ICYMI: AFP sends letters to Congress supporting emergency powers reform
Arlington, Va. — Last week, AFP sent letters to committees in both congressional chambers supporting bills that seek to rein in abuse of emergency powers. Both bills would amend the National Emergencies Act of 1976 (NEA) to give Congress greater oversight of the president’s emergency powers.
AFP sent a letter to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which was marking up the REPUBLIC Act. The other letter was sent to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure regarding the ARTICLE ONE Act.
As the letters note, under the NEA, the president has potential access to an estimated 148 additional statutory authorities. Upon declaring a national emergency, presidents have virtually unchecked power to perpetuate the state of emergency.
While Congress intended for these extraordinary delegations of power to be temporary to respond to emergent crises that require swift action, presidents are increasingly using emergency powers to address long-standing policy failures, impose policy preferences, and circumvent our system of checks and balances.
Both bills would fix this power imbalance by:
- Requiring congressional approval of new emergency declarations within 30 days. If Congress does not approve, the president cannot declare an emergency based on the same circumstances during the remainder of their term.
- Terminating national emergencies after one year unless Congress passes a joint resolution to approve an executive order to renew the emergency.
- Instituting reporting requirements for each emergency declaration and periodic updates at least every six months.
AFP Analyst Thomas Kimbrell stated:
“As the first branch of government, Congress should establish oversight of emergency powers to ensure we can respond to emergencies quickly and effectively while also preventing their misuse. We thank Chairman Gary Peters, Ranking Member Rand Paul, Chairman Sam Graves, and Ranking Member Rick Larsen for their leadership on this issue.”
The Senate bill passed committee by a 13-1 vote, and the House bill passed with unanimous consent. These measures are vital to reining in executive overreach and restoring our constitutional system of checks and balances.
Read the full letters to the Senate and the House committees.
Additional Resources
Americans for Prosperity Foundation launched the Emergency Powers Reform Project to educate the public about the rampant abuse of emergency powers, including misuse of the NEA, the Defense Production Act, and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Learn more at emergencypowersreform.com.
