National Emergencies Act

National Emergencies Act.
Great Seal of the United States
Long titleAn Act to terminate certain authorities with respect to national emergencies still in effect, and to provide for orderly implementation and termination of future national emergencies.
Acronyms (colloquial)NEA
Enacted bythe 94th United States Congress
EffectiveSeptember 14, 1976
Citations
Public law94-412
Statutes at Large90 Stat. 1255
Codification
Titles amended50 U.S.C.: War and National Defense
U.S.C. sections created50 U.S.C. ch. 34 § 1601 et seq.
Legislative history

The National Emergencies Act (NEA) (Pub. L. 94–412, 90 Stat. 1255, enacted September 14, 1976, codified at 50 U.S.C. § 1601–1651) is a United States federal law passed to end all previous national emergencies and to formalize the emergency powers of the President.

The Act empowers the President to activate special powers during a crisis but imposes certain procedural formalities when invoking such powers. The perceived need for the law arose from the scope and number of laws granting special powers to the executive in times of national emergency. Congress can terminate an emergency declaration with a joint resolution enacted into law.[1] Powers available under this Act are limited to the 136 emergency powers Congress has defined by law.[2]

The legislation was signed by President Gerald Ford on September 14, 1976.[3] As of March 2020, 60 national emergencies have been declared, more than 30 of which remain in effect.[1][4]

  1. ^ a b Struyk, Ryan (January 10, 2019). "Trump's Wall Would Be the 32nd Active National Emergency". CNNPolitics. The country is currently under 31 concurrent states of emergency about a spectrum of international issues around the globe, according to a CNN review of documents from the Congressional Research Service and the Federal Register.
  2. ^ "A Guide to Emergency Powers and Their Use". Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. Archived from the original on April 1, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  3. ^ Peters, Gerhard; Woolley, John T. "Gerald R. Ford: "Statement on Signing the National Emergencies Act.," September 14, 1976". The American Presidency Project. Santa Barbara: University of California.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference heath19 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).