Title 50War and National DefenseRelease 119-73

§1631 Declaration of national emergency by Executive order; authority; publication in Federal Register; transmittal to Congress

Title 50 › Chapter CHAPTER 34— - NATIONAL EMERGENCIES › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER III— - EXERCISE OF EMERGENCY POWERS AND AUTHORITIES › § 1631

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The President must name the specific law that lets him use any emergency power before using it. He can do that in the emergency declaration or in one or more executive orders published in the Federal Register and sent to Congress.

Full Legal Text

Title 50, §1631

War and National Defense — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

When the President declares a national emergency, no powers or authorities made available by statute for use in the event of an emergency shall be exercised unless and until the President specifies the provisions of law under which he proposes that he, or other officers will act. Such specification may be made either in the declaration of a national emergency, or by one or more contemporaneous or subsequent Executive orders published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the Congress.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Executive Documents

Release of American Hostages in IranFor provisions relating to the release of the American hostages in Iran, see Ex. Ord. Nos. 12276 to 12285, Jan. 19, 1981, 46 F.R. 7913 to 7932, listed in a table under section 1701 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

50 U.S.C. § 1631

Title 50War and National Defense

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73