50 U.S.C. §§1601-1651
Sec. 1601. Termination of existing declared emergencies
(a) All powers and authorities possessed by the President, any other officer or employee
of the Federal Government, or any executive agency, as defined in section 105 of title 5,
as a result of the existence of any declaration of national emergency in effect on
September 14, 1976, are terminated two years from September 14, 1976. Such
termination shall not affect -
(1) any action taken or proceeding pending not finally concluded or determined
on such date;
(2) any action or proceeding based on any act committed prior to such date; or
(3) any rights or duties that matured or penalties that were incurred prior to such
date.
(b) For the purpose of this section, the words “any national emergency in effect” means a
general declaration of emergency made by the President.
Sec. 1621. Declaration of national emergency by President; publication in Federal
Register; effect on other laws; superseding legislation
(a) 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
the Congress and published in the Federal Register.
(b) Any provisions of law conferring powers and authorities to be exercised during a
national emergency shall be effective and remain in effect (1) only when the President (in
accordance with subsection (a) of this section), specifically declares a national
emergency, and (2) only in accordance with this chapter. No law enacted after September
14, 1976, shall supersede this subchapter unless it does so in specific terms, referring to
this subchapter, and declaring that the new law supersedes the provisions of this
subchapter.
Sec. 1622. National emergencies
(a) Termination methods
Any national emergency declared by the President in accordance with this subchapter
shall terminate if -
(1) there is enacted into law a joint resolution terminating the emergency; or
(2) the President issues a proclamation terminating the emergency.
Any national emergency declared by the President shall be terminated on the date
specified in any joint resolution referred to in clause (1) or on the date specified in a
proclamation by the President terminating the emergency as provided in clause (2) of this
subsection, whichever date is earlier, and any powers or authorities exercised by reason
of said emergency shall cease to be exercised after such specified date, except that such
termination shall not affect -
(A) any action taken or proceeding pending not finally concluded or
determined on such date;
(B) any action or proceeding based on any act committed prior to such
date; or
(C) any rights or duties that matured or penalties that were incurred prior
to such date.
(b) Termination review of national emergencies by Congress
Not later than six months after a national emergency is declared, and not later than the
end of each six-month period thereafter that such emergency continues, each House of
Congress shall meet to consider a vote on a joint resolution to determine whether that
emergency shall be terminated.
(c) Joint resolution; referral to Congressional committees; conference committee in event
of disagreement; filing of report; termination procedure deemed part of rules of House
and Senate
(1) A joint resolution to terminate a national emergency declared by the President
shall be referred to the appropriate committee of the House of Representatives or the
Senate, as the case may be. One such joint resolution shall be reported out by such
committee together with its recommendations within fifteen calendar days after the day
on which such resolution is referred to such committee, unless such House shall
otherwise determine by the yeas and nays.
(2) Any joint resolution so reported shall become the pending business of the
House in question (in the case of the Senate the time for debate shall be equally divided
between the proponents and the opponents) and shall be voted on within three calendar
days after the day on which such resolution is reported, unless such House shall
otherwise determine by yeas and nays.
(3) Such a joint resolution passed by one House shall be referred to the
appropriate committee of the other House and shall be reported out by such committee
together with its recommendations within fifteen calendar days after the day on which
such resolution is referred to such committee and shall thereupon become the pending
business of such House and shall be voted upon within three calendar days after the day
on which such resolution is reported, unless such House shall otherwise determine by
yeas and nays.
(4) In the case of any disagreement between the two Houses of Congress with
respect to a joint resolution passed by both Houses, conferees shall be promptly
appointed and the committee of conference shall make and file a report with respect to
such joint resolution within six calendar days after the day on which managers on the part
of the Senate and the House have been appointed.
Notwithstanding any rule in either House concerning the printing of conference
reports or concerning any delay in the consideration of such reports, such report shall be
acted on by both Houses not later than six calendar days after the conference report is
filed in the House in which such report is filed first. In the event the conferees are unable
to agree within forty-eight hours, they shall report back to their respective Houses in
disagreement.
(5) Paragraphs (1)-(4) of this subsection, subsection (b) of this section, and
section 1651(b) of this title are enacted by Congress -
(A) 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 subsection; and
they supersede other rules only to the extent that they are inconsistent therewith;
and
(B) 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.
(d) Automatic termination of national emergency; continuation notice from President to
Congress; publication in Federal Register
Any national emergency declared by the President in accordance with this subchapter,
and not otherwise previously terminated, shall terminate on the anniversary of the
declaration of that emergency if, within the ninety-day period prior to each anniversary
date, the President does not publish in the Federal Register and transmit to the Congress a
notice stating that such emergency is to continue in effect after such anniversary.
Sec. 1631. Declaration of national emergency by Executive order; authority;
publication in Federal Register; transmittal to Congress
When the President declares a national emergency, no powers or authorities made
available by statute for use in the event of an emergency shall be exercised unless and
until the President specifies the provisions of law under which he proposes that he, or
other officers will act. Such specification may be made either in the declaration of a
national emergency, or by one or more contemporaneous or subsequent Executive orders
published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the Congress.
Sec. 1641. Accountability and reporting requirements of President
(a) Maintenance of file and index of Presidential orders, rules and regulations during
national emergency
When the President declares a national emergency, or Congress declares war, the
President shall be responsible for maintaining a file and index of all significant orders of
the President, including Executive orders and proclamations, and each Executive agency
shall maintain a file and index of all rules and regulations, issued during such emergency
or war issued pursuant to such declarations.
(b) Presidential orders, rules and regulations; transmittal to Congress
All such significant orders of the President, including Executive orders, and such rules
and regulations shall be transmitted to the Congress promptly under means to assure
confidentiality where appropriate.
(c) Expenditures during national emergency; Presidential reports to Congress
When the President declares a national emergency or Congress declares war, the
President shall transmit to Congress, within ninety days after the end of each six-month
period after such declaration, a report on the total expenditures incurred by the United
States Government during such six-month period which are directly attributable to the
exercise of powers and authorities conferred by such declaration. Not later than ninety
days after the termination of each such emergency or war, the President shall transmit a
final report on all such expenditures.
Sec. 1651. Other laws, powers and authorities conferred thereby, and actions taken
thereunder; Congressional studies
(a) The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to the following provisions of law, the
powers and authorities conferred thereby, and actions taken thereunder:
(1) Act of June 30, 1949 (41 U.S.C. 252);
(2) Section 3727(a)-(e)(1) of title 31;
(3) Section 3737 of the Revised Statutes, as amended (41 U.S.C. 15);
(4) Public Law 85-804 (Act of Aug. 28, 1958, 72 Stat. 972; 50 U.S.C. 1431 et
seq.);
(5) Section 2304(a)(1) of title 10;
(b) Each committee of the House of Representatives and the Senate having jurisdiction
with respect to any provision of law referred to in subsection (a) of this section shall
make a complete study and investigation concerning that provision of law and make a
report, including any recommendations and proposed revisions such committee may
have, to its respective House of Congress within two hundred and seventy days after
September 14, 1976.