National Emergencies Act Expenditure Reports

National Emergencies Act Expenditure Reports

INSIGHTi

National Emergencies Act Expenditure
Reports
August 3, 2023
The President is authorized to declare a national emergency pursuant to the National Emergencies Act of
1976 (NEA; P.L. 94-412; 50 U.S.C. §§1601 et seq.), which enables the President to invoke various
standby authorities in response to the declared incident. The NEA also includes presidential accountability
and reporting requirements. This Insight provides a brief overview of the requirement that the President
transmit expenditure reports to Congress. It also describes potential ways to locate these required
congressional reports and offers considerations for ensuring that NEA expenditure reporting occurs.
NEA Expenditure Reporting Requirement
The NEA requires that the President report to Congress the total expenditures incurred by the U.S.
government “which are directly attributable to the exercise of powers and authorities conferred by such
declaration” (50 U.S.C. §1641(c)). The statute requires the President to submit such reports:
• within 90 days after the end of each six-month period following an NEA declaration; and
• not later than 90 days after an NEA declaration is terminated.
Locating Expenditure Reports
Agencies may submit physical copies of required reports to congressional committees, committee
leadership, or Congress in general without a specified recipient—including NEA expenditure reports.
Written reports due to “Congress” are typically submitted as Executive Communications (ECs). The
House and Senate Executive Clerks’ Offices record the EC submission and create an abstract for
publication in the Congressional Record. EC submission records can be searched on Congress.gov.
Because the House and Senate Executive Clerks’ Offices deliver report documents to the congressional
committee(s) of referral after recording the report submissions, the House and Senate Parliamentarian’s
Offices and House and Senate Executive Clerk’s Offices do not retain copies of submitted written reports.
Thus, full-text versions of reports are generally available only in internal committee records unless they
are further published by the respective committee or executive branch agency. There is currently no single
repository for reports submitted to Congress. As such, copies of these reports may be difficult to obtain.
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
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CRS identified EC submission records in the House and Senate Communications database on
Congress.gov that show evidence of the submission of expenditure reports with respect to national
emergencies under the NEA that invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA; P.L.
95-223; 50 U.S.C. §§1701 et seq.). However, CRS was unable to identify recorded instances in the
Communications database of EC submissions of expenditure reports from NEA declarations that invoke
standby authorities exclusive of IEEPA. This does not necessarily mean these expenditure reports have
not been submitted. If a submission is not recorded because a report was directly submitted to a
committee, committee clerks or congressional liaisons may be able to assist congressional staff in
determining its status. (The presidential NEA declarations invoking IEEPA authorized the Treasury
Secretary to submit expenditure reports, but similar reporting delegation language is not included in NEA
declarations exclusive of IEEPA.)
Considerations in the Context of COVID-19
The President and Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued several emergency and disaster
declarations in response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, including President
Donald J. Trump’s March 13, 2020, declaration that the pandemic was a national emergency pursuant to
the NEA (Proclamation 9994). The President then invoked several NEA standby authorities, including
those that permitted:
• the HHS Secretary to exercise his authority under Section 1135 of the Social Security
Act;
• the Secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security (DHS) to order members of the Ready
Reserve to active duty;
• the Secretaries of HHS and DHS to submit for presidential approval proposals for loans
“to avert an industrial resource or critical technology shortfall that would severely impair
national defense capability” and waiving certain requirements of the Defense Production
Act of 1950; and
• the Treasury Secretary to extend the time for performance for importers.
Some Members of Congress have requested the COVID-19 NEA expenditure reports. On July 7, 2023,
President Joseph R. Biden Jr. issued a memorandum delegating the authority to submit the COVID-19
NEA expenditure reports to the Secretary of HHS, in consultation with the Treasury Secretary. This
delegation of authority may help address concerns previously expressed by Congress regarding the
apparent unavailability of the COVID-19 NEA expenditure reports if HHS, with the Treasury, proffers
such reports.
The example of the COVID-19 NEA expenditure reports illustrates general issues related to NEA
expenditure report submission. To address potential congressional concerns related to such reports,
Congress could consider:
• Amending the Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act (“the Act”; Subtitle D of
P.L. 117-263) to include the President, Vice President, and/or Executive Office of the
President (see, for example, 44 U.S.C. §3502(1), which includes the Executive Office of
the President in its definition of the term agency). The Act requires the Director of the
Government Publishing Office to make congressionally mandated reports by federal
agencies publicly available via an online portal, which could make them easier to locate.
(Submitting reports to the Director does not satisfy the requirement to submit reports to
Congress.)

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• Defining (or requiring the Office of Management and Budget to define) directly
attributable for purposes of NEA expenditure reporting. Congress could consider
requiring the President to provide an explanation as to why there were not directly
attributable expenditures in the event a national emergency does not incur such
expenditures, or requiring that expenditure reports be submitted regardless of whether
expenditures are directly attributable.
• Requiring the federal agencies responsible for executing the powers and authorities
invoked pursuant to an NEA declaration—rather than the President—to submit
expenditure reports directly to Congress. Congress could also consider requiring an
Administration and/or agency representative to brief the committees of jurisdiction on the
exercise of NEA-invoked powers and authorities and provide an accounting of
expenditures incurred.
• Further defining the manner, format, and content of NEA expenditure reports (e.g., to
specific committees or including specific contents, such as is required by 15 U.S.C.
§636k).
NEA reform legislation has been introduced in the 118th Congress, but the “ARTICLE ONE Act,” as
introduced in both the House (H.R. 3988) and Senate (S. 1912), would not amend the current expenditure
reporting requirements.

Author Information

Kathleen E. Marchsteiner
Elizabeth M. Webster
Senior Research Librarian
Analyst in Emergency Management and Disaster

Recovery

Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff
to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of
Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of
information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role.
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