[Deschler's Precedents, Volume 3, Chapters 10 - 14]
[Chapter 13. Powers and Prerogatives of the House]
[B. War Powers]
[Â§ 12. Presidential Proclamations]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 1837-1841]
 
                               CHAPTER 13
 
                  Powers and Prerogatives of the House
 
                             B. WAR POWERS
 
Sec. 12. Presidential Proclamations

    The precedents in this section include Presidential proclamations 
which relate to national security matters and appear in the 
Congressional Record.                          -------------------

National Emergency Regarding Korea

Sec. 12.1 During the conflict in Korea, the President proclaimed a 
    national emergency which required strengthening of defenses to 
    repel threats to the national security and fulfill responsibilities 
    to the United Nations.

    On Dec. 21, 1950,(15) Mr. John W. McCormack, of 
Massachusetts, inserted in the Record the following proclamation made 
by the President on Dec. 16, 1950:
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15. 96 Cong. Rec. A7844, 81st Cong. 2d Sess.
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        Mr. McCormack: Mr. Speaker, under leave to extend my remarks in 
    the Record, I include the following text of President. Truman's 
    proclamation of the existence of a national emergency, issued 
    today, taken from the New York Times of December 17, 1950:

                         Text of Emergency Proclamation

            Whereas recent events in Korea and elsewhere constitute a 
        grave threat to the peace of the world and imperil the efforts 
        of this country and those of the United Nations to prevent 
        aggression and armed conflict; and
            Whereas world conquest by Communist imperialism is the goal 
        of the forces of aggression that have been loosed upon the 
        world . . .
            Now, therefore, I, Harry S. Truman, President of the United 
        States of America, do proclaim the existence of a national 
        emergency, which requires that the military, naval, air, and 
        civilian defenses of this country be strengthened as speedily 
        as possible to the end that we may be able to repel any and all 
        threats against our national security. . . .
            In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused 
        the seal of the United States of America to be affixed.
            Done at the city of Washington this 16th day of December in 
        the year of our Lord 1950, and of the independence of the 
        United States of America the one hundred and seventy-fifth.
                                                   Harry S Truman.

        By the President:

            Dean Acheson,
            Secretary of State.

Embargo on Trade With Cuba

Sec. 12.2 A Presidential proclamation relating to an embargo of all 
    trade with Cuba was inserted in the Congressional Record in the 
    Senate.

    On Sept. 20, 1962,(16) the following proclamation was 
inserted in the Record in the Senate:
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16. 108 Cong. Rec. 20034, 87th Cong. 2d Sess.

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[[Page 1838]]

         Embargo on All Trade With Cuba by the President of the United 
                       States of America--A Proclamation

        Whereas the eighth meeting of consultation of Ministers of 
    Foreign Affairs, serving as organ of consultation in application of 
    the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, in its final 
    act resolved that the present Government of Cuba is incompatible 
    with the principles and objectives of the inter-American system; 
    and, in light of the subversive offensive of Sino-Soviet communism 
    with which the Government of Cuba is publicly alined, urged the 
    member states to take those steps that they may consider 
    appropriate for their individual and collective self-defense.  . . 
    .
        . . . Now, therefore, I, John F. Kennedy, President of the 
    United States of America, acting under the authority of section 
    620(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (75 Stat. 445), as 
    amended, do--
        1. Hereby proclaim an embargo upon trade between the United 
    States and Cuba in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3 of this 
    proclamation.
        2. Hereby prohibit, effective 12:01 a.m., eastern standard 
    time, February 7, 1962, the importation in the United States of all 
    goods of Cuban origin . . .

            Done at the city of Washington this third day of February 
        in the year of our Lord 1962, and of the Independence of the 
        United States of America the 186th.
                                                  John F. Kennedy.

        By the President:
                                                      Dean Rusk,
                                               Secretary of State.

Extraordinary Session (Neutrality Legislation)

Sec. 12.3 A Presidential proclamation convening an extraordinary 
    session of Congress to act on neutrality legislation was inserted 
    in the Congressional Record.

    On Sept. 21, 1939,(17) the following proclamation 
convening the Congress in extraordinary session was read to the 
House:(18)
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17. 85 Cong. Rec. 7, 8, 76th Cong. 2d Sess.
18. This proclamation was read in the Senate, id. at p. 3.
            See Sec. Sec. 9.1, 11.6, supra, for a discussion of the 
        Neutrality Act of 1939 and the President's message requesting 
        neutrality legislation, respectively.
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        The Speaker:(19) The Clerk will read the 
    proclamation of the President of the United States convening this 
    extraordinary session of the Seventy-sixth Congress.
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19. William B. Bankhead (Ala.).
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        The Clerk read as follows:

      Convening the Congress in Extra Session by the President of the 
                          United States of America

                               a proclamation

            Whereas public interests require that the Congress of the 
        United States should be convened in extraordinary session at 12 
        o'clock noon on Thursday, the 21st day of September, 1939, to 
        receive such communication as may be made by the Executive: 
        Now, therefore,

[[Page 1839]]

            I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of 
        America, do hereby proclaim and declare that an extraordinary 
        occasion requires the Congress of the United States to convene 
        in extraordinary session at the Capitol in the City of 
        Washington on Thursday, the 21st day of September, 1939, at 12 
        o'clock noon, of which all persons who shall at that time be 
        entitled to act as Members thereof are hereby required to take 
        notice.
            In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused 
        to be affixed the great seal of the United States.
            Done at the city of Washington this 13th day of September, 
        in the year of our Lord 1939, and of the independence of the 
        United States of America the one hundred and sixty-fourth.
            [seal]
                                            Franklin D. Roosevelt.

            By the President:
              Cordell Hull,
                Secretary of State.

War Between Germany and Foreign Nations

Sec. 12.4 A Presidential proclamation relating to a state of war 
    between Germany and France, Poland, the United Kingdom, India, 
    Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Union of South Africa, 
    authorized by the Neutrality Act of 1939, was inserted in the 
    Record.

    On Nov. 3, 1939,(1) the following Presidential 
proclamation relating to a state of war between Germany and several 
nations as authorized by the Neutrality Act of 1939,(2) was 
placed in the Congressional Record:
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 1. 85 Cong. Rec. A787, 76th Cong. 2d Sess.
 2. See Sec. 9.1, supra, for a discussion of the Neutrality Act of 
        1939.
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        Mr. [Alben W.] Barkley [of Kentucky]: Mr. President, under 
    permission granted on November 3, 1939, page 1358, I wish to insert 
    in the Congressional Record two proclamations issued by the 
    President of the United States, as provided under House Joint 
    Resolution 306, passed at the extra session of Congress, relating 
    to neutrality, as follows:
                                            Department of State,
                                                   November, 1939.

          Proclamation of a State of War Between Germany and France; 
         Poland; and the United Kingdom, India, Australia, Canada, New 
                     Zealand, and the Union of South Africa
    By the President of the United States:

                                 a proclamation

        Whereas section 1 of the joint resolution of Congress approved 
    November 4, 1939, provides in part as follows:
        ``That whenever the President, or the Congress by concurrent 
    resolution, shall find that there exists a state of war between 
    foreign states, and that it is necessary to promote the security or 
    preserve the peace of the United States

[[Page 1840]]

    or to protect the lives of citizens of the United States, the 
    President shall issue a proclamation naming the states involved; 
    and he shall, from time to time, by proclamation, name other states 
    as and when they may become involved in the war.'' . . .
        Now, therefore, I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the 
    United States of America, acting under and by virtue of the 
    authority conferred on me by the said joint resolution, do hereby 
    proclaim that a state of war unhappily exists between Germany and 
    France, Poland, and the United Kingdom, India, Australia, Canada, 
    New Zealand, and the Union of South Africa, and that it is 
    necessary to promote the security and preserve the peace of the 
    United States and to protect the lives of citizens of the United 
    States. . . .
        And I do hereby revoke my proclamations Nos. 2349, 2354, and 
    2360 issued on September 5, 8, and 10, 1939, respectively, in 
    regard to the export of arms, ammunition, and implements of war to 
    France, Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom, India, Australia, 
    and New Zealand, to the Union of South Africa, and to Canada. . . .

            Done at the city of Washington this fourth day of November, 
        in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and thirty-nine, and 
        of the independence of the United States of America the one 
        hundred and sixty-fourth.
                                            Franklin D. Roosevelt.

            By the President:
              Cordell Hull,
                Secretary of State.

Use of American Ports by Belligerent Nations

Sec. 12.5 A Presidential proclamation relating to use of ports or 
    territorial waters of the United States by submarines of foreign 
    belligerent nations, authorized by the Neutrality Act of 1939, was 
    inserted in the Record.

    On Nov. 3, 1939,(3) the following Presidential 
proclamation relating to use of ports or territorial waters of the 
United States by submarines of foreign belligerent states was inserted 
in the Record:
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 3. 85 Cong. Rec. A787, 76th Cong. 2d Sess.
            See Sec. 9.1, supra, for a discussion of the Neutrality Act 
        of 1939.
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        Whereas section 11 of the joint resolution approved November 4, 
    1939, provides:
        ``Whenever, during any war in which the United States is 
    neutral, the President shall find that special restrictions placed 
    on the use of the ports and territorial waters of the United States 
    by the submarines or armed merchant vessels of a foreign state, 
    will serve to maintain peace between the United States and foreign 
    states, or to protect the commercial interests of the United States 
    and its citizens, or to promote the security of the United States, 
    and shall make proclamation thereof, it shall thereafter be 
    unlawful for any such submarine or armed merchant vessel to enter a 
    port or the territorial waters of the United States or to depart 
    therefrom, except under such conditions and subject to such 
    limitations as the President may prescribe. . . .
        Whereas there exists a state of war between Germany [and other 
    nations]; and

[[Page 1841]]

        Whereas the United States of America is neutral in such war;
        Now, therefore, I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the 
    United States of America, acting under and by virtue of the 
    authority vested in me by the foregoing provision of section 11 of 
    the joint resolution approved November 4, 1939, do by this 
    proclamation find that special restrictions placed on the use of 
    the ports and territorial waters of the United States, exclusive of 
    the Canal Zone, by the submarines of a foreign belligerent state, 
    both commercial submarines and submarines which are ships of war, 
    will serve to maintain peace between the United States and foreign 
    states, to protect the commercial interests of the United States 
    and its citizens, and to promote the security of the United States;
        And I do further declare and proclaim that it shall hereafter 
    be unlawful for any submarine of [specified nations] to enter ports 
    or territorial waters of the United States. . . .
        Done at the city of Washington this fourth day of November in 
    the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and thirty-nine, and of the 
    Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and 
    sixty-fourth.
                                            Franklin D. Roosevelt.

        By the President:

            Cordell Hull,
               Secretary of Stale.