IA 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. J. RES. 53 

To amend the War Powers Resolution to ensure the collective judgment 

of both the Congress and the President will apply to the initiation 

of hostilities by the Armed Forces, the continued use of the Armed 

Forces in hostilities, and the participation of the Armed Forces in military operations of the United Nations. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2007 

Mr. JONES of North Carolina introduced 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 to ensure the collective 

judgment of both the Congress and the President will 

apply to the initiation of hostilities by the Armed Forces, 

the continued use of the Armed Forces in hostilities, 

and the participation of the Armed Forces in military 

operations of the United Nations. 

1 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives

2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This joint resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Constitu3 tional War Powers Amendments of 2007’’. 

4 SEC. 2. REVISION OF WAR POWERS RESOLUTION. 

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

6 is amended by striking out all after the resolving clause 

7 and inserting in lieu thereof the following: 

8 ‘‘SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

10 cited as the ‘Constitutional War Powers Resolution’. 

11 ‘‘(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents 

12 for this joint resolution is as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 

‘‘Sec. 2. Declaration of policy and purpose. 

‘‘Sec. 3. Uses of the Armed Forces in hostilities. 

‘‘Sec. 4. Consultation between the President and Congress. 

‘‘Sec. 5. Reports to the Congress. 

‘‘Sec. 6. Congressional action with respect to hostilities. 

‘‘Sec. 7. Congressional expedited procedures. 

‘‘Sec. 8. Judicial review. 

‘‘Sec. 9. Rules of interpretation. 

‘‘Sec. 10. Rules of construction. 

‘‘Sec. 11. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 12. Separability clause. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 2. DECLARATION OF POLICY AND PURPOSE. 

14 ‘‘(a) DECLARATION OF POLICY.—The Congress de15 clares that— 

16 ‘‘(1) the decision of the United States to pro17 vide for the initiation of hostilities by the Armed 

18 Forces, except for a limited range of defensive pur19 poses, requires a collective judgment of the Congress 

20 and the President; 


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1 ‘‘(2) the conduct of the Armed Forces in hos2 tilities requires undivided command by the Com3 mander-in-Chief; and 

4 ‘‘(3) the continued use of the Armed Forces in 

5 hostilities ultimately requires continued appropria6 tion and oversight by the Congress. 

7 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this joint resolu8 tion to fulfill the intent of the framers of the Constitution 

9 of the United States and ensure that the collective judg10 ment of both the Congress and the President will apply 

11 to— 

12 ‘‘(1) the initiation of hostilities by the Armed 

13 Forces, 

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

15 hostilities, and 

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

17 certain military operations of the United Nations. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 3. USES OF THE ARMED FORCES IN HOSTILITIES. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The initiation of hostilities by 

20 the Armed Forces may occur only as follows: 

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

22 declaration of war by the Congress. 

23 ‘‘(2) SPECIFIC STATUTORY AUTHORIZATION.— 

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1 tion, which shall include the duration of the author2 ity for the deployment of the Armed Forces. 

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

4 the extent necessary— 

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

6 United States; or 

7 ‘‘(B) to take necessary and appropriate re8 taliatory actions in the event of such an attack. 

9 ‘‘(4) ARMED ATTACK ON THE ARMED

10 FORCES.—To the extent necessary to repel an armed 

11 attack against Armed Forces located outside the 

12 United States. 

13 ‘‘(5) EVACUATION OF UNITED STATES CITI14 ZENS.—To the extent necessary to protect United 

15 States citizens or nationals while evacuating them as 

16 rapidly as possible from a situation, outside the 

17 United States to include international waters and 

18 airspace. Where the source of the threat is within a 

19 foreign country, the threat is supported by the gov20 ernment of that country or the government of that 

21 country is unable or unwilling to control the situa22 tion, the President shall make every effort to termi23 nate any such threat without using the Armed 

24 Forces. Before using the Armed Forces to protect 

25 United States citizens or nationals being evacuated 


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1 from a foreign country in accordance with this para2 graph, the President shall, where possible, obtain the 

3 consent of the government of that country. 

4 ‘‘(b) FUNDING LIMITATION.—Funds appropriated or 

5 otherwise made available under any law may not be obli6 gated or expended for any initiation, other than an initi7 ation described in subsection (a), of hostilities by the 

8 Armed Forces. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 4. CONSULTATION BETWEEN THE PRESIDENT AND 

10 CONGRESS. 

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

12 President shall consult with the Congress before the initi13 ation of hostilities by the Armed Forces in accordance with 

14 any of paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 3(a). After every 

15 such initiation, the President shall consult regularly with 

16 the Congress until the Armed Forces are no longer in hos17 tilities. The President, in every possible instance, shall 

18 consult with the Congress before the initiation of hos19 tilities by the Armed Forces in accordance with any of 

20 paragraphs (3) through (5) of section (3)(a). 

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

22 consult with the Congress— 

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

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

25 while equipped for combat, except for deployments 


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

2 training of such forces; 

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

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

5 in which there are already Armed Forces equipped 

6 for combat if such initiation would substantially en7 large the number of Armed Forces equipped for 

8 combat located in that country or otherwise substan9 tially increase the military capabilities of such 

10 forces; or 

11 ‘‘(C) before committing Armed Forces to an op12 eration authorized by the United Nations Security 

13 Council under chapter VII of the United Nations 

14 Charter. 

15 ‘‘(b) EXECUTIVE-LEGISLATIVE CONSULTATIVE

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

17 shall include participation by— 

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

19 branch officials designated by the President; and 

20 ‘‘(2) the Speaker of the House of Representa21 tives, the President pro tempore of the Senate, and 

22 the Majority Leader and Minority Leader of the 

23 House of Representatives and the Senate. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 5. REPORTS TO THE CONGRESS. 

2 ‘‘(a) REPORTING REQUIREMENT RELATING TO USE

3 OF THE ARMED FORCES PURSUANT TO A DECLARATION

4 OF WAR OR SPECIFIC STATUTORY AUTHORIZATION.—The 

5 President shall submit the report described in subsection 

6 (c) before the initiation of hostilities by the Armed Forces 

7 in accordance with paragraph (1) or (2) of section 3(a). 

8 ‘‘(b) REPORTING REQUIREMENT RELATING TO

9 EMERGENCY USE OF THE ARMED FORCES.—The Presi10 dent shall submit the report described in subsection (c) 

11 within 48 hours after the initiation of hostilities by the 

12 Armed Forces in accordance with paragraph (3), (4), or 

13 (5) of section 3(a). 

14 ‘‘(c) DESCRIPTION OF REPORT REQUIRED.—The re15 port required by subsections (a) and (b) is a written report 

16 submitted by the President to the Speaker of the House 

17 of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the 

18 Senate on the same calendar day, setting forth— 

19 ‘‘(1) the circumstances necessitating the initi20 ation of hostilities by the Armed Forces; 

21 ‘‘(2) the specific constitutional and legislative 

22 authority under which such initiation is permissible; 

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

24 hostilities or the involvement of the Armed Forces, 

25 as the case may be; 


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1 ‘‘(4) the estimated cost of the hostilities, includ2 ing post-hostility reconstruction; 

3 ‘‘(5) the assets of the Armed Forces to be intro4 duced or introduced; 

5 ‘‘(6) an assessment of the diplomatic impact on 

6 United States foreign relations; and 

7 ‘‘(7) a detailed assessment of post-hostilities 

8 scenarios, including the size of military forces and 

9 the duration of deployment necessitated under each 

10 alternative scenario. 

11 Any such report shall state expressly that it is being sub12 mitted pursuant to this section. 

13 ‘‘(d) CONTINUING REPORTS.—Whenever hostilities 

14 are initiated by the Armed Forces the President shall, so 

15 long as the Armed Forces continue to be involved in those 

16 or related hostilities, report to the Congress periodically 

17 on the status of such hostilities as well as on the scope 

18 and estimated duration of such hostilities, but in no event 

19 shall the President report to the Congress less often than 

20 once every six months. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 6. CONGRESSIONAL ACTION WITH RESPECT TO HOS22 TILITIES. 

23 ‘‘(a) RECEIPT OF SECTION 5(b) REPORT.—Each re24 port submitted pursuant to section 5(b) shall be referred 

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1 resentatives and to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

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

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

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

5 the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 

6 President pro tempore of the Senate, if they deem it advis7 able (or if they are petitioned by at least 30 percent of 

8 the membership of their respective Houses) shall jointly 

9 request the President to convene the Congress in order 

10 that it may consider the report and take appropriate ac11 tion pursuant to this section. 

12 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENT FOR SPECIFIC STATUTORY AU13 THORIZATION FOR CONTINUED INVOLVEMENT.—Within 

14 30 calendar days after the initiation of hostilities by the 

15 Armed Forces in accordance with paragraph (3), (4), or 

16 (5) of section 3(a), the President shall remove the Armed 

17 Forces from those hostilities unless the Congress— 

18 ‘‘(1) has declared war; 

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

20 specific authorization for such use of the Armed 

21 Forces; 

22 ‘‘(3) has extended by law such 30-day period; or 

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

24 an armed attack upon the United States. 


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1 ‘‘(c) FUNDING LIMITATION.—Unless one of the num2 bered paragraphs of subsection (b) applies, after the expi3 ration of the period specified in that subsection (including 

4 any extension of that period in accordance with that sub5 section), funds appropriated or otherwise made available 

6 under any law may not be obligated or expended to con7 tinue the involvement of the Armed Forces in the hos8 tilities. This subsection does not, however, prohibit the use 

9 of funds to remove the Armed Forces from hostilities. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 7. CONGRESSIONAL EXPEDITED PROCEDURES. 

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

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

13 a joint resolution— 

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

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

16 that resolution contains only provisions which are 

17 relevant to those hostilities; 

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

19 submitted a written request to the Congress for en20 actment of such an authorization with respect to 

21 those or related hostilities; and 

22 ‘‘(3) that references this section. 

23 ‘‘(b) PROCEDURE IN HOUSE OF REPRESENTA24 TIVES.—(1) This subsection applies to the consideration 

25 of a privileged resolution in the House of Representatives. 


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

2 of Representatives shall be referred, upon introduction, to 

3 the Committee on Foreign Affairs. A privileged resolution 

4 shall not be sequentially referred. 

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

6 introduction of a privileged resolution, the Committee on 

7 Foreign Affairs has not reported that resolution, that 

8 committee shall be discharged from further consideration 

9 of that resolution and that resolution shall be placed on 

10 the appropriate calendar of the House, or at any time 

11 prior to the end of such 10-day period if 30 percent of 

12 the membership of the House requests that the resolution 

13 be immediately placed on the appropriate calendar of the 

14 House. 

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

16 the appropriate calendar, no other privileged resolution 

17 with respect to the same hostilities may be reported by 

18 or be discharged from any committee under this sub19 section while the first resolution— 

20 ‘‘(i) is before the House of Representatives (in21 cluding remaining on the calendar), 

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

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

24 on final passage with respect to the resolution and 


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1 a majority of those voting did not vote in the affirm2 ative, 

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

4 otherwise awaiting disposition of amendments be5 tween the Houses, or 

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

7 is before the President. 

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

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

10 for any Member of the House of Representatives to move 

11 that the House resolve itself into the Committee of the 

12 Whole House on the State of the Union for the consider13 ation of that resolution. The motion is highly privileged. 

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

15 a previous motion to the same effect has been disagreed 

16 to. 

17 ‘‘(B) All points of order against a privileged resolu18 tion and consideration of the resolution are waived. If the 

19 motion under subparagraph (A) is agreed to, the privi20 leged resolution shall remain the unfinished business of 

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

22 business (other than a motion to adjourn), except as pro23 vided in paragraph (5)(A). A motion to reconsider the vote 

24 by which the motion is disagreed to is not in order. 


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

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

3 a Member favoring and a Member opposing the resolution. 

4 ‘‘(D)(i) At the conclusion of general debate, a privi5 leged resolution shall be considered for amendment under 

6 the 5-minute rule. 

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

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

9 amendments shall be in order. 

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

11 on each amendment, and any amendments thereto, shall 

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

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

14 text of a privileged resolution, that amendment shall be 

15 considered to be original text for purposes of amendment 

16 and debate on each amendment to that amendment, and 

17 any amendments thereto, shall not exceed one hour. 

18 ‘‘(E) At the conclusion of consideration of amend19 ments to a privileged resolution, the Committee of the 

20 Whole shall rise and report the resolution back to the 

21 House, and the previous question shall be considered as 

22 ordered on the resolution, with any amendments adopted 

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

24 intervening motion, except one motion to recommit with 

25 or without instructions. 


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

2 before the passage by the House of Representatives of a 

3 privileged resolution of the House, the House receives a 

4 privileged resolution from the Senate with respect to the 

5 same or related hostilities, then the following procedures 

6 shall apply: 

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

8 referred to a committee. 

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

10 the House— 

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

12 the same as if no resolution had been received 

13 from the Senate; but 

14 ‘‘(II) the privileged resolution of the Sen15 ate shall be considered to have been read for 

16 the third time; the vote on final passage shall 

17 be on the resolution of the Senate (if the resolu18 tions are identical), or on the resolution of the 

19 Senate (if they are not identical) with the text 

20 of the resolution of the House inserted in lieu 

21 of the text of the resolution of the Senate; and 

22 the vote on final passage shall occur without de23 bate or any intervening action. 

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

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1 leged resolution of the House shall no longer be priv2 ileged under this section. 

3 ‘‘(B) If the House receives from the Senate a privi4 leged resolution before any privileged resolution is intro5 duced in the House with respect to the same or related 

6 hostilities, then the resolution of the Senate shall be re7 ferred to the appropriate committee or committees, and 

8 the procedures in the House with respect to that resolu9 tion shall be the same under this subsection as if the reso10 lution received had been introduced in the House. 

11 ‘‘(C) If the House receives from the Senate a privi12 leged resolution after the House has disposed of an iden13 tical privileged resolution, it shall be in order to proceed 

14 by a highly privileged, nondebatable motion to consider15 ation of the resolution of the Senate, and that resolution 

16 shall be disposed of without debate and without amend17 ment. 

18 ‘‘(6) A motion to disagree with amendments of the 

19 Senate to a privileged resolution of the House and request 

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

21 insist on the House amendments to a privileged resolution 

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

23 Senate, is highly privileged. 

24 ‘‘(7)(A) If the conferees are unable to agree on resolv25 ing the differences between the two Houses with respect 


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1 to a privileged resolution within 72 hours after the second 

2 House is notified that the first House has agreed to con3 ference, they shall report back to their respective House 

4 in disagreement. 

5 ‘‘(B) Notwithstanding any rule of the House of Rep6 resentatives concerning the printing of conference reports 

7 in the Congressional Record or concerning any delay in 

8 the consideration of such reports, a conference report with 

9 respect to a privileged resolution, including a report filed 

10 in disagreement, shall be acted on in the House of Rep11 resentatives not later than 2 session days after the House 

12 files the report provided the report has been available for 

13 2 hours. The conference report (and any amendment re14 ported in disagreement) shall be deemed to have been 

15 read. Debate on such a conference report shall be limited 

16 to 3 hours, equally divided between, and controlled by the 

17 Majority Leader and the Minority Leader (or their des18 ignees). 

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

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

21 convenes. 

22 ‘‘(8) This subsection is enacted by the House of Rep23 resentatives— 

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

25 the House of Representatives, and as such it is 


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1 deemed a part of the rules of the House, but appli2 cable only with respect to the procedure to be fol3 lowed in the House in the case of a privileged resolu4 tion, and it supersedes other rules only to the extent 

5 that it is inconsistent with such rules; and 

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

7 right of the House to change its rules (so far as re8 lating to the procedure of the House) at any time, 

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

10 the case of any other rule of the House. 

11 ‘‘(c) PROCEDURES IN THE SENATE.—(1) This sub12 section applies to the consideration of a privileged resolu13 tion in the Senate. 

14 ‘‘(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘ses15 sion days’ means days on which the Senate is in session. 

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

17 shall be referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. 

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

19 not reported a privileged resolution (or an identical resolu20 tion) at the end of 7 calendar days after the introduction 

21 of that resolution, that committee shall be discharged from 

22 further consideration of that resolution, and that resolu23 tion shall be placed on the appropriate calendar of the 

24 Senate. 


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

2 a privileged resolution, no other resolution with respect to 

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

4 discharged from such committee while the first resolu5 tion— 

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

7 on the calendar), 

8 ‘‘(ii) is before the House of Representatives (in9 cluding remaining on the calendar), unless the 

10 House has had a vote on final passage with respect 

11 to the resolution and a majority of those voting did 

12 not vote in the affirmative, 

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

19 resolution is referred has reported, or has been discharged 

20 under paragraph (4) from further consideration of that 

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

22 though a previous motion to the same effect has been dis23 agreed to) for any Member of the Senate to move to pro24 ceed to the consideration of the resolution, notwith25 standing any rule or precedent of the Senate, including 


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1 Rule 22. Except as provided in clause (ii) of this subpara2 graph or subparagraph (B) of this paragraph (insofar as 

3 it relates to germaneness and relevancy of amendments), 

4 all points of order against a privileged resolution and con5 sideration of the resolution are waived. The motion is priv6 ileged and is not debatable. The motion is not subject to 

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

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

9 order, except that such motion may not be entered for fu10 ture disposition. If a motion to proceed to the consider11 ation of a privileged resolution is agreed to, the resolution 

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

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

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

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

16 against the privileged status of a resolution that has been 

17 laid before the Senate and been initially identified as privi18 leged for consideration under this subsection upon its in19 troduction, such point of order shall be submitted directly 

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

21 privileged under the Constitutional War Powers Resolu22 tion’, shall be decided by the yeas and the nays after four 

23 hours of debate, equally divided between, and controlled 

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1 ager is in favor of such point of order, the time in opposi2 tion thereto shall be controlled by the Minority Leader or 

3 his designee. Such point of order shall not be considered 

4 to establish precedent for determination of future cases. 

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

6 resolution, and all amendments and debatable motions in 

7 connection therewith, shall be limited to not more than 

8 12 hours, which, except as otherwise provided in this sub9 section, shall be equally divided between, and controlled 

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

11 their designees. The Majority Leader or the Minority 

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

13 control on the resolution, allot additional time to any Sen14 ator during the consideration of any amendment, debat15 able motion, or appeal. 

16 ‘‘(ii) Only amendments which are germane and rel17 evant to a privileged resolution are in order. 

18 ‘‘(iii) Debate on any amendment to a privileged reso19 lution shall be limited to two hours, except that this limita20 tion does not apply to an amendment in the nature of a 

21 substitute to the text of the resolution that is reported 

22 by the Committee on Foreign Relations. Debate on any 

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

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

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


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1 of the amendment and the manager of the resolution, ex2 cept that in the event the manager is in favor of any such 

3 amendment, the time in opposition thereto shall be con4 trolled by the Minority Leader or his designee. 

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

6 order to be offered under a one-hour time limitation imme7 diately following the expiration of the 12-hour time limita8 tion if the Minority Leader has had no opportunity prior 

9 thereto to offer an amendment to the privileged resolution. 

10 One amendment may be offered to the amendment of the 

11 Minority Leader under the preceding sentence, and debate 

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

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

14 mover of the amendment and the manager of the resolu15 tion, except that in the event the manager is in favor of 

16 any such amendment, the time in opposition thereto shall 

17 be controlled by the Minority Leader or his designee. 

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

19 a privileged resolution is not in order. A motion to recon20 sider the vote by which a privileged resolution is agreed 

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

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

23 such motion shall be limited to 1 hour. 

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

25 resolution has been used or yielded back, no further 


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1 amendments may be proposed, except as provided in sub2 paragraph (B)(iii), and the vote on the adoption of the 

3 resolution shall occur without any intervening motion or 

4 amendment, except that a single quorum call at the con5 clusion of the debate if requested in accordance with the 

6 rules of the Senate may occur immediately before such 

7 vote. 

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

9 to the application of the Rules of the Senate to the proce10 dure relating to a privileged resolution shall be limited to 

11 one-half hour of debate, equally divided between, and con12 trolled by, the Member making the appeal and the man13 ager of the resolution, except that in the event the man14 ager is in favor of any such appeal, the time in opposition 

15 thereto shall be controlled by the Minority Leader or his 

16 designee. 

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

18 before the passage by the Senate of a privileged resolution 

19 of the Senate, the Senate receives a privileged resolution 

20 from the House of Representatives with respect to the 

21 same or related hostilities, then the following procedures 

22 shall apply: 

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

24 Representatives shall not be referred to a committee. 


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

2 the Senate— 

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

4 the same as if no resolution had been received 

5 from the House of Representatives; but 

6 ‘‘(II) the resolution of the House of Rep7 resentatives shall be considered to have been 

8 read for the third time; the vote on final pas9 sage shall be on the resolution of the House of 

10 Representatives (if such resolutions are iden11 tical) or on the resolution of the House of Rep12 resentatives (if not identical), with the text of 

13 the resolution of the Senate inserted in lieu of 

14 the text of the resolution of the House of Rep15 resentatives; and such vote on final passage 

16 shall occur without debate or any intervening 

17 action. 

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

19 received from the House of Representatives, it shall 

20 no longer be in order to consider the resolution origi21 nated in the Senate. 

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

23 from the House of Representatives before any privileged 

24 resolution is introduced in the Senate with respect to the 

25 same or related hostilities, then the resolution received 


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1 shall be referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations, 

2 and the procedures in the Senate with respect to that reso3 lution shall be the same under this section as if the resolu4 tion received had been introduced in the Senate. 

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

6 from the House of Representatives after the Senate has 

7 disposed of an identical privileged resolution, it shall be 

8 in order to proceed by nondebatable motion to consider9 ation of the resolution received by the Senate, and that 

10 resolution shall be disposed of without debate and without 

11 amendment. 

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

13 motions required for the disposition of amendments be14 tween the Houses shall not exceed 2 hours, equally divided 

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

16 the manager of the resolution at each stage of the pro17 ceedings between the two Houses, except that in the event 

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

19 opposition thereto shall be controlled by the Minority 

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

21 between the two Houses of Congress with respect to a 

22 privileged resolution which is not resolved, any Senator 

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

24 within 2 session days after action by the second House 


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1 or before the appointment of conferees, whichever comes 

2 first. 

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

4 within 72 hours after the second House is notified that 

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

6 back to their respective House in disagreement. 

7 ‘‘(iii) Notwithstanding any rule in the Senate con8 cerning the printing of conference reports in the Congres9 sional Record or concerning any delay in the consideration 

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

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

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

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

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

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

16 filed or returned in disagreement on any such resolution 

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

18 controlled by, the Majority Leader and the Minority Lead19 er, and their designees. 

20 ‘‘(B) If a privileged resolution is vetoed by the Presi21 dent, the time for debate in consideration of the veto mes22 sage on such measure shall be limited to 20 hours in the 

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

24 Majority Leader and the Minority Leader, and their des25 ignees. 


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

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

3 the Senate, as such it is deemed a part of the rules 

4 of the Senate but applicable only with respect to the 

5 procedure to be followed in the Senate in the case 

6 of a privileged resolution, and it supersedes other 

7 rules only to the extent that it is inconsistent with 

8 such rules; and 

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

10 right of the Senate to change its rules (so far as re11 lating to the procedure of the Senate) at any time, 

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

13 the case of any other rule of the Senate. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 8. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

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

16 Member of Congress may bring an action in the United 

17 States District Court for the District of Columbia for de18 claratory judgment and injunctive relief on the ground 

19 that the President or the Armed Forces have not complied 

20 with any provision of this joint resolution. 

21 ‘‘(b) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION.—Any court in 

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

23 accord such action the highest priority and shall announce 

24 its judgment as speedily as the requirements of Article III 

25 of the Constitution permit. 


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1 ‘‘(c) APPEALS.—Any judgment in an action described 

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

3 States Supreme Court. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 9. RULES OF INTERPRETATION. 

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

6 for the initiation of hostilities by the Armed Forces shall 

7 not be inferred— 

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

9 provision in effect before the date of enactment of 

10 this joint resolution), including any provision con11 tained in any appropriation Act, unless that provi12 sion specifically authorizes the initiation of hostilities 

13 by the Armed Forces and states that it is intended 

14 to constitute specific statutory authorization within 

15 the meaning of this joint resolution; or 

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

17 ratified unless that treaty is implemented by legisla18 tion specifically authorizing the initiation of hos19 tilities by the Armed Forces and stating that it is 

20 intended to constitute specific statutory authoriza21 tion within the meaning of this joint resolution. 

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

23 failure of the Congress to adopt a measure— 

24 ‘‘(1) terminating, limiting, or prohibiting the in25 volvement of the Armed Forces in hostilities, or 


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

2 Forces are acting in violation of this joint resolution, 

3 may not be construed as indicating congressional author4 ization or approval of, or acquiescence in, the involvement 

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

6 the Congress that such involvement is consistent with this 

7 joint resolution. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 10. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

9 ‘‘Nothing in this joint resolution shall be construed 

10 to alter the constitutional authority of Congress or the 

11 President or the provisions of any treaty or other inter12 national agreement to which the United States is a party 

13 as of the date of the enactment of this joint resolution. 

14 No authorization by a treaty organization or international 

15 body to which the United States is a member, or author16 ization under international law generally, shall substitute 

17 for a declaration of war required by paragraph (1) of sec18 tion 3(a) or specific statutory authorization required by 

19 paragraph (2) of such section. No provision of law enacted 

20 before the date of the enactment of this joint resolution 

21 shall be construed to authorize the use of military force 

22 by the United States. 

23 ‘‘SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS. 

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

25 definitions apply: 


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

2 Forces’ has the meaning given the term in section 

3 101 of title 10, United States Code, and includes the 

4 National Guard. 

5 ‘‘(2) HOSTILITIES.—The term ‘hostilities’ in6 cludes a situation where overt acts of warfare are 

7 taking place, such as— 

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

9 or irregular military forces, or 

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

11 military or civilian targets by regular or irreg12 ular military forces, 

13 regardless of whether the Armed Forces are partici14 pating in the exchange of fire or the bombardment; 

15 ‘‘(3) INITIATE AND INITIATION.—The terms 

16 ‘initiate’ and ‘initiation’ include— 

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

18 other involvement of the Armed Forces in hos19 tilities, including the taking of self-defense 

20 measures by the Armed Forces in response to 

21 an attack or threatened attack; 

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

23 of the Armed Forces to command, coordinate, 

24 participate in the movement of, accompany, or 

25 provide logistical support or training for any 


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1 foreign regular or irregular military forces if 

2 those forces are involved in hostilities (regard3 less of whether those hostilities involve insur4 gent forces or the military forces of a foreign 

5 country); and 

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

7 of the Armed Forces to an operation authorized 

8 by the United Nations Security Council under 

9 chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. 

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

11 ‘United States’ and ‘country’, when used in a geo12 graphic sense, include territories and possessions. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 12. SEPARABILITY CLAUSE. 

14 ‘‘If any provision of this joint resolution or the appli15 cation thereof to any person or circumstance is held in16 valid, the remainder of the joint resolution and the appli17 cation of such provision to any other person or cir18 cumstance shall not be affected thereby.’’. 

Æ 


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