National Emergency Definition, Powers and Examples

National Emergency Definition, Powers and Examples In United States government, a national emergency is any extraordinary situation deemed by the President of the United States to threaten the health or safety of the citizens and which cannot be adequately addressed by the application of other laws or executive actions. Exactly what situations do or do not constitute a state of emergency came into question in early 2019, when President Donald Trump declared a national emergency in order to divert existing Department of Defense funds for the completion of a concrete wall (or steel barrier) intended to prevent illegal immigration along the entire southern U.S. border- a maneuver used by President Ronald Reagan in 1982 to boost construction of military facilities. Key Takeaways A national emergency is any extraordinary situation declared by the president as threatening American citizens and not resolvable by other laws.Under the National Emergencies Act of 1976, a declaration of national emergency temporarily grants the president at least 140 special powers.The reasons for declaring a national emergency and the provisions to be applied during that emergency are solely and entirely up to the president. Under the National Emergencies Act (NEA), more than 100 special powers are granted to the president under a declared national emergency. When and why to declare a national emergency is entirely at the president’s discretion. Background and Legal Precedence While the U.S. Constitution grants Congress a few limited emergency powers- such as the power to suspend the right to writs of habeas corpus- it grants the president no such emergency powers. However, many legal scholars have confirmed that the Constitution gives presidents implied emergency powers by making them the commander in chief of the armed forces and by granting them broad, largely undefined â€Å"executive power.† Many such executive powers are applied by presidents through the issuance of legally-binding executive orders and proclamations. The first such emergency proclamation was issued by President Woodrow Wilson on February 5, 1917, in response to a lack of U.S. cargo ships needed to carry exported products to allied nations during World War I. The provisions of the proclamation were declared to be within the framework of the earlier law creating the United States Shipping Board. Prior to the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, presidents declared numerous emergencies to deal with situations like the hoarding of gold, the Korean War, a postal workers strike, and out-of-control economic inflation. In 1933, Roosevelt, in response to the Great Depression, began the ongoing trend of presidents declaring national emergencies of unlimited scope and duration, and without congressional oversight or precedent in existing laws. Eventually, in 1976, Congress passed the National Emergencies Act, which was intended to limit the scope and number of executive emergency powers a president could invoke by declaring an â€Å"emergency† and to provide certain checks and balances on the emergency powers of the president. National Emergencies Act of 1976 Under the National Emergencies Act, presidents are required to identify the specific powers and provisions to be activated by the declaration of emergency and to renew the declaration annually. While the law grants the president at least 136 distinct emergency powers, only 13 of them require a separate declaration by Congress. During declared national emergencies, the president can- without the approval of Congress- freeze the bank accounts of Americans, shut down most types of electronic communications inside the United States, and ground all non-military aircraft. Procedure for Declaring Emergencies Under the National Emergencies Act, presidents activate their emergency powers by issuing a public declaration of national emergency. The declaration must specifically list and notify Congress of the powers to be utilized during the duration of the emergency. Presidents may terminate declared emergencies at any time or continue to renew them annually with the approval of Congress. Since 1985, Congress has been allowed to renew an emergency declaration by the passage of a joint resolution rather than by separate resolutions passed by the House and Senate. The law also requires the president and the Cabinet-level executive agencies to keep records of all executive orders and regulations issued due to the emergency and to regularly report to Congress the costs of enforcing those provisions. Emergency Powers Under the National Emergencies Act Among the nearly 140 national emergency powers Congress has delegated to the president, some are particularly dramatic. In 1969, President Nixon suspended all laws regulating chemical and biological weapons on humans. In 1977, President Ford allowed states to suspend key provisions of the Clean Air Act. And in 1982, President Reagan authorized the use of existing Defense Department funds for emergency military construction. More recently, President George W. Bush declared a national emergency days after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that suspended several laws, including all laws limiting the size of the military. In 2009, President Obama declared a national emergency to help hospitals and local governments deal with the swine flu outbreak. Notable Ongoing National Emergencies As of January 2019, a total of 32 national emergencies dating back to 1979 remained in effect. A few of the more notable of these include: To combat the flow of drugs, criminals and illegal immigrants coming across the U.S. border with Mexico. (Feb. 2019)Preventing the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (Nov.1994)Banning financial dealings with terrorists who threaten the Middle East peace process (Jan. 1995)Provisions arising from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 (Sept. 2001)Freezing the funds and property of persons who commit, threaten to commit, or support terrorism (Sept. 2001)Continuing restrictions with respect to North Korea and North Korean nationals (June 2008)Freezing the property of multinational organized criminal organizations (July 2011)Freezing the property of certain persons involved in cyber-enabled crime (April 2015) During his first two years in office (2017 and 2018), President Trump issued three national emergency declarations, most notably, a controversial national emergency intended to punish foreign nationals found to have interfered in or otherwise attempted to influence American elections. Accused of collusion with Russian agents during the 2016 presidential election, Trump’s declaration drew bipartisan criticism for being too weak. All three national emergency declarations issued by President Trump as of January 2019 include: Blocking access to the property of persons involved in serious human rights abuse or corruption (Dec. 2017)Imposing sanctions in the event of foreign interference in a United States election (Sept. 2018)Blocking access to the property of persons contributing to the situation in Nicaragua (Nov. 2018) While most national emergencies have been declared in response to foreign affairs, no law prevents presidents from declaring them to deal with a domestic issue, as President Obama did in 2009 to deal with the swine flu. Two other laws- the Stafford Act and the Public Health Services Act- are intended to provide federal  government response to state and local disasters, and public health emergencies. In addition, all 50 states have laws empowering the governors to declare emergencies within their states and to ask the President of the United States for federal assistance. President Trump’s 2019 Border Wall Emergency On January 8, 2019, President Trump, in the midst of what would become the longest government shutdown in history, threatened to declare a national emergency in order to bypass Congress by diverting some $5.7 billion in existing funds to the construction of an additional 234 miles of Mexican border security wall. The declaration was put on hold when on January 25, an agreement was reached between the White House and congressional Democrats allowing the government to reopen until February 15. The agreement was based on the understanding that negotiations over border wall funding would proceed during the three-week delay. However, after Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on January 31 flatly stated that â€Å"There’s not going to be any wall money in the [compromise] legislation,† President Trump stated that there was a â€Å"good chance† that he would, indeed, declare a national emergency to secure the funding. â€Å"We are doing it regardless,† he told reporters on February 1, suggesting that more details might come in his shutdown-delayed State of the Union address scheduled for February 5. On February 15, he declared a national emergency, which is expected to face legal challenges. On February 15, 2019, President Trump signed a compromise Homeland Security spending bill that provided $1.375 billion for 55 miles of new fencing- but not a solid wall- along the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas. While the bill averted a second government shutdown, it fell far short of providing the $5.7 billion Trump had sought for the addition of 234 miles of solid steel walls. At the same time, President Trump declared a national emergency he said would allow him to redirect $3.5 billion from the Defense Department’s military construction budget to the construction of additinal border wall. He also signed executive orders redirecting $600 million from the Treasury Departments drug forfeiture fund, and $2.5 billion from the Defense Department’s drug interdiction program for the same purpose. â€Å"We’re going to confront the national security crisis on our southern border and we’re going to do it one way or the other,† President Trump said. â€Å"It’s an invasion,† he added. â€Å"We have an invasion of drugs and criminals coming into our country.† Democratic leaders immediately challenged Trump’s constitutional authority to use presidential national emergency powers to regulate immigration. VETO! On February 26, 2019, the House of Representatives voted 245-182 to approve a joint resolution canceling President Trump’s national emergency declaration. On March 14, the Senate voted 59-41 (including the votes of 12 Republicans) to concur, sending the measure to the president’s desk. Moments after the vote, Trump tweeted a one-word response, â€Å"VETO!† In a follow-up tweet, the president added, â€Å"I look forward to VETOING the just passed Democrat inspired Resolution which would OPEN BORDERS while increasing Crime, Drugs, and Trafficking in our Country.† On March 15, 2019, President Trump followed up his tweets by issuing his first presidential veto rejecting the resolution. â€Å"Congress has the freedom to pass this resolution and I have the duty to veto it,† he stated at the signing ceremony.   Sources and Further Reference Fisch, William B. â€Å"Emergency in the Constitutional Law of the United States.† University of Missouri School of Law (1990).â€Å"National Emergency Definition.† Duhaime’s Law Dictionary. Duhaime.orgRelyea, Harold C. (2007) â€Å"National Emergency Powers.† Congressional Research Service.Struyk, Ryan. â€Å"Trumps wall would be the 32nd active national emergency.† CNN.  (January 2019).

Killer Nashville Writers Conference Scholarship Giveaway

Killer Nashville Writers Conference Scholarship Giveaway Want to attend a conference but cant afford the cost?   Want to be around others who enjoy reading mystery and suspense?   FundsforWriters, in partnership with 2016 Killer Nashville, is offering a scholarship to one lucky individual who wishes to hob-nob with other mystery enthusiasts for the three days of August 18-21, 2016 in Franklin, TN. But wait, theres more. Guess who will be the Guests of Honor  at this shin-dig? Besides so many other published and almost-published authors . . . besides a sea of mystery aficionados? Janet Evanovich is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Stephanie Plum series, the Fox and O’Hare series with co-author Lee Goldberg, the Lizzy and Diesel series, twelve romance novels, the Alexandra Barna Before his thrillers landed him on The New York Times Bestseller list, Kevin O’Brien was a railroad inspector who worked all the live long day and wrote novels at night. His first thriller, The Next To Die (2001) became a USA Today  Bestseller. Then came The Last Victim (2005), which hit the New York Times Bestseller list and won the Spotted Owl Award for Best Pacific Northwest Mystery. So, what does this scholarship include? 3-day full registration for the conference ($300 value) Agent/Editor Roundtable participation (free for you because you have a 3-day registration) A free Network Lunch on Saturday with Guest of Honor Janet Evanovich ($45 value) A free Breakout Session (a paid event for others) any of the three days ($15 value and only open to 3-day registrants) A ticket to the Guest of Honor Dinner Awards Banquet ($95 value) $100 toward travel and transportation (issued Total value $555 ***NOTE: Conference does not include all costs of transportation or motel accommodations. See Killer Nashvilles site for information on the special hotel rates for this conference. So, how do you enter for a chance to win this opportunity? Email hope@chopeclark.com with KILLER NASHVILLE SCHOLARSHIP in the subject. Include name, address, phone, email, website/blog/Facebook (if applicable) Explain what this scholarship means to you in 100-500 words. Agree to write a 500-600-word piece for FundsforWriters within 30-days  after the event, talking about the conference and how you benefited from the experience. Piece will also be considered for publication on the Killer Nashville site. Winner selected based upon the quality of submission. DEADLINE for entries is midnight (Eastern Time), on July 1, 2016. (Winner to be announced July 8, 2016.) So, why is FundsforWriters sponsoring this contest? Because C. Hope Clark is an avid mystery author and enthusiast and wants to share that joy. Because C. Hope Clark believes every author ought to experience the thrill of a writing conference. Because C. Hope Clark wants to give back to the readers of her mysteries. Thanks . . . looking forward to your entries . . . https://www.fundsforwriters.com/killernashvillescholarship DISCLAIMER: C. Hope Clark reserves the complete right to make the final decision of winner, not to be disputed. Article to be submitted upon return from the conference to be turned in no later than September 23, 2016 and will not receive additional compensation. The scholarship is not transferable. If winner cannot attend, C. Hope Clark/FundsforWriters reserves the right to give the scholarship to the runner-up on her choice in the contest.