ARTICLE ONE Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1912 To provide for congressional approval of national emergency declarations. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 8, 2023 Mr. LEE (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BRAUN, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. RISCH, and Mr. MURPHY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern- mental Affairs A BILL To provide for congressional approval of national emergency declarations. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Assuring that Robust, 4 Thorough, and Informed Congressional Leadership is Ex- 5 ercised Over National Emergencies Act’’ or the ‘‘ARTI- 6 CLE ONE Act’’. 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1912.IS S1912 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1912 IS SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF NATIONAL EMER- 1 GENCIES. 2 Title II of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 3 1621 et seq.) is amended by striking sections 201 and 202 4 and inserting the following: 5 ‘‘SEC. 201. DECLARATIONS OF NATIONAL EMERGENCIES. 6 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO DECLARE NATIONAL EMER- 7 GENCIES.—With respect to Acts of Congress authorizing 8 the exercise, during the period of a national emergency, 9 of any special or extraordinary power, the President is au- 10 thorized to declare such a national emergency by procla- 11 mation. Such proclamation shall immediately be trans- 12 mitted to Congress and published in the Federal Register. 13 ‘‘(b) SPECIFICATION OF PROVISIONS OF LAW TO BE 14 EXERCISED.—No powers or authorities made available by 15 statute for use during the period of a national emergency 16 shall be exercised unless and until the President specifies 17 the provisions of law under which the President proposes 18 that the President or other officers will act in— 19 ‘‘(1) a proclamation declaring a national emer- 20 gency under subsection (a); or 21 ‘‘(2) one or more Executive orders relating to 22 the emergency published in the Federal Register and 23 transmitted to Congress. 24 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION ON SUBSEQUENT ACTIONS IF 25 EMERGENCIES NOT APPROVED.— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1912.IS S1912 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1912 IS ‘‘(1) SUBSEQUENT DECLARATIONS.—If a joint 1 resolution of approval is not enacted under section 2 203 with respect to a national emergency before the 3 expiration of the 30-day period described in section 4 202(a), or with respect to a national emergency pro- 5 posed to be renewed under section 202(b), the Presi- 6 dent may not, during the remainder of the term of 7 office of that President, declare a subsequent na- 8 tional emergency under subsection (a) with respect 9 to the same circumstances. 10 ‘‘(2) EXERCISE OF AUTHORITIES.—If a joint 11 resolution of approval is not enacted under section 12 203 with respect to a power or authority specified by 13 the President in a proclamation under subsection (a) 14 or an Executive order under subsection (b)(2) with 15 respect to a national emergency, the President may 16 not, during the remainder of the term of office of 17 that President, exercise that power or authority with 18 respect to that emergency. 19 ‘‘(d) EFFECT OF FUTURE LAWS.—No law enacted 20 after the date of the enactment of this Act shall supersede 21 this title unless it does so in specific terms, referring to 22 this title, and declaring that the new law supersedes the 23 provisions of this title. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1912.IS S1912 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1912 IS ‘‘SEC. 202. EFFECTIVE PERIODS OF NATIONAL EMER- 1 GENCIES. 2 ‘‘(a) TEMPORARY EFFECTIVE PERIODS.— 3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A declaration of a national 4 emergency shall remain in effect for 30 days from 5 the issuance of the proclamation under section 6 201(a) (not counting the day on which the proclama- 7 tion was issued) and shall terminate when that 30- 8 day period expires unless there is enacted into law 9 a joint resolution of approval under section 203 with 10 respect to the proclamation. 11 ‘‘(2) EXERCISE OF POWERS AND AUTHORI- 12 TIES.—Any emergency power or authority made 13 available under a provision of law specified pursuant 14 to section 201(b) may be exercised pursuant to a 15 declaration of a national emergency for 30 days 16 from the issuance of the proclamation or Executive 17 order (not counting the day on which such proclama- 18 tion or Executive order was issued). That power or 19 authority may not be exercised after that 30-day pe- 20 riod expires unless there is enacted into law a joint 21 resolution of approval under section 203 approv- 22 ing— 23 ‘‘(A) the proclamation of the national 24 emergency or the Executive order; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1912.IS S1912 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1912 IS ‘‘(B) the exercise of the power or authority 1 specified by the President in such proclamation 2 or Executive order. 3 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION IF CONGRESS IS UNABLE TO 4 CONVENE.—If Congress is physically unable to con- 5 vene as a result of an armed attack upon the United 6 States or another national emergency, the 30-day 7 periods described in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall 8 begin on the first day Congress convenes for the 9 first time after the attack or other emergency. 10 ‘‘(b) RENEWAL OF NATIONAL EMERGENCIES.—A na- 11 tional emergency declared by the President under section 12 201(a) or previously renewed under this subsection, and 13 not already terminated pursuant to subsection (a) or (c), 14 shall terminate on the date that is one year after the 15 President transmitted to Congress the proclamation de- 16 claring the emergency or Congress approved a previous re- 17 newal pursuant to this subsection, unless— 18 ‘‘(1) the President publishes in the Federal 19 Register and transmits to Congress an Executive 20 order renewing the emergency; and 21 ‘‘(2) there is enacted into law a joint resolution 22 of approval renewing the emergency pursuant to sec- 23 tion 203 before the termination of the emergency or 24 previous renewal of the emergency. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1912.IS S1912 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1912 IS ‘‘(c) TERMINATION OF NATIONAL EMERGENCIES.— 1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any national emergency 2 declared by the President under section 201(a) shall 3 terminate on the earliest of— 4 ‘‘(A) the date provided for in subsection 5 (a); 6 ‘‘(B) the date provided for in subsection 7 (b); 8 ‘‘(C) the date specified in an Act of Con- 9 gress terminating the emergency; or 10 ‘‘(D) the date specified in a proclamation 11 of the President terminating the emergency. 12 ‘‘(2) EFFECT OF TERMINATION.— 13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Effective on the date 14 of the termination of a national emergency 15 under paragraph (1)— 16 ‘‘(i) except as provided by subpara- 17 graph (B), any powers or authorities exer- 18 cised by reason of the emergency shall 19 cease to be exercised; 20 ‘‘(ii) any amounts reprogrammed or 21 transferred under any provision of law 22 with respect to the emergency that remain 23 unobligated on that date shall be returned 24 and made available for the purpose for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1912.IS S1912 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1912 IS which such amounts were appropriated; 1 and 2 ‘‘(iii) any contracts entered into under 3 any provision of law relating to the emer- 4 gency shall be terminated. 5 ‘‘(B) SAVINGS PROVISION.—The termi- 6 nation of a national emergency shall not af- 7 fect— 8 ‘‘(i) any legal action taken or pending 9 legal proceeding not finally concluded or 10 determined on the date of the termination 11 under paragraph (1); 12 ‘‘(ii) any legal action or legal pro- 13 ceeding based on any act committed prior 14 to that date; or 15 ‘‘(iii) any rights or duties that ma- 16 tured or penalties that were incurred prior 17 to that date. 18 ‘‘SEC. 203. REVIEW BY CONGRESS OF NATIONAL EMER- 19 GENCIES. 20 ‘‘(a) JOINT RESOLUTION OF APPROVAL DEFINED.— 21 In this section, the term ‘joint resolution of approval’ 22 means a joint resolution that contains only the following 23 provisions after its resolving clause: 24 ‘‘(1) A provision approving— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1912.IS S1912 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1912 IS ‘‘(A) a proclamation of a national emer- 1 gency made under section 201(a); 2 ‘‘(B) an Executive order issued under sec- 3 tion 201(b)(2); or 4 ‘‘(C) an Executive order issued under sec- 5 tion 202(b). 6 ‘‘(2) A provision approving a list of all or a por- 7 tion of the provisions of law specified by the Presi- 8 dent under section 201(b) in the proclamation or 9 Executive order that is the subject of the joint reso- 10 lution. 11 ‘‘(b) PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDERATION OF JOINT 12 RESOLUTIONS OF APPROVAL.— 13 ‘‘(1) INTRODUCTION.—After the President 14 transmits to Congress a proclamation declaring a 15 national emergency under section 201(a), or an Ex- 16 ecutive order specifying emergency powers or au- 17 thorities under section 201(b)(2) or renewing a na- 18 tional emergency under section 202(b), a joint reso- 19 lution of approval may be introduced in either House 20 of Congress by any member of that House. 21 ‘‘(2) REQUESTS TO CONVENE CONGRESS DUR- 22 ING RECESSES.—If, when the President transmits to 23 Congress a proclamation declaring a national emer- 24 gency under section 201(a), or an Executive order 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1912.IS S1912 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1912 IS specifying emergency powers or authorities under 1 section 201(b)(2) or renewing a national emergency 2 under section 202(b), Congress has adjourned sine 3 die or has adjourned for any period in excess of 3 4 calendar days, the majority leader of the Senate and 5 the Speaker of the House of Representatives, or 6 their respective designees, acting jointly after con- 7 sultation with and with the concurrence of the mi- 8 nority leader of the Senate and the minority leader 9 of the House, shall notify the Members of the Senate 10 and House, respectively, to reassemble at such place 11 and time as they may designate if, in their opinion, 12 the public interest shall warrant it. 13 ‘‘(3) COMMITTEE REFERRAL.—A joint resolu- 14 tion of approval shall be referred in each House of 15 Congress to the committee or committees having ju- 16 risdiction over the emergency authorities invoked by 17 the proclamation or Executive order that is the sub- 18 ject of the joint resolution. 19 ‘‘(4) CONSIDERATION IN SENATE.—In the Sen- 20 ate, the following shall apply: 21 ‘‘(A) REPORTING AND DISCHARGE.—If the 22 committee to which a joint resolution of ap- 23 proval has been referred has not reported it at 24 the end of 10 calendar days after its introduc- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1912.IS S1912 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1912 IS tion, that committee shall be automatically dis- 1 charged from further consideration of the reso- 2 lution and it shall be placed on the calendar. 3 ‘‘(B) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDERATION.— 4 Notwithstanding Rule XXII of the Standing 5 Rules of the Senate, when the committee to 6 which a joint resolution of approval is referred 7 has reported the resolution, or when that com- 8 mittee is discharged under subparagraph (A) 9 from further consideration of the resolution, it 10 is at any time thereafter in order (even though 11 a previous motion to the same effect has been 12 disagreed to) for a motion to proceed to the 13 consideration of the joint resolution, and all 14 points of order against the joint resolution (and 15 against consideration of the joint resolution) 16 are waived. The motion to proceed is subject to 17 4 hours of debate divided equally between those 18 favoring and those opposing 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. 23 ‘‘(C) FLOOR CONSIDERATION.—A joint 24 resolution of approval shall be subject to 10 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1912.IS S1912 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1912 IS hours of consideration, to be divided evenly be- 1 tween the proponents and opponents of the res- 2 olution. 3 ‘‘(D) AMENDMENTS.— 4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro- 5 vided in clause (ii), no amendments shall 6 be in order with respect to a joint resolu- 7 tion of approval. 8 ‘‘(ii) AMENDMENTS TO STRIKE OR 9 ADD SPECIFIED PROVISIONS OF LAW.— 10 Clause (i) shall not apply with respect to 11 any amendment— 12 ‘‘(I) to strike a provision or pro- 13 visions of law from the list required 14 by subsection (a)(2); or 15 ‘‘(II) to add to that list a provi- 16 sion or provisions of law specified by 17 the President under section 201(b) in 18 the proclamation or Executive order 19 that is the subject of the joint resolu- 20 tion of approval. 21 ‘‘(E) MOTION TO RECONSIDER FINAL 22 VOTE.—A motion to reconsider a vote on pas- 23 sage of a joint resolution of approval shall not 24 be in order. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Jun 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1912.IS S1912 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1912 IS ‘‘(F) APPEALS.—Points of order, including 1 questions of relevancy, and appeals from the de- 2 cision of the Presiding Officer, shall be decided 3 without debate. 4 ‘‘(5) CONSIDERATION IN HOUSE OF REP- 5 RESENTATIVES.—In the House of Representatives, 6 the following shall apply: 7 ‘‘(A) REPORTING AND DISCHARGE.—If any 8 committee to which a joint resolution of ap- 9 proval has been referred has not reported it to 10 the House within 10 calendar days after the 11 date of referral, such committee shall be dis- 12 charged from further consideration of the joint 13 resolution. 14 ‘‘(B) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDERATION.— 15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the 16 third legislative day after each committee 17 to which a joint resolution of approval has 18 been referred reports it to the House or 19 has been discharged from further consider- 20 ation, and except as p [Text truncated for display. 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