Relating to a national emergency by the President on July 30, 2025.
- Bill Number
- H.J.Res. 117
- Origin Chamber
- House
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 1
- Policy Area
- Emergency Management
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2025-09-15: Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- Last Updated
- 2025-11-05T09:05:43Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose
This joint resolution (H.J. Res. 117) aims to terminate a specific national emergency declared by the President, exercising Congress's authority to end such declarations and limit executive powers during emergencies.
Key Provisions
- Termination of Emergency: The resolution invokes section 202 of the National Emergencies Act (a law that allows Congress to end presidentially declared national emergencies) to terminate the emergency declared on July 30, 2025, via Executive Order 14323 (published in the Federal Register).
- Congressional Action: Passed by both the House and Senate, the resolution directly revokes the emergency status, requiring no further presidential approval for termination.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- This resolution does not amend the National Emergencies Act itself but applies its existing termination mechanism, effectively overriding the President's emergency declaration.
- It reverts any special powers, funding reallocations, or regulatory changes enabled by the emergency back to standard legal frameworks, ending any temporary expansions of executive authority.
Potential Impacts
- On Government Agencies: Federal agencies relying on the emergency for special authorities (e.g., expedited funding or regulatory flexibility) would lose those powers, potentially disrupting ongoing operations until normal processes resume.
- On Citizens: Depending on the emergency's scope (not detailed here), it could end related restrictions, sanctions, or protections affecting individuals, such as travel bans, economic measures, or resource allocations; citizens might experience normalized conditions but face delays in reverting services.
- On International Relations: If the emergency involved foreign policy (e.g., sanctions or security measures), termination could signal a policy shift, potentially easing tensions or altering diplomatic stances with other nations.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- Congress: Gains enforcement of its oversight role in checking executive emergency powers.
- Executive Branch (President and Agencies): Loses the declared emergency's authorities, requiring adjustments to policies and budgets.
- Affected Individuals or Entities: Businesses, organizations, or foreign governments impacted by the emergency's provisions (e.g., through sanctions or aid programs) would see direct changes.
- General Public: Indirectly affected if the emergency influenced domestic security, economy, or civil liberties.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal: Reinforces the National Emergencies Act's balance of powers, where Congress can terminate emergencies without presidential veto override in some cases, upholding statutory limits on indefinite executive actions.
- Constitutional: Highlights separation of powers, as Congress asserts its Article I authority to regulate executive declarations, preventing potential overreach in emergency governance.
- Political: Introduced by bipartisan sponsors and referred to the Foreign Affairs Committee, it may reflect congressional pushback against executive emergency use, potentially setting a precedent for quicker terminations in future disputes; no overt partisan bias is evident in the text.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Rep. Meeks, Gregory W. [D-NY-5]
Cosponsors (7)
Rep. Kamlager-Dove, Sydney [D-CA-37], Rep. Castro, Joaquin [D-TX-20], Rep. Stanton, Greg [D-AZ-4], Rep. Titus, Dina [D-NV-1], Rep. Casar, Greg [D-TX-35], Rep. Amo, Gabe [D-RI-1], Rep. Panetta, Jimmy [D-CA-19]
Recent Actions
- 2025-09-15: Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- 2025-09-15: Table Motion to Discharge Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 200 - 198 (Roll no. 265). (Roll call 265)
- 2025-09-15: Mr. Mast moved to table the motion to discharge
- 2025-09-15: Mr. Meeks moved to discharge.
- 2025-09-15: Considered as privileged matter.
- 2025-09-15: MOTION TO DISCHARGE COMMITTEE - Mr. Meeks moved that the Committee on Foreign Affairs be discharged from further consideration of H.J. Res. 117.
- 2025-08-29: Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
- 2025-08-29: Introduced in House
- 2025-08-29: Introduced in House
Bill Versions
- Relating to a national emergency by the President on July 30, 2025. — issued 2025-08-29 — PDF (1 pages)