National Emergencies Reform Act

Full Title:
National Emergencies Reform Act of 2025

Summary#

This bill changes the National Emergencies Act to increase congressional review, reporting, and time limits on presidential national emergency declarations. It requires the President to say which statutory authorities will be used when declaring or acting on an emergency. A new initial review period of 20 Senate session days and 20 House legislative days applies before emergency powers or the emergency itself continue. After that, Congress must enact a joint resolution of approval for the emergency or for specific authorities to remain in effect. The bill also requires annual renewals (with a Presidential executive order and a joint resolution) and sets an automatic 5-year limit on any emergency, with shorter transitional limits for emergencies already in effect when the bill becomes law. The bill adds frequent reporting to Congress about the emergency, actions taken, and any reprogramming or transfers of funds. It requires the President’s budget to include a detailed report of obligations and expenditures tied to each national emergency. The bill directs that certain presidential emergency action documents be submitted to specific congressional committees within set timeframes. It also preserves older procedures for some emergencies tied to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and makes related technical changes to other statutes.

What it means for you#

  • Presidential emergency powers would be limited in time and tied to the specific authorities the President names.
  • Congress would get more and faster information about why an emergency is declared, what the executive plans to do, and how money is being used.
  • Some long-running emergencies would end automatically after set periods unless Congress approves a renewal.
  • Pre-planned presidential emergency action documents would be shared with designated congressional committees.

Expenses#

  • The bill requires the President’s budget to include a report on proposed, planned, and actual obligations and expenditures for each national emergency, organized by account and program, and to identify transfers or reprogrammings.
  • No publicly available information on estimated costs or savings from the bill is included in the provided text.

Proponents' View#

No publicly available information.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.