[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1809 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1809
To require congressional approval of national emergency declarations
and to repeal the emergency powers and authorities most susceptible to
abuse, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 12, 2019
Mr. Paul (for himself and Mr. Wyden) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require congressional approval of national emergency declarations
and to repeal the emergency powers and authorities most susceptible to
abuse, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Reforming Emergency Powers to Uphold
the Balances and Limitations Inherent in the Constitution Act'' or the
``REPUBLIC Act''.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL OF NATIONAL EMERGENCY DECLARATIONS.
(a) In General.--Section 201 of the National Emergencies Act (50
U.S.C. 1621) is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 201. DECLARATION AND CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL OF NATIONAL
EMERGENCIES.
``(a) In General.--With respect to Acts of Congress authorizing the
exercise, during the period of a national emergency, of any special or
extraordinary power, the President is authorized to declare such
national emergency. Such proclamation shall immediately be transmitted
to Congress and published in the Federal Register.
``(b) Specification of Powers and Authorities.--The President shall
specify, in the proclamation declaring a national emergency under
subsection (a) or in one or more contemporaneous or subsequent
Executive orders published in the Federal Register and transmitted to
Congress, the provisions of law made available for use in the event of
an emergency pursuant to which the President proposes that the
President, or another official, will exercise emergency powers or
authorities.
``(c) Termination After 72 Hours Unless Approved by Congress.--
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), a
national emergency declared under subsection (a), and the
exercise of emergency powers and authorities pursuant to
provisions of law described in subsection (b), shall terminate
at the time specified in paragraph (3).
``(2) Approval by congress required.--A national emergency
declared under subsection (a), and the exercise of any
emergency power or authority pursuant to a provision of law
described in subsection (b), may continue after the time
specified in paragraph (3) only if, before that time, there is
enacted into law a joint resolution of approval pursuant to
subsection (f) approving--
``(A) the declaration of the emergency; and
``(B) the exercise of that power or authority.
``(3) Time specified.--The time specified in this paragraph
is--
``(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), 72
hours after the President declares the national
emergency; or
``(B) if Congress is unable to convene during the
72-hour period described in subparagraph (A), 72 hours
after Congress first convenes after the declaration of
the emergency.
``(d) Termination After 90 Days Unless Renewed With Congressional
Approval.--A national emergency declared under subsection (a) with
respect to which a joint resolution of approval is enacted under
subsection (f), and the exercise of any emergency power or authority
pursuant to that emergency, shall terminate on the date that is 90 days
after the President declares the emergency (or the emergency was
previously renewed under this subsection), unless, before the
termination of the emergency--
``(1) the President publishes in the Federal Register and
transmits to Congress an Executive order--
``(A) renewing the emergency; and
``(B) specifying the provisions of law made
available for use in the event of an emergency pursuant
to which the President proposes that the President, or
another official, will exercise emergency powers or
authorities; and
``(2) there is enacted a joint resolution of approval with
respect to--
``(A) the renewal of the emergency; and
``(B) the exercise of that power or authority.
``(e) Prohibition on Subsequent Actions if Emergencies Not
Approved.--
``(1) Subsequent declarations.--If a joint resolution of
approval is not enacted pursuant to subsection (f) with respect
to a national emergency declared under subsection (a) or
proposed to be renewed under subsection (d), the President may
not, during the remainder of the term of office of that
President, declare a subsequent national emergency under
subsection (a) with respect to the same circumstances.
``(2) Exercise of authorities.--If a joint resolution of
approval is not enacted pursuant to subsection (f) with respect
to a power or authority proposed by the President under
subsection (b) to be exercised with respect to a national
emergency, the President may not, during the remainder of the
term of office of that President, exercise that power or
authority with respect to that emergency.
``(f) Joint Resolutions of Approval.--
``(1) Joint resolution of approval defined.--For purposes
of this section, the term `joint resolution of approval' means
a joint resolution that contains after its resolving clause--
``(A) a provision approving--
``(i) a proclamation of a national
emergency made under subsection (a);
``(ii) an Executive order issued under
subsection (b) specifying the provisions of law
pursuant to which the President proposes to
exercise emergency powers or authorities; or
``(iii) an Executive order issued under
subsection (d) renewing a national emergency;
and
``(B) a provision approving a list of all or some
of the provisions of law specified by the President
under subsection (b) and included in the proclamation
or Executive order, as the case may be.
``(2) Introduction.--After the President transmits to
Congress a proclamation described in clause (i) of paragraph
(1)(A) or an Executive order described in clause (ii) or (iii)
of that paragraph, a joint resolution of approval may be
introduced in either House of Congress by any Member of that
House.
``(3) Committee referral.--A joint resolution of approval
shall be referred in each House of Congress to the committee or
committees having jurisdiction over the emergency powers and
authorities invoked by the proclamation or Executive order that
is the subject of the joint resolution.
``(4) Consideration in senate.--
``(A) Reporting and discharge.--If the committee to
which a joint resolution of approval has been referred
has not reported it at the end of 2 calendar days after
its introduction, that committee shall be automatically
discharged from further consideration of the resolution
and it shall be placed on the calendar.
``(B) Proceeding to consideration.--Notwithstanding
Rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, when the
committee to which a joint resolution of approval is
referred has reported the resolution, or when that
committee is discharged under subparagraph (A) from
further consideration of the resolution, it is at any
time thereafter in order (even though a previous motion
to the same effect has been disagreed to) for a motion
to proceed to the consideration of the joint
resolution, and all points of order against the joint
resolution (and against consideration of the joint
resolution) are waived. The motion to proceed is not
debatable. The motion is not subject to amendment, or
to a motion to postpone, or to a motion to proceed to
the consideration of other business.
``(C) Amendments.--No amendments shall be in order
with respect to a joint resolution of approval, except
for amendments that strike provisions from the list of
provisions of law required by paragraph (1)(B) or
otherwise narrow the scope of emergency powers and
authorities authorized to be exercised pursuant to such
provisions of law.
``(D) Motion to reconsider final vote.--A motion to
reconsider a vote on final passage of a joint
resolution of approval shall not be in order.
``(E) Appeals.--Points of order, including
questions of relevancy, and appeals from the decision
of the Presiding Officer, shall be decided without
debate.
``(5) Consideration in house of representatives.--In the
House of Representatives, if any committee to which a joint
resolution of approval has been referred has not reported it to
the House at the end of 2 calendar days after its introduction,
that committee shall be discharged from further consideration
of the joint resolution, and the resolution shall be placed on
the appropriate calendar. It shall be in order at any time for
the Speaker to recognize a Member who favors passage of a joint
resolution to call up that joint resolution for immediate
consideration in the House without intervention of any point of
order. When so called up a joint resolution shall be considered
as read and shall be debatable for 1 hour equally divided and
controlled by the proponent and an opponent. It shall not be in
order to reconsider the vote on passage.
``(6) Receipt of resolution from other house.--If, before
passing a joint resolution of approval, one House receives a
joint resolution of approval from the other House, then--
``(A) the joint resolution of the other House shall
not be referred to a committee and shall be deemed to
have been discharged from committee on the day it is
received; and
``(B) the procedures set forth in paragraph (4) or
(5), as applicable, shall apply in the receiving House
to the joint resolution received from the other House
to the same extent as such procedures apply to a joint
resolution of the receiving House.
``(g) Effect of Later-Enacted Laws.--No law enacted after the date
of the enactment of this Act shall supersede this title unless it does
so in specific terms, referring to this title, and declaring that the
new law supersedes the provisions of this title.''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--The National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C.
1601 et seq.) is amended--
(1) in section 202--
(A) in subsection (a)--
(i) in the matter preceding paragraph (1),
by striking ``declared by the President in
accordance with this title'' and inserting ``in
effect under section 201''; and
(ii) in the flush text, by striking
``declared by the President'' and inserting
``in effect under section 201'';
(B) in subsection (c), by striking paragraph (5);
and
(C) by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:
``(d) Subsection (b) and section 201(f) are enacted by Congress--
``(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate
and the House of Representatives, respectively, and as such
they are deemed a part of the rules of each House,
respectively, but applicable only with respect to the procedure
to be followed in the House in the case of resolutions
described by this title, and they supersede other rules only to
the extent that they are inconsistent therewith; and
``(2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of
either House to change the rules (so far as relating to the
procedure of that House) at any time, in the same manner, and
to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of that
House.''; and
(2) by striking title III.
SEC. 3. REPEAL OF EMERGENCY AUTHORITY TO SUSPEND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
RULES AND REGULATIONS.
Section 706 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 606) is
amended by striking subsection (c).
SEC. 4. APPLICABILITY.
Except as provided in section 6(a), the amendments made by this Act
shall apply with respect to national emergencies declared under section
201 of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1621) on or after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 5. TERMINATION OF EXISTING EMERGENCY DECLARATIONS.
Each national emergency declared under section 201 of the National
Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1621) before the date of the enactment of
this Act (other than a national emergency described in section 6(b))
shall terminate on such date of enactment.
SEC. 6. NONAPPLICABILITY WITH RESPECT TO INTERNATIONAL EMERGENCY
ECONOMIC POWERS ACT.
(a) In General.--In the case of a national emergency declared on or
after the date of the enactment of this Act under which the President
proposes to exercise emergency powers and authorities pursuant to the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)--
(1) the amendments made by this Act shall not apply; and
(2) the provisions of the National Emergencies Act, as in
effect on the day before such date of enactment, shall apply.
(b) Continuation in Effect of National Emergency Declarations.--A
national emergency declared before the date of the enactment of this
Act under which the President exercises emergency powers and
authorities pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act
(50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) shall--
(1) continue in effect on and after such date of enactment;
and
(2) terminate in accordance with the provisions of the
National Emergencies Act, as in effect on the day before such
date of enactment.
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