Congress Needs to Rein in Presidential Emergency Powers Now

Several important bills could be combined during this lame-duck session—before Republicans take over and you-know-who might become president again.

November 30, 2022 | Mark Medish | The New Republic

This lame duck Congress has a lot on its plate, and many of these items have received considerable coverage: the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, reform of the Electoral Count Act, and, as always, government funding.

But there’s one more issue sitting before the House right now that deserves attention. Several important bills to reform emergency powers are ripe for consideration before the lame duck session of Congress and could be incorporated into any omnibus legislation. A common and sensible feature of these proposals would set an automatic 30-day limit for presidentially declared emergencies unless Congress votes to approve an extension and would also require that Congress be informed of actions taken pursuant to the emergency. The proposals enjoy wide bipartisan co-sponsorship including Senators Bernie Sanders, Chris Murphy and Mike Lee. …

“Emergency powers are necessary but pose serious challenges for the rule of law. A democracy must ensure that the use of those powers is always safe, rules-bound, and rare.”