 stitute a separate introduction of United States 

21 forces into hostilities within the meaning of section 

22 3 and this section, including with respect to the limi23 tations and consultation, notification, and reporting 

24 requirements described in such sections; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) such forces may continue to engage in 

2 such hostilities only if a new specific statutory au3 thorization is enacted into law in accordance with 

4 subsection (a) or (b), as applicable, with respect to 

5 such country, organization, or enemy or opposing 

6 force. 

7 ‘‘(f)(1) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b), at 

8 any time during which United States forces are engaged 

9 in hostilities without a declaration of war or pursuant to 

10 a specific statutory authorization under subsection (a) or 

11 (b) before the expiration of the time period specified in 

12 paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (c), as applicable, such 

13 forces shall be removed by the President if the Congress 

14 enacts a joint resolution directing the President to so re15 move such forces. 

16 ‘‘(2) The expedited procedures described in section 5 

17 shall apply with respect to a joint resolution described in 

18 this subsection.’’. 

19 SEC. 105. CONGRESSIONAL PRIORITY PROCEDURES FOR 

20 JOINT RESOLUTION. 

21 The War Powers Resolution, as amended by this Act, 

22 is further amended by inserting after section 4 the fol23 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘CONGRESSIONAL PRIORITY PROCEDURES FOR JOINT

2 RESOLUTION

3 ‘‘SEC. 5. (a) Any joint resolution introduced to pro4 vide specific statutory authorization under section 4(a) or 

5 under section 4(b) before the expiration of the time period 

6 specified in paragraph (1) or (2) of section 4(c) shall be 

7 referred to the committee of jurisdiction of the House of 

8 Representatives or of the Senate, as applicable, and such 

9 committee shall report one such joint resolution, together 

10 with its recommendations. If a committee of the House 

11 to which such joint resolution has been referred has not 

12 reported it, within 10 legislative days in the House of Rep13 resentatives or 10 session days in the Senate after the date 

14 of referral, that committee shall be discharged from fur15 ther consideration. 

16 ‘‘(b) In the House of Representatives: 

17 ‘‘(1) Between the third legislative day and the 

18 13th legislative day after the committee of jurisdic19 tion reports the joint resolution to the House or has 

20 been discharged from further consideration thereof, 

21 it shall be in order for the chair of the committee 

22 of jurisdiction (or a designee) or the sponsor of such 

23 joint resolution (or a designee) to announce his or 

24 her intent to offer a motion to proceed and to move 

25 to proceed to consider the joint resolution, except 


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1 that the chair of the committee (or a designee) shall 

2 have priority in recognition to offer the motion fol3 lowed by the sponsor. 

4 ‘‘(2) All points of order against such motion are 

5 waived, except that such a motion shall not be in 

6 order after the House has disposed of the same joint 

7 resolution. A motion to proceed to consider any 

8 other joint resolution introduced to provide specific 

9 statutory authorization under section 4(a) or under 

10 section 4(b) authorizing the use of United States 

11 forces for the same purpose as the joint resolution 

12 described in preceding sentence shall not be in order 

13 after a motion to proceed on the joint resolution de14 scribed in the preceding sentence has been offered. 

15 ‘‘(3) Such motion to proceed shall be scheduled 

16 within two legislative days after the date of such an17 nouncement. 

18 ‘‘(4) The previous question shall be considered 

19 as ordered on the motion to its adoption without in20 tervening motion except 20 minutes of debate equal21 ly divided and controlled by a proponent and an op22 ponent. A motion to reconsider the vote by which the 

23 motion is disposed of shall not be in order. The mo24 tion to proceed shall be subject to a motion to table. 


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1 ‘‘(5) Upon adoption of the motion to proceed, 

2 such joint resolution shall be considered as read. All 

3 points of order against such joint resolution, and 

4 against its consideration, are waived. The previous 

5 question shall be considered as ordered on such joint 

6 resolution to final passage without intervening mo7 tion, except that two hours of debate shall be equally 

8 divided and controlled by— 

9 ‘‘(A) the chair of the committee of jurisdic10 tion (or a designee) and the ranking member of 

11 that committee (or a designee); or 

12 ‘‘(B) if the sponsor of the such joint reso13 lution made the motion to proceed, the sponsor 

14 (or a designee) and an opponent. 

15 ‘‘(6) A motion to reconsider the vote on passage 

16 of such joint resolution shall not be in order. 

17 ‘‘(c) In the Senate— 

18 ‘‘(1) Notwithstanding Rule XXII of the Stand19 ing Rules of the Senate, it is in order at any time 

20 after the Committee on Foreign Relations reports 

21 such joint resolution to the Senate or has been dis22 charged from its consideration (even though a pre23 vious motion to the same effect has been disagreed 

24 to) to move to proceed to the consideration of such 

25 joint resolution, and all points of order against such 


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1 joint resolution or against its consideration, are 

2 waived. The motion to proceed is not debatable. The 

3 motion is not subject to a motion to postpone. A mo4 tion to reconsider the vote by which the motion is 

5 agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in order. If 

6 a motion to proceed to the consideration of such 

7 joint resolution is agreed to, the joint resolution 

8 shall remain the unfinished business until disposed 

9 of. 

10 ‘‘(2) Debate on such joint resolution, and on all 

11 debatable motions and appeals in connection there12 with, shall be limited to not more than 10 hours, 

13 which shall be divided equally between the majority 

14 and minority leaders or their designees. A motion to 

15 further limit debate is in order and not debatable. 

16 An amendment to, or a motion to postpone, or a mo17 tion to proceed to the consideration of other busi18 ness, or a motion to recommit the joint resolution is 

19 not in order. 

20 ‘‘(3) The vote on passage shall occur imme21 diately following the conclusion of the debate on 

22 such joint resolution and a single quorum call at the 

23 conclusion of the debate, if requested in accordance 

24 with the rules of the Senate. 


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1 ‘‘(4) Appeals from the decisions of the Chair re2 lating to the application of the rules of the Senate, 

3 as the case may be, to the procedure relating to such 

4 joint resolution shall be decided without debate. 

5 ‘‘(5) Debate in the Senate of any veto message 

6 with respect to such resolution, including all debat7 able motions and appeals in connection with such 

8 resolution, shall be limited to 10 hours, to be equally 

9 divided between, and controlled by, the majority 

10 leader and the minority leader or their designees. 

11 ‘‘(d)(1) If, before passage by one House of a joint 

12 resolution of that House, that House receives a joint reso13 lution to provide specific statutory authorization from the 

14 other House, then the following procedures shall apply: 

15 ‘‘(A) The joint resolution of the other House 

16 shall not be referred to a committee. 

17 ‘‘(B) With respect to the joint resolution of the 

18 House receiving the legislation— 

19 ‘‘(i) the procedure in that House shall be 

20 the same as if no joint resolution had been re21 ceived from the other House; but 

22 ‘‘(ii) the vote on passage shall be on the 

23 joint resolution of the other House. 

24 ‘‘(2) If one House fails to introduce a joint resolution 

25 to provide specific statutory authorization under section 


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1 4(a) or under section 4(b), the joint resolution of the other 

2 House shall be entitled to expedited floor procedures under 

3 this section. 

4 ‘‘(3) If, following passage of the joint resolution in 

5 the Senate, the Senate then receives a joint resolution to 

6 provide specific statutory authorization from the House of 

7 Representatives, the joint resolution shall not be debat8 able. 

9 ‘‘(4) The provisions of this subsection shall not apply 

10 in the House of Representatives to a joint resolution which 

11 is a revenue measure. 

12 ‘‘(e) This section is enacted by Congress— 

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

14 the Senate and the House of Representatives, re15 spectively, and as such are deemed a part of the 

16 rules of each House, respectively, but applicable only 

17 with respect to the procedure to be followed in that 

18 House in the case of legislation described in those 

19 sections, and supersede other rules only to the ex20 tent that they are inconsistent with such rules; and 

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

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

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

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

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


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1 SEC. 106. INTERPRETATION OF JOINT RESOLUTION. 

2 Section 6 of the War Powers Resolution, as redesig3 nated by section 104(2), is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘INTERPRETATION OF JOINT RESOLUTION

5 ‘‘SEC. 6. (a) Specific statutory authorization for the 

6 use of United States forces shall not be inferred— 

7 ‘‘(1) from any provision of law, including any 

8 provision contained in any appropriations Act, unless 

9 such provision expressly authorizes the use of such 

10 forces and states that it is intended to constitute 

11 specific statutory authorization within the meaning 

12 of this joint resolution; or 

13 ‘‘(2) from any source of international legal obli14 gation binding on the United States, including any 

15 resolution of the United Nations Security Council or 

16 any treaty unless such treaty is implemented by leg17 islation specifically authorizing the use of such 

18 forces and stating that it is intended to constitute 

19 specific statutory authorization within the meaning 

20 of this joint resolution. 

21 ‘‘(b) Nothing in this joint resolution may be con22 strued to affect the authority granted by the Constitution 

23 to the Congress or of the President, or the provisions of 

24 any treaty or other international agreement that is in 

25 force with respect to the United States before, on, or after 

26 the date of the enactment of this section.’’. 


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1 SEC. 107. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

2 The War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1541 et seq.), 

3 as amended by this Act, is further amended by inserting 

4 after section 6 the following: 

5 ‘‘JUDICIAL REVIEW

6 ‘‘SEC. 7. (a)(1) If an officer or employee of the execu7 tive branch, including the President and an officer or em8 ployee of the Executive Officer of the President, fails to 

9 comply with a provision of this joint resolution, upon the 

10 adoption of a resolution described in subsection (b), the 

11 House of Representatives or the Senate may bring an ac12 tion in the name of the House of Representatives or the 

13 Senate (as the case may be) for such relief as may be ap14 propriate, including declaratory judgment and any form 

15 of ancillary relief, including injunctive relief. 

16 ‘‘(2) An action brought under this section shall be 

17 brought— 

18 ‘‘(A) in the case of an action brought by the 

19 House of Representatives, by the Office of the Gen20 eral Counsel of the House of Representatives or such 

21 successor office to such Office as the House may 

22 designate; or 

23 ‘‘(B) in the case of an action brought by the 

24 Senate, by the Office of the Senate Legal Counsel or 

25 such successor office to such Office as the Senate 

26 may designate. 


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1 ‘‘(b)(1) A resolution described in this subsection is 

2 a resolution described as follows: 

3 ‘‘(A) The resolution does not have a preamble. 

4 ‘‘(B) The title is as follows: ‘Authorizing an ac5 tion under section 7 of the War Powers Resolution.’. 

6 ‘‘(C) The matter after the resolving clause is as 

7 follows: ‘That the llllllll is authorized 

8 and directed to bring an action under section 7 of 

9 the War Powers Resolution to obtain relief from the 

10 failure of llllllll to comply with 

11 lllllll of the War Powers Resolution.’, 

12 with the first blank space filled in with the identi13 fication of the office responsible for bringing an ac14 tion under this section for the House of Congress in15 volved, the second blank space filled in with the 

16 name and position of the officer or employee of the 

17 executive branch who has failed to comply with a 

18 provision of this Act, and the third blank space filled 

19 in with the provision of this joint resolution with 

20 which such officer or employee failed to comply. 

21 ‘‘(2) The expedited procedures described in section 5 

22 shall apply with respect to a resolution described in this 

23 subsection. 

24 ‘‘(c) For purposes of this section, the failure of an 

25 officer or employee of the executive branch, including the 


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1 President and an officer or employee of the Executive Offi2 cer of the President, to provide any information to Con3 gress as required by this joint resolution shall be treated 

4 as the failure of such officer or employee to comply with 

5 this joint resolution. 

6 ‘‘(d) The following rules shall apply with respect to 

7 any action brought by the House of Representatives or 

8 Senate pursuant to the authority of this section: 

9 ‘‘(1) The action shall be filed in the United 

10 States District Court for the District of Columbia, 

11 and shall be heard not later than 30 days after the 

12 action is filed by a 3-judge court convened pursuant 

13 to section 2284 of title 28, United States Code. 

14 ‘‘(2) A copy of the complaint shall be delivered 

15 promptly to the Clerk of the House of Representa16 tives (in the case of an action brought by the House) 

17 and the Secretary of the Senate (in the case of an 

18 action brought by the Senate). 

19 ‘‘(3) A final decision in the action shall be re20 viewable only by appeal directly to the Supreme 

21 Court of the United States. Such appeal shall be 

22 taken by the filing of a notice of appeal within 10 

23 days, and the filing of a jurisdictional statement 

24 within 30 days, of the entry of the final decision. 


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1 ‘‘(4) It shall be the duty of the United States 

2 District Court for the District of Columbia and the 

3 Supreme Court of the United States to advance on 

4 the docket and to expedite to the greatest possible 

5 extent the disposition of the action and appeal. 

6 ‘‘(e) Nothing in this section may be construed to af7 fect the treatment of the failure of an officer or employee 

8 of the executive branch, including the President and an 

9 officer or employee of the Executive Officer of the Presi10 dent, to comply with a provision of this joint resolution 

11 as a legal wrong because of agency action for purposes 

12 of obtaining judicial review under section 702 of title 5, 

13 United States Code.’’. 

14 SEC. 108. TERMINATION OF FUNDING; TERMINATION OF 

15 USE OF MILITARY FORCE. 

16 The War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1541 et seq.), 

17 as amended by this Act, is further amended by inserting 

18 after section 7 the following: 

19 ‘‘TERMINATION OF FUNDING

20 ‘‘SEC. 8. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of 

21 law, no funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise 

22 made available under any provision of law may be obli23 gated or expended for any activity by United States forces 

24 for which— 


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1 ‘‘(1) prior congressional authorization is re2 quired under section 4(a) but has not been obtained; 

3 or 

4 ‘‘(2) congressional authorization is required 

5 under section 4(b) but has not been obtained before 

6 the expiration of the time period specified in para7 graph (1) or (2) of section 4(c), as the case may be. 

8 ‘‘(b) For such time as may be necessary, not to ex9 ceed six months after the expiration of a specific statutory 

10 authorization for the use of United States forces, military 

11 force may be used for defensive purposes only as necessary 

12 to end the deployment or engagement of United States 

13 forces pursuant to this joint resolution. 

14 ‘‘(c) The prohibition on the obligation and expendi15 ture of funds for activities under subsection (a) shall not 

16 apply with respect to funds for personnel pay, benefits, 

17 or honors.’’. 

18 SEC. 109. LAW OF ARMED CONFLICT, INTERNATIONAL HU19 MANITARIAN LAW, AND THE TREATY OBLIGA20 TIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. 

21 The War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1541 et seq.), 

22 as amended by this Act, is further amended by inserting 

23 after section 8 the following: 


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1 ‘‘LAW OF ARMED CONFLICT, INTERNATIONAL HUMANI2 TARIAN LAW, AND THE TREATY OBLIGATIONS OF

3 THE UNITED STATES

4 ‘‘SEC. 9. United States forces may not be introduced 

5 into hostilities or into situations where there is a serious 

6 risk of hostilities in a manner inconsistent with the Law 

7 of Armed Conflict, international humanitarian law, or the 

8 treaty obligations of the United States.’’. 

9 SEC. 110. DEFINITIONS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The War Powers Resolution (50 

11 U.S.C. 1541 et seq.), as amended by this Act, is further 

12 amended by inserting after section 9 the following: 

13 ‘‘DEFINITIONS

14 ‘‘SEC. 10. In this joint resolution: 

15 ‘‘(1) The term ‘appropriate congressional com16 mittees and leadership’ means— 

17 ‘‘(A) in the House of Representatives— 

18 ‘‘(i) the Committee on Foreign Af19 fairs, the Committee on Armed Services, 

20 the Permanent Select Committee on Intel21 ligence, and the Committee on Appropria22 tions; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) the Speaker, the majority leader, 

24 and the minority leader; and 

25 ‘‘(B) in the Senate— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the Committee on Foreign Rela2 tions, the Committee on Armed Services, 

3 the Select Committee on Intelligence, and 

4 the Committee on Appropriations; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) the majority leader and the mi6 nority leader. 

7 ‘‘(2) The term ‘hostilities’ means any situation 

8 involving any continuous or intermittent use of le9 thal or potentially lethal force by or against United 

10 States forces (or, for purposes of paragraph (3)(B), 

11 foreign regular or irregular forces) carried out 

12 through land, sea, air, space, or cyber operations, or 

13 through any other domain, including whether or not 

14 such force is deployed remotely. 

15 ‘‘(3) The term ‘introduce’ means— 

16 ‘‘(A) with respect to hostilities or a situa17 tion in which there is a serious risk of hos18 tilities, any commitment, engagement, or other 

19 involvement of United States forces (or, for 

20 purposes of paragraph (3)(B), of foreign reg21 ular or irregular forces), whether or not consti22 tuting self-defense measures by United States 

23 forces, in response to an attack or imminent 

24 threat of attack outside the United States, and 

25 whether or not United States forces are present 


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•HR 4928 IH

1 or operating remotely launched, piloted, or di2 rected attacks; or 

3 ‘‘(B) the use, including assigning or tem4 porary detailing, of members of United States 

5 forces to— 

6 ‘‘(i) command, advise, assist, accom7 pany, coordinate, or train any foreign reg8 ular or irregular forces engaged in hos9 tilities or in a situation in which there is 

10 a serious risk that those foreign forces be11 come engaged in hostilities; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) provide any other type of support 

13 that would render the United States a 

14 party to a conflict in which it is not al15 ready engaged or be more likely than not 

16 to do so. 

17 ‘‘(4) The term ‘serious risk of hostilities’ means 

18 any situation in which there exists a substantial pos19 sibility that United States forces (or, for purposes of 

20 paragraph (3)(B), foreign regular or irregular 

21 forces) will become engaged in hostilities, irrespec22 tive of any belief that the presence of such forces 

23 will deter the onset of hostilities. 

24 ‘‘(5) The term ‘specific statutory authorization’ 

25 means any joint resolution introduced after the date 


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1 of the enactment of the War Powers Resolution 

2 Modernization and Accountability Act and enacted 

3 into law to authorize the introduction of United 

4 States forces into hostilities or into situations where 

5 there is a serious risk of hostilities that sets forth, 

6 at a minimum, the following: 

7 ‘‘(A) A clearly defined mission and oper8 ational objectives, the identity of all specific en9 tity or entities against which force is author10 ized, and the foreign country or countries in 

11 which the hostilities by such forces are author12 ized. 

13 ‘‘(B) A requirement the President seek 

14 from the Congress a subsequent specific statu15 tory authorization, in accordance with the re16 quirements of section 4, for any expansion of 

17 the mission to include new operational objec18 tives, additional enemy forces, or new countries 

19 in which such forces are operating, in each case 

20 to the extent not specifically identified in the 

21 previous authorization. 

22 ‘‘(C) A termination of the authorization for 

23 the use of such forces within two years absent 

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1 tory authorization for such use of the United 

2 States forces. 

3 ‘‘(6) The term ‘substantially enlarge’ means, for 

4 any 30-day period, an increase in the overall number 

5 of United States forces, including temporary duty or 

6 rotational forces, that is the lesser of— 

7 ‘‘(A) an increase of 25 percent or more of 

8 the number of such forces; or 

9 ‘‘(B) an increase of 1,000 or more of the 

10 number of such forces. 

11 ‘‘(7) The term ‘train’ or ‘training’ has the 

12 meaning given the term ‘military education and 

13 training’ in section 644 of the Foreign Assistance 

14 Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2403). 

15 ‘‘(8) The term ‘United States forces’ means any 

16 individuals who are employed by, or under contract 

17 to, or under the direction of, any department or 

18 agency of the United States Government who are or 

19 may be— 

20 ‘‘(A) deployed and equipped for combat; or 

21 ‘‘(B) engaged in the use of lethal or poten22 tially lethal force carried out through land, sea, 

23 air, space, or cyber operations, or through any 

24 other domain’’. 


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1 (b) USE OF TERM ‘‘FORCES’’.—The War Powers 

2 Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1541 et seq.), as amended by this 

3 Act, is further amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘Armed Forces’’ each place it 

5 appears and inserting ‘‘forces’’; and 

6 (2) by striking ‘‘armed forces’’ each place it ap7 pears and inserting ‘‘forces’’. 

8 TITLE II—ARMS EXPORT 

9 REFORM 

10 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

11 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Arms Export Control 

12 Reform Act’’. 

13 SEC. 202. CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF 

14 CERTAIN SALES, EXPORTS, LEASES, AND 

15 LOANS OF DEFENSE ARTICLES AND SERV16 ICES. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 36 of the Arms Export 

18 Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2776) is amended— 

19 (1) by redesignating subsections (e), (f), (g), 

20 (h), and (i) as subsections (f), (g), (h), (i), and (j), 

21 respectively; and 

22 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol23 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(e) CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF

2 CERTAIN SALES, EXPORTS, LEASES, AND LOANS OF DE3 FENSE ARTICLES AND SERVICES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para5 graph (3) and subject to paragraph (4)— 

6 ‘‘(A) no letter of offer to sell any defense 

7 articles or services described in paragraph (2) 

8 may be issued under this Act with respect to a 

9 proposed sale to a foreign country or inter10 national organization unless— 

11 ‘‘(i) the President transmits to Con12 gress a numbered certification with respect 

13 to the letter of offer containing the infor14 mation described in paragraphs (1) and 

15 (4) of subsection (b); and 

16 ‘‘(ii) there is enacted into law a joint 

17 resolution of approval under paragraph (5) 

18 with respect to the letter of offer; 

19 ‘‘(B) no license may be issued under this 

20 Act (other than with regard to a sale under sec21 tion 21 or 22 of this Act), including under sec22 tion 38 of this Act, for the export of any de23 fense articles or services described in paragraph 

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1 eign country or international organization un2 less— 

3 ‘‘(i) the President transmits to Con4 gress an unclassified numbered certifi5 cation with respect to the license con6 taining the information described in sub7 section (c)(1); and 

8 ‘‘(ii) there is enacted into law a joint 

9 resolution of approval under paragraph (5) 

10 with respect to the license; and 

11 ‘‘(C) no agreement to lease defense articles 

12 described in paragraph (2) may be entered into 

13 under chapter 6 of this Act with respect to a 

14 proposed lease to a foreign country, or to loan 

15 defense articles under chapter 2 of part II of 

16 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 

17 2311 et seq.) with respect to a proposed loan 

18 to a foreign country, unless— 

19 ‘‘(i) the President transmits to Con20 gress a written certification with respect to 

21 the agreement containing the information 

22 described in section 62(a); and 

23 ‘‘(ii) there is enacted into law a joint 

24 resolution of approval under paragraph (5) 

25 with respect to the agreement. 


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1 ‘‘(2) DEFENSE ARTICLES AND SERVICES DE2 SCRIBED.—Defense articles and services described in 

3 this paragraph are the following: 

4 ‘‘(A) Firearms and ammunition of 

5 $1,000,000 or more. 

6 ‘‘(B) Air to ground munitions of 

7 $14,000,000 or more. 

8 ‘‘(C) Tanks, armored vehicles, and related 

9 munitions of $14,000,000 or more. 

10 ‘‘(D) Fixed and rotary, manned or un11 manned aircraft of $14,000,000 or more. 

12 ‘‘(E) Services or training of $14,000,000 

13 or more. 

14 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—The requirements of sub15 paragraphs (A)(ii), (B)(ii), and (C)(ii) of paragraph 

16 (1) shall not apply with respect to a proposed sale, 

17 export, lease, or loan of defense articles or services 

18 to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), 

19 any member country of NATO, Australia, Japan, 

20 the Republic of Korea, Israel, New Zealand, or Tai21 wan if a joint resolution of approval under para22 graph (5) with respect to the sale, export, lease, or 

23 loan is not introduced in either House of Congress 

24 during the 15-day period beginning on the date on 

25 which Congress receives a numbered certification 


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1 under subparagraph (A)(i) with respect to the sale, 

2 an unclassified numbered certification under sub3 paragraph (B)(i) with respect to the export, or a 

4 written certification under subparagraph (C)(i) with 

5 respect to the lease or loan. 

6 ‘‘(4) EMERGENCY PROCEDURES.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The requirement that 

8 a joint resolution of approval be enacted into 

9 law for purposes of subparagraph (A)(ii), 

10 (B)(ii), or (C)(ii) of paragraph (1) shall not 

11 apply with respect to a proposed sale, export, 

12 lease, or loan of defense articles or services if 

13 the President— 

14 ‘‘(i) subject to subparagraph (B) and 

15 except as provided in subparagraph (C), 

16 determines that an emergency exists that 

17 requires the sale, export, lease, or loan to 

18 be in the national security interest of the 

19 United States; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) submits to the Committee on 

21 Foreign Affairs of the House of Represent22 atives and the Committee on Foreign Rela23 tions of the Senate such determination and 

24 justification for the determination, and 

25 which also includes a specific and detailed 


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1 description of how the waiver of the con2 gressional review requirements directly re3 sponds to or addresses the circumstances 

4 of the emergency cited in the determina5 tion. 

6 ‘‘(B) The President may make a deter7 mination under subparagraph (A)(i) only if the 

8 President certifies to the Committee on Foreign 

9 Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 

10 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 

11 that the defense articles or services to be sold, 

12 exported, leased, or loaned will be delivered not 

13 later than 60 days after the date of such certifi14 cation. 

15 ‘‘(C) The President may not make a deter16 mination under subparagraph (A)(i) in the case 

17 of a proposed sale, export, lease, or loan of de18 fense articles or services that include manufac19 turing or co-production of the articles or serv20 ices outside the United States. 

21 ‘‘(5) REVIEW BY CONGRESS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) JOINT RESOLUTION OF APPROVAL

23 DEFINED.—In this paragraph, the term ‘joint 

24 resolution of approval’ means a joint resolution 


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1 that contains only the following provisions after 

2 its resolving clause: 

3 ‘‘(i) In the case of a letter of offer de4 scribed in paragraph (1)(A), a provision 

5 approving the issuance of the letter of 

6 offer. 

7 ‘‘(ii) In the case of a license described 

8 in paragraph (1)(B), a provision approving 

9 the issuance of the license. 

10 ‘‘(iii) In the case of a lease or loan 

11 agreement described in paragraph (1)(C), 

12 a provision approving the agreement. 

13 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDERATION

14 OF JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF APPROVAL.— 

15 ‘‘(i) INTRODUCTION.—After the Presi16 dent transmits to Congress a numbered 

17 certification with respect to a letter of 

18 offer described in paragraph (1)(A)(i), an 

19 unclassified numbered certification with re20 spect to a license described in paragraph 

21 (1)(B)(i), or a written certification with re22 spect to the agreement described in para23 graph (1)(C)(i), a joint resolution of ap24 proval may be introduced in either House 

25 of Congress by any member of that House. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) COMMITTEE REFERRAL.—A joint 

2 resolution of approval shall be referred in 

3 each House of Congress to the Committee 

4 on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the 

5 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

6 House of Representatives. 

7 ‘‘(iii) CONSIDERATION IN SENATE.— 

8 In the Senate, the following shall apply: 

9 ‘‘(I) REPORTING AND DIS10 CHARGE.—If the committee to which 

11 a joint resolution of approval has been 

12 referred has not reported it at the end 

13 of 10 session days after its introduc14 tion, that committee shall be auto15 matically discharged from further con16 sideration of the resolution and it 

17 shall be placed on the calendar. 

18 ‘‘(II) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDER19 ATION.—Notwithstanding Rule XXII 

20 of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 

21 when the committee to which a joint 

22 resolution of approval is referred has 

23 reported the resolution, or when that 

24 committee is discharged under sub25 clause (I) from further consideration 


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1 of the resolution, it is at any time 

2 thereafter in order (even though a 

3 previous motion to the same effect has 

4 been disagreed to) for a motion to 

5 proceed to the consideration of the 

6 joint resolution, and all points of 

7 order against the joint resolution (and 

8 against consideration of the joint reso9 lution) are waived. The motion to pro10 ceed is subject to 4 hours of debate 

11 divided equally between those favoring 

12 and those opposing the joint resolu13 tion of approval. The motion is not 

14 subject to amendment, or to a motion 

15 to postpone, or to a motion to proceed 

16 to the consideration of other business. 

17 ‘‘(III) FLOOR CONSIDERATION.— 

18 A joint resolution of approval shall be 

19 subject to 10 hours of consideration, 

20 to be divided evenly between the pro21 ponents and opponents of the resolu22 tion. 

23 ‘‘(IV) AMENDMENTS.—No 

24 amendments shall be in order with re25 spect to a joint resolution of approval. 


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1 ‘‘(V) MOTION TO RECONSIDER

2 FINAL VOTE.—A motion to reconsider 

3 a vote on passage of a joint resolution 

4 of approval shall not be in order. 

5 ‘‘(VI) APPEALS.—Points of 

6 order, including questions of rel7 evancy, and appeals from the decision 

8 of the Presiding Officer, shall be de9 cided without debate. 

10 ‘‘(VII) RECEIPT OF RESOLUTION

11 FROM HOUSE.—If, before passing a 

12 joint resolution of approval, the Sen13 ate receives from the House a joint 

14 resolution of approval from the 

15 House, then— 

16 ‘‘(aa) the joint resolution of 

17 the House shall not be referred 

18 to a committee and shall be 

19 deemed to have been discharged 

20 from committee on the day it is 

21 received; and 

22 ‘‘(bb) the procedures set 

23 forth in this clause shall apply in 

24 the Senate to the joint resolution 

25 received from the House to the 


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1 same extent as such procedures 

2 apply to a joint resolution of the 

3 Senate. 

4 ‘‘(C) RULES OF THE HOUSE AND SEN5 ATE.—This paragraph is enacted by Con6 gress— 

7 ‘‘(i) as an exercise of the rulemaking 

8 power of the Senate and the House of Rep9 resentatives, respectively, and as such is 

10 deemed a part of the rules of each House, 

11 respectively, but applicable only with re12 spect to the procedure to be followed in the 

13 House in the case of joint resolutions de14 scribed in this section, and supersedes 

15 other rules only to the extent that it is in16 consistent with such other rules; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) with full recognition of the con18 stitutional right of either House to change 

19 the rules (so far as relating to the proce20 dure of that House) at any time, in the 

21 same manner, and to the same extent as in 

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

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

24 (1) GOVERNMENT-TO-GOVERNMENT SALES.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 36(b) of the 

2 Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2776(b)) 

3 is amended— 

4 (i) in paragraph (1)— 

5 (I) in the matter preceding sub6 paragraph (A), in the first sentence, 

7 by striking ‘‘Subject to paragraph 

8 (6)’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to para9 graph (4) and subsection (e)’’; and 

10 (II) in the flush text following 

11 subparagraph (P), by striking the last 

12 two sentences; 

13 (ii) by striking paragraphs (2) and 

14 (3); 

15 (iii) by redesignating paragraphs (4), 

16 (5), and (6) as paragraphs (2), (3), and 

17 (4), respectively; 

18 (iv) in subparagraph (C) of paragraph 

19 (3) (as redesignated), in the first sentence, 

20 by striking ‘‘Subject to paragraph (4) and 

21 subsection (e)’’; and 

22 (v) in paragraph (4) (as redesig23 nated), in the matter preceding subpara24 graph (A), by striking ‘‘in paragraph 


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•HR 4928 IH

1 (5)(C)’’ and inserting ‘‘in paragraph 

2 (3)(C)’’. 

3 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

4 38(f)(5)(B)(ii) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 

5 2778(f)(5)(B)(ii)) is amended by striking ‘‘sec6 tion 36(b)(5)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

7 36(b)(3)(A)’’. 

8 (2) COMMERCIALLY LICENSED SALES.—Section 

9 36(c) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2776(c)) is amended— 

10 (A) in paragraph (1), in the first sentence, 

11 by striking ‘‘Subject to paragraph (5)’’ and in12 serting ‘‘Subject to subsection (e)’’; 

13 (B) by striking paragraphs (2) through 

14 (5); and 

15 (C) by redesignating paragraph (6) as 

16 paragraph (2). 

17 (3) PUBLICATION.—Subsection (g) of section 

18 36 of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2776) (as redesignated) 

19 is amended— 

20 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

21 the end; 

22 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the pe23 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

24 (C) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(4) each numbered certification transmitted 

2 under subsection (e)(1)(A)(i), each unclassified num3 ber notification transmitted under subsection 

4 (e)(1)(B)(i) and each written certification trans5 mitted under subsection (e)(1)(C)(i).’’. 

6 (4) LEGISLATIVE REVIEW OF LEASES AND

7 LOANS.— 

8 (A) REPEAL.—Section 63 of such Act (22 

9 U.S.C. 2796b) is repealed. 

10 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

11 62(b) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2976a(b)) is 

12 amended, in the first sentence, by striking 

13 ‘‘(and in the case’’ and all that follows through 

14 ‘‘of that section)’’. 

15 SEC. 203. PROHIBITION ON TRANSFER OF DEFENSE ARTI16 CLES AND DEFENSE SERVICES TO COUN17 TRIES THAT COMMIT GENOCIDE OR VIOLA18 TIONS OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN 

19 LAW. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—No defense articles or defense 

21 services may be sold, exported, or transferred to any coun22 try, and no letter of offer to sell defense articles or defense 

23 services to any country and no application for a license 

24 to export or transfer defense articles or defense services 

25 controlled for export to any country shall be subject to 


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1 congressional review and approval requirements, regard2 less of monetary value or emergency, of section 36 of the 

3 Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2776), if the Sec4 retary of State has credible information that the govern5 ment, military, security forces, or police of such country 

6 has committed or is committing genocide, crimes against 

7 humanity, or violations of international humanitarian law 

8 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

9 (b) ASSESSMENT OF RISK.—Any letter of offer to 

10 sell, or any application for a license to export or transfer, 

11 defense articles or defense services controlled for export 

12 subject to the congressional review and approval require13 ments, regardless of monetary value, of section 36 of the 

14 Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2776) shall include 

15 an assessment of the risk of the items being used contrary 

16 to principles of international humanitarian law, to violate 

17 internationally recognized human rights, or to commit acts 

18 that may constitute crimes against humanity or genocide, 

19 prepared by the Secretary of State through the Assistant 

20 Secretary for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, 

21 and Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense 

22 and the Director of Central Intelligence. 


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1 TITLE III—NATIONAL 

2 EMERGENCIES REFORM ACT 

3 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘National Emergencies 

5 Reform Act’’. 

6 SEC. 302. CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF NATIONAL EMER7 GENCIES. 

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

9 1621 et seq.) is amended by striking sections 201 and 202 

10 and inserting the following: 

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

12 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO DECLARE NATIONAL EMER13 GENCIES.—With respect to Acts of Congress authorizing 

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

15 of any special or extraordinary power, the President is au16 thorized to declare such a national emergency by procla17 mation. Such proclamation shall immediately be trans18 mitted to Congress and published in the Federal Register. 

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

20 EXERCISED.—No powers or authorities made available by 

21 statute for use during the period of a national emergency 

22 shall be exercised unless and until the President specifies 

23 the provisions of law under which the President proposes 

24 that the President or other officers will act in— 


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1 ‘‘(1) a proclamation declaring a national emer2 gency under subsection (a); or 

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

4 the emergency transmitted to Congress and pub5 lished in the Federal Register. 

6 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION ON SUBSEQUENT ACTIONS IF

7 EMERGENCIES NOT APPROVED.— 

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

9 resolution of approval is not enacted under section 

10 203 with respect to a national emergency before the 

11 expiration of the period described in section 202(a), 

12 or with respect to a national emergency proposed to 

13 be renewed under section 202(b), the President may 

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

15 that President, declare a subsequent national emer16 gency under subsection (a) with respect to substan17 tially the same facts and circumstances. 

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

19 resolution of approval is not enacted under section 

20 203 with respect to a power or authority specified by 

21 the President in a proclamation under subsection (a) 

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

23 respect to a national emergency, the President may 

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


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•HR 4928 IH

1 that President, exercise that power or authority with 

2 respect to that emergency. 

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

4 after the date of the enactment of this Act may supersede 

5 the provisions of this title unless it does so in specific 

6 terms, referring to this title, and declaring that such law 

7 supersedes the provisions of this title. 

8 ‘‘(e) LIMITATIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any emergency powers in10 voked by the President pursuant to a national emer11 gency declared under this section shall relate to the 

12 nature of, and may be used only to address, that 

13 emergency. 

14 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OR FUNDING WITH15 HELD.—No authority available to the President dur16 ing a national emergency declared under this section 

17 may be used to provide authorization or funding for 

18 any program, project, or activity for which Congress, 

19 on or after the date of the events giving rise to the 

20 emergency declaration, has withheld authorization or 

21 funding. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 202. EFFECTIVE PERIODS OF NATIONAL EMER23 GENCIES. 

24 ‘‘(a) TEMPORARY EFFECTIVE PERIODS.— 


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

2 emergency under subsection (a) shall be effective for 

3 30 days beginning on the day after the date of the 

4 issuance of the proclamation and shall terminate 

5 when that 30-day period expires unless there is en6 acted into law a joint resolution of approval under 

7 section 203 with respect to the proclamation. 

8 ‘‘(2) EXERCISE OF POWERS AND AUTHORI9 TIES.— 

10 ‘‘(A) EXERCISE PURSUANT TO PROCLAMA11 TION.—Subject to section 201(e), any emer12 gency power or authority made available under 

13 a provision of law specified pursuant to section 

14 201(b)(1) may be exercised pursuant to a dec15 laration of a national emergency upon the 

16 issuance of the proclamation. That power or au17 thority may not be exercised on or after the 30- 

18 day period described in paragraph (1) unless 

19 there is enacted into law a joint resolution of 

20 approval under section 203 approving— 

21 ‘‘(i) the proclamation of the national 

22 emergency; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) the exercise of the power or au24 thority specified by the President in such 

25 proclamation. 


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1 ‘‘(B) EXERCISE PURSUANT TO EXECUTIVE

2 ORDER.—Subject to section 201(e), any emer3 gency power or authority made available under 

4 an Executive order pursuant to section 

5 201(b)(2) may be exercised pursuant to a dec6 laration of a national emergency upon the 

7 issuance of the Executive order specifying the 

8 power or authority. That power or authority 

9 may not be exercised on or after the earlier 

10 of— 

11 ‘‘(i) the date of the termination of the 

12 proclamation declaring the emergency to 

13 which the Executive order relates; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) the date that is 30 days after the 

15 date of the issuance of such Executive 

16 order, unless there is enacted into law a 

17 joint resolution of approval under section 

18 203 approving the exercise of the power or 

19 authority specified by the President in 

20 such Executive order. 

21 ‘‘(b) RENEWAL OF NATIONAL EMERGENCIES.—A na22 tional emergency declared by the President under section 

23 201(a) or previously renewed under this subsection that 

24 is not otherwise terminated pursuant to subsection (a) or 

25 (c) or section 204 shall terminate on the date that is one 


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1 year after the date on which the President transmitted to 

2 Congress the proclamation declaring the emergency or the 

3 date on which Congress enacted into law a previous re4 newal pursuant to this subsection, unless— 

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

6 Register and transmits to Congress an Executive 

7 order renewing the emergency; and 

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

9 of approval renewing the emergency pursuant to sec10 tion 203 before the termination of the emergency or 

11 previous renewal of the emergency. 

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

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any national emergency 

14 declared by the President under section 201(a) shall 

15 terminate on the earliest of— 

16 ‘‘(A) the date provided for in subsection 

17 (a); 

18 ‘‘(B) the date provided for in subsection 

19 (b); 

20 ‘‘(C) the date specified in a joint resolution 

21 of termination under section 203; 

22 ‘‘(D) the date specified in a proclamation 

23 of the President terminating the emergency; or 

24 ‘‘(E) the date specified in section 204. 


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1 ‘‘(2) EFFECT OF TERMINATION.—Effective on 

2 the date of the termination of a national emergency 

3 under paragraph (1)— 

4 ‘‘(A) any powers or authorities exercised 

5 by reason of the emergency shall cease to be ex6 ercised; 

7 ‘‘(B) any amounts reprogrammed or trans8 ferred under any provision of law with respect 

9 to the emergency that remain unobligated on 

10 that date shall be returned and made available 

11 for the purpose for which such amounts were 

12 appropriated; and 

13 ‘‘(C) any contracts entered into under any 

14 provision of law relating to the emergency shall 

15 be terminated. 

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

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

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

20 means a joint resolution that contains only the following 

21 provisions 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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•HR 4928 IH

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 Presi7 dent under section 201(b) in the proclamation or 

8 Executive order that is the subject of the joint reso9 lution. 

10 ‘‘(b) JOINT RESOLUTION OF TERMINATION DE11 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘joint resolution of ter12 mination’ means a resolution introduced in the House or 

13 Senate to terminate— 

14 ‘‘(1) a national emergency declared under this 

15 Act; or 

16 ‘‘(2) the exercise of any authorities pursuant to 

17 that emergency. 

18 ‘‘(c) PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDERATION OF JOINT

19 RESOLUTIONS OF APPROVAL.— 

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

21 transmits to Congress a proclamation declaring a 

22 national emergency under section 201(a), or an Ex23 ecutive order specifying emergency powers or au24 thorities under section 201(b)(2) or renewing a na25 tional emergency under section 202(b), a joint resoVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:06 Aug 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4928.IH H4928

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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) COMMITTEE REFERRAL IN THE SENATE.— 

4 In the Senate, a joint resolution of approval shall be 

5 referred to the appropriate committee. 

6 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATION IN SENATE.—In the Sen7 ate, the following shall apply: 

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

9 committee to which a joint resolution of ap10 proval has been referred has not reported it at 

11 the end of 10 calendar days after its introduc12 tion, that committee shall be discharged from 

13 further consideration of the resolution and it 

14 shall be placed on the Calendar of Business. 

15 ‘‘(B) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDERATION.— 

16 Notwithstanding Rule XXII of the Standing 

17 Rules of the Senate, when the committee to 

18 which a joint resolution of approval is referred 

19 has reported the resolution, or when that com20 mittee is discharged under subparagraph (A) 

21 from further consideration of the resolution, it 

22 is at any time thereafter in order to move to 

23 proceed to the consideration of the joint resolu24 tion, and all points of order against the joint 

25 resolution (and against the motion to proceed to 


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•HR 4928 IH

1 the consideration of the joint resolution) are 

2 waived. The motion to proceed shall be debat3 able for 4 hours evenly divided between a pro4 ponent and an opponent of the joint resolution 

5 of approval. The motion is not subject to 

6 amendment, or to a motion to postpone, or to 

7 a motion to proceed to the consideration of 

8 other business. A motion to reconsider the vote 

9 by which the motion is agreed to or disagreed 

10 to shall not be in order. If a motion to proceed 

11 to the consideration of a joint resolution of ap12 proval is agreed to, the joint resolution shall re13 main the unfinished business of the Senate 

14 until disposed of. 

15 ‘‘(C) FLOOR CONSIDERATION.—There shall 

16 be 10 hours of consideration on a joint resolu17 tion of approval, to be divided evenly between 

18 the proponents and opponents of the joint reso19 lution. There shall be a total of 2 hours of de20 bate on any debatable motions in connection 

21 with the joint resolution, to be divided evenly 

22 between the proponents and opponents of the 

23 joint resolution. 


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1 ‘‘(D) AMENDMENTS.—No amendments 

2 shall be in order with respect to a joint resolu3 tion of approval in the Senate. 

4 ‘‘(E) MOTION TO RECONSIDER VOTE ON

5 PASSAGE.—A motion to reconsider a vote on 

6 passage of a joint resolution of approval shall 

7 not be in order. 

8 ‘‘(F) APPEALS.—Points of order and ap9 peals from the decision of the Presiding Officer, 

10 shall be decided without debate. 

11 ‘‘(4) CONSIDERATION IN HOUSE OF REP12 RESENTATIVES.—In the House of Representatives, 

13 the following shall apply: 

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

15 committee to which a joint resolution of ap16 proval has been referred has not reported it to 

17 the House within seven legislative days after 

18 the date of referral, such committee shall be 

19 discharged from further consideration of the 

20 joint resolution. 

21 ‘‘(B)(i) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDER22 ATION.—Beginning on the third legislative day 

23 after each committee to which a joint resolution 

24 of approval has been referred reports it to the 

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1 sideration, it shall be in order to move to pro2 ceed to consider the joint resolution of approval 

3 in the House. All points of order against the 

4 motion are waived, except as provided in clause 

5 (ii) and clause (iii). The previous question shall 

6 be considered as ordered on the motion to its 

7 adoption without intervening motion. The mo8 tion shall not be debatable. A motion to recon9 sider the vote by which the motion is disposed 

10 of shall not be in order. 

11 ‘‘(ii) A motion to proceed to consider a 

12 joint resolution of approval shall not be in order 

13 after the House has disposed of another motion 

14 to proceed on that joint resolution of approval. 

15 ‘‘(iii) A motion to proceed to the consider16 ation of a joint resolution of approval of an Ex17 ecutive order described in subsection (a)(1) or 

18 a list described in subsection (a)(2) shall not be 

19 in order prior to the enactment of a joint reso20 lution of approval of the proclamation described 

21 in subsection (a)(1) that is the subject of such 

22 Executive order or list. 

23 ‘‘(C) CONSIDERATION.—Upon adoption of 

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1 proval shall be considered as read. All points of 

2 order against the joint resolution of approval 

3 and against its consideration are waived. The 

4 previous question shall be considered as ordered 

5 on the joint resolution of approval to final pas6 sage without intervening motion except two 

7 hours of debate equally divided and controlled 

8 by the sponsor of the joint resolution of ap9 proval (or a designee) and an opponent. A mo10 tion to reconsider the vote on passage of the 

11 joint resolution of approval shall not be in 

12 order. 

13 ‘‘(5) COORDINATION WITH ACTION BY OTHER

14 HOUSE.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If, before the passage 

16 by one House of a joint resolution of approval 

17 of that House, that House receives from the 

18 other House a joint resolution of approval with 

19 regard to the same proclamation or Executive 

20 order, then the following procedures shall apply: 

21 ‘‘(i) The joint resolution of approval 

22 of the other House shall not be referred to 

23 a committee. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) With respect to a joint resolution 

2 of approval of the House receiving the 

3 joint resolution— 

4 ‘‘(I) the procedure in that House 

5 shall be the same as if no joint resolu6 tion of approval had been received 

7 from the other House; but 

8 ‘‘(II) the vote on passage shall be 

9 on the joint resolution of approval of 

10 the other House. 

11 ‘‘(iii) Upon the failure of passage of 

12 the joint resolution of approval of the other 

13 House, the question shall immediately 

14 occur on passage of the joint resolution of 

15 approval of the receiving House. 

16 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF LEGISLATION OF

17 OTHER HOUSE.—If one House fails to introduce 

18 a joint resolution of approval under this section, 

19 the joint resolution of approval of the other 

20 House shall be entitled to expedited floor proce21 dures under this section. 

22 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION TO REVENUE MEAS23 URES.—The provisions of this paragraph shall 

24 not apply in the House of Representatives to a 


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1 joint resolution of approval which is a revenue 

2 measure. 

3 ‘‘(6) TREATMENT OF VETO MESSAGE.—Debate 

4 on a veto message in the Senate under this section 

5 shall be 1 hour evenly divided between the majority 

6 and minority leaders or their designees. 

7 ‘‘(d) PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDERATION OF JOINT

8 RESOLUTIONS TO TERMINATE.— 

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

10 transmits to Congress a proclamation declaring a 

11 national emergency under section 201(a), or an Ex12 ecutive order specifying emergency powers or au13 thorities under section 201(b)(2) or renewing a na14 tional emergency under section 202(b), a joint reso15 lution to terminate may be introduced in either 

16 House of Congress by any member of that House. 

17 ‘‘(2) COMMITTEE REFERRAL IN THE SENATE.— 

18 In the Senate, a joint resolution to terminate shall 

19 be referred to the appropriate committee. 

20 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATION IN SENATE.—In the Sen21 ate, the following shall apply: 

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

23 committee to which a joint resolution to termi24 nate has been referred has not reported it at 

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1 tion, that committee shall be discharged from 

2 further consideration of the resolution and it 

3 shall be placed on the Calendar of Business. 

4 ‘‘(B) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDERATION.— 

5 Notwithstanding Rule XXII of the Standing 

6 Rules of the Senate, when the committee to 

7 which a joint resolution to terminate is referred 

8 has reported the resolution, or when that com9 mittee is discharged under subparagraph (A) 

10 from further consideration of the resolution, it 

11 is at any time thereafter in order to move to 

12 proceed to the consideration of the joint resolu13 tion, and all points of order against the joint 

14 resolution (and against the motion to proceed to 

15 the consideration of the joint resolution) are 

16 waived. The motion to proceed shall be debat17 able for 4 hours evenly divided between a pro18 ponent and an opponent of the joint resolution 

19 of approval. The motion is not subject to 

20 amendment, or to a motion to postpone, or to 

21 a motion to proceed to the consideration of 

22 other business. A motion to reconsider the vote 

23 by which the motion is agreed to or disagreed 

24 to shall not be in order. If a motion to proceed 

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1 proval is agreed to, the joint resolution shall re2 main the unfinished business of the Senate 

3 until disposed of. 

4 ‘‘(C) FLOOR CONSIDERATION.—There shall 

5 be 10 hours of consideration on a joint resolu6 tion to terminate, to be divided evenly between 

7 the proponents and opponents of the joint reso8 lution. There shall be a total of 2 hours of de9 bate on any debatable motions in connection 

10 with the joint resolution, to be divided evenly 

11 between the proponents and opponents of the 

12 joint resolution. 

13 ‘‘(D) AMENDMENTS.—No amendments 

14 shall be in order with respect to a joint resolu15 tion to terminate in the Senate. 

16 ‘‘(E) MOTION TO RECONSIDER VOTE ON

17 PASSAGE.—A motion to reconsider a vote on 

18 passage of a joint resolution to terminate shall 

19 not be in order. 

20 ‘‘(F) APPEALS.—Points of order and ap21 peals from the decision of the Presiding Officer, 

22 shall be decided without debate. 

23 ‘‘(4) CONSIDERATION IN HOUSE OF REP24 RESENTATIVES.—In the House of Representatives, 

25 the following shall apply: 


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

2 committee to which a joint resolution to termi3 nate has been referred has not reported it to 

4 the House within seven legislative days after 

5 the date of referral such committee shall be dis6 charged from further consideration of the joint 

7 resolution. 

8 ‘‘(B) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDERATION.— 

9 Beginning on the third legislative day after 

10 each committee to which a joint resolution to 

11 terminate has been referred reports it to the 

12 House or has been discharged from further con13 sideration thereof, it shall be in order to move 

14 to proceed to consider the joint resolution to 

15 terminate in the House. All points of order 

16 against the motion are waived, except that such 

17 a motion shall not be in order after the House 

18 has disposed of a motion to proceed on the joint 

19 resolution to terminate. The previous question 

20 shall be considered as ordered on the motion to 

21 its adoption without intervening motion. The 

22 motion shall not be debatable. A motion to re23 consider the vote by which the motion is dis24 posed of shall not be in order. 


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1 ‘‘(C) CONSIDERATION.—The joint resolu2 tion to terminate shall be considered as read. 

3 All points of order against the joint resolution 

4 to terminate and against its consideration are 

5 waived. The previous question shall be consid6 ered as ordered on the joint resolution to termi7 nate to final passage without intervening mo8 tion except one hour of debate equally divided 

9 and controlled by the sponsor of the joint reso10 lution to terminate (or a designee) and an oppo11 nent. A motion to reconsider the vote on pas12 sage of the joint resolution to terminate shall 

13 not be in order. 

14 ‘‘(5) COORDINATION WITH ACTION BY OTHER

15 HOUSE.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If, before the passage 

17 by one House of a joint resolution to terminate 

18 of that House, that House receives from the 

19 other House a joint resolution to terminate with 

20 regard to the same proclamation or Executive 

21 order, then the following procedures shall apply: 

22 ‘‘(i) The joint resolution to terminate 

23 of the other House shall not be referred to 

24 a committee. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) With respect to a joint resolution 

2 to terminate of the House receiving the 

3 joint resolution— 

4 ‘‘(I) the procedure in that House 

5 shall be the same as if no joint resolu6 tion to terminate had been received 

7 from the other House; but 

8 ‘‘(II) the vote on passage shall be 

9 on the joint resolution to terminate of 

10 the other House. 

11 ‘‘(iii) Upon the failure of passage of 

12 the joint resolution to terminate of the 

13 other House, the question shall imme14 diately occur on passage of the joint reso15 lution to terminate of the receiving House. 

16 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF LEGISLATION OF

17 OTHER HOUSE.—If one House fails to introduce 

18 a joint resolution to terminate under this sec19 tion, the joint resolution to terminate of the 

20 other House shall be entitled to expedited floor 

21 procedures under this section. 

22 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION TO REVENUE MEAS23 URES.—The provisions of this paragraph shall 

24 not apply in the House of Representatives to a 


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1 joint resolution of approval which is a revenue 

2 measure. 

3 ‘‘(6) TREATMENT OF VETO MESSAGE.—Debate 

4 on a veto message in the Senate under this section 

5 shall be 1 hour evenly divided between the majority 

6 and minority leaders or their designees. 

7 ‘‘(e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The enactment of a 

8 joint resolution of approval or a joint resolution of termi9 nation under this section may not be interpreted to serve 

10 as a grant or modification by Congress of statutory au11 thority for the emergency powers of the President. 

12 ‘‘(f) RULES OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE.—This sec13 tion is enacted by Congress— 

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

15 the Senate and the House of Representatives, re16 spectively, and as such is deemed a part of the rules 

17 of each House, respectively, but applicable only with 

18 respect to the procedure to be followed in the House 

19 in the case of joint resolutions described in this sec20 tion, and supersedes other rules only to the extent 

21 that it is inconsistent with such other rules; and 

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

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

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


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•HR 4928 IH

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

2 the case of any other rule of that House. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 204. BAR ON PERMANENT EMERGENCIES. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Any national emergency declared 

5 by the President under section 201(a), and not otherwise 

6 terminated, shall automatically terminate on the date that 

7 is 5 years after the date of its declaration. 

8 ‘‘(b) EMERGENCIES ALREADY IN EFFECT.—Any na9 tional emergency declaration that remains in force as of 

10 the date of the enactment of this section and— 

11 ‘‘(1) has been in effect for 3 years or fewer as 

12 of such date, shall automatically terminate on the 

13 date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment 

14 of this section; or 

15 ‘‘(2) has been in effect for more than 3 years 

16 as of such date, shall automatically terminate on the 

17 date that is 2 years after the date of the enactment 

18 of this section. 

19 ‘‘(c) EFFECT OF TERMINATION.—If a national emer20 gency declaration terminates pursuant to this section, no 

21 emergency may subsequently be declared based on sub22 stantially the same facts and circumstances.’’. 

23 SEC. 303. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

24 Section 401 of the National Emergencies Act (50 

25 U.S.C. 1641) is amended— 


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1 (1) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol2 lows: 

3 ‘‘(c) REPORT UPON DECLARATION OR RENEWAL OF

4 NATIONAL EMERGENCY.—The President shall transmit to 

5 Congress, concurrently with any proclamation declaring a 

6 national emergency under section 201(a), any Executive 

7 order specifying emergency powers or authorities under 

8 section 201(b)(2), or any Executive order renewing a na9 tional emergency under section 202(b), a written report 

10 that includes each of the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) A description of the circumstances necessi12 tating the declaration of a national emergency, the 

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

14 emergency authority specified in the Executive 

15 order, as the case may be. 

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

17 emergency, or a statement that the duration of the 

18 national emergency cannot reasonably be estimated 

19 at the time of transmission of the report. 

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

21 other officers intend to take, including any re22 programming or transfer of funds, and the statutory 

23 authorities the President and such officers expect to 

24 rely on in addressing the national emergency. 


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

2 emergency, a summary of the actions the President 

3 or other officers have taken in the preceding one4 year period, including any reprogramming or trans5 fer of funds, to address the emergency.’’; and 

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

7 ‘‘(d) REPORT ON EXPENDITURES AND ACTIVITIES

8 DURING NATIONAL EMERGENCY OR WAR.—Not later 

9 than 90 days after the end of each 180-day period fol10 lowing a proclamation declaring a national emergency 

11 under section 201(a) or a declaration of war by the Con12 gress, the President shall transmit to Congress a report 

13 on— 

14 ‘‘(1) the total expenditures of the United States 

15 Government during such 180-day period which are 

16 directly attributable to the exercise of powers and 

17 authorities conferred by such declaration; and 

18 ‘‘(2) with respect to a declaration of a national 

19 emergency— 

20 ‘‘(A) the status of the emergency; and 

21 ‘‘(B) the actions the President or other of22 ficers have taken pursuant to such emergency 

23 and authorities the President and such officers 

24 have relied on in addressing the emergency. 


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1 ‘‘(e) FINAL REPORT ON EXPENDITURES OR ACTIVI2 TIES DURING NATIONAL EMERGENCY OR WAR.—Not 

3 later than 90 days after the termination of a national 

4 emergency under section 201(a) or a declaration of war 

5 by the Congress, the President shall transmit to Congress 

6 a final report on each matter described in paragraphs (1) 

7 and (2) of subsection (d) with respect to such emergency 

8 or war. 

9 ‘‘(f) PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO CONGRESS.— 

10 The President shall provide to Congress such other infor11 mation as Congress may request in connection with any 

12 national emergency in effect under title II. 

13 ‘‘(g) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE.—The reports described in 

14 subsections (c), (d), and (e) shall be in unclassified form 

15 and shall be made public at the same time as their trans16 mission to Congress, although a classified annex may be 

17 provided to Congress as necessary.’’. 

18 SEC. 304. DISCLOSURES TO CONGRESS OF PRESIDENTIAL 

19 DOCUMENTS RELATING TO EMERGENCY AC20 TIONS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

22 (1) Not later than 30 days after the conclusion 

23 of the process for approval, adoption, or revision of 

24 any presidential emergency action document, the 


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1 President shall submit that document to the appro2 priate congressional committees. 

3 (2) Not later than 180 days after the conclu4 sion of the process for approval, adoption, or revi5 sion of any presidential emergency action document, 

6 the head of each relevant Federal department and 

7 agency shall complete a declassification review of the 

8 document and shall make public any declassified 

9 portions of the document. If significant portions of 

10 the document remain classified, the respective head 

11 shall release an unclassified summary of the docu12 ment. 

13 (b) DOCUMENTS IN EXISTENCE BEFORE DATE OF

14 ENACTMENT.— 

15 (1) Not later than 15 days after the date of the 

16 enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to 

17 the appropriate congressional committees all presi18 dential emergency action documents in existence be19 fore such date of enactment. 

20 (2) Not later than 1 year after the date of en21 actment of this Act, the head of each relevant Fed22 eral department and agency shall complete a declas23 sification review of all presidential emergency action 

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1 tions of the documents. If significant portions of the 

2 document remain classified, the respective head shall 

3 release an unclassified summary of the document. 

4 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT6 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com7 mittees’’, with respect to a presidential emergency 

8 action document, means— 

9 (A) the Committee on Oversight and Re10 form, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the 

11 Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of 

12 the House of Representatives; 

13 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security 

14 and Governmental Affairs, the Committee on 

15 the Judiciary, and the Select Committee on In16 telligence of the Senate; and 

17 (C) any other committee of the Senate or 

18 the House of Representatives with jurisdiction 

19 over the subject matter addressed in the presi20 dential emergency action document. 

21 (2) PRESIDENTIAL EMERGENCY ACTION DOCU22 MENT.—The term ‘‘presidential emergency action 

23 document’’ means— 

24 (A) each of the approximately 56 docu25 ments described as ‘‘presidential emergency acVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:06 Aug 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00071 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4928.IH H4928

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1 tion documents’’ in the budget justification ma2 terials for the Office of Legal Counsel of the 

3 Department of Justice submitted to Congress in 

4 support of the budget of the President for fiscal 

5 year 2018; and 

6 (B) any other pre-coordinated legal docu7 ment, without regard to whether such document 

8 was promulgated before, on, or after the date of 

9 the enactment of this Act, that— 

10 (i) is designated as a ‘‘presidential 

11 emergency action document’’; or 

12 (ii) is designed to implement a presi13 dential decision or transmit a presidential 

14 request when an emergency disrupts nor15 mal governmental or legislative processes. 

16 SEC. 305. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

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

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

19 (b) INTERNATIONAL EMERGENCY ECONOMIC POW20 ERS ACT.—Section 207 of the International Emergency 

21 Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1706) is amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘concurrent 

23 resolution’’ and inserting ‘‘joint resolution’’; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(e) In this section, the term ‘National Emergencies 

2 Act’ means the National Emergencies Act, as in effect on 

3 the day before the date of the enactment of the National 

4 Emergencies Reforms Act.’’. 

5 SEC. 306. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

7 (c), this title and the amendments made by this title 

8 shall— 

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

10 this Act; and 

11 (2) apply with respect to national emergencies 

12 declared under section 201 of the National Emer13 gencies Act, as amended by section 302 of this title, 

14 on or after that date. 

15 (b) APPLICABILITY TO RECENTLY DECLARED EMER16 GENCY.—A national emergency declared under section 

17 201 of the National Emergencies Act not later than 90 

18 days before the date of the enactment of this Act shall 

19 be treated for purposes of subsection (a)(2) as being de20 clared on such date of enactment. 

21 (c) APPLICABILITY TO RENEWALS OF EXISTING

22 EMERGENCIES PREVIOUSLY DECLARED.—The amend23 ments made by this title, other than the amendments 

24 made with respect to the renewal of a national emergency 

25 under section 202(b) of the National Emergencies Act, 


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1 shall not apply with respect to any national emergency de2 clared under section 201 of the National Emergencies Act 

3 before the date of the enactment of this Act. Each such 

4 emergency shall terminate on the date that is one year 

5 after the date of enactment of this Act, unless the emer6 gency is renewed in accordance with such section 202(b) 

7 as so amended. 

Æ 


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