Key Takeaways
- • Representatives Steve Cohen (D-TN) and Chip Roy (R-TX) reintroduced the bipartisan ARTICLE ONE Act on August 20, 2026, legislation requiring congressional approval of national emergency declarations within 30 days to maintain their validity.
- • The bill reforms the 1976 National Emergencies Act by establishing a meaningful check on executive emergency powers, ensuring such declarations are reserved for "true emergencies" and restoring constitutional checks and balances.
- • A previous version of the ARTICLE ONE Act passed out of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in September 2024, indicating sustained bipartisan momentum for emergency powers reform across multiple legislative sessions.
- • The legislation requires both the declaration itself and the specific powers exercised under it to receive congressional approval within the 30-day window, establishing a dual-approval mechanism rather than simple renewal.
Summary
Representatives Steve Cohen and Chip Roy reintroduced the ARTICLE ONE Act on August 20, 2026, marking a continuation of bipartisan efforts to reform presidential emergency powers. The legislation would amend the National Emergencies Act of 1976 by requiring Congress to affirmatively approve national emergency declarations and the specific authorities exercised under them within 30 days. Without such congressional approval, emergency powers would automatically expire at the 30-day mark.
According to the sponsors, the measure is designed to restore constitutional checks and balances by ensuring emergency authorities are deployed only for genuine crises rather than as an expansive tool of executive power. Cohen emphasized that the bill addresses the potential for abuse of emergency declarations, while the legislative framework requires explicit congressional action—not mere inaction—to sustain emergency measures beyond the initial 30-day period.
The reintroduction follows a prior iteration of the legislation that advanced from the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in September 2024, demonstrating sustained bipartisan support across consecutive congressional sessions. The dual-approval requirement—mandating congressional action on both the declaration itself and the powers invoked under it—represents a more stringent mechanism than simple automatic reauthorization, positioning it as a meaningful structural reform to the executive's unilateral emergency authorities under current law.
The bill signals ongoing legislative concern among members of both parties regarding the scope and duration of presidential emergency powers, with the 30-day congressional review window serving as the central enforcement mechanism for renewed constitutional limits on the executive branch's unilateral authority during crises.
According to the sponsors, the measure is designed to restore constitutional checks and balances by ensuring emergency authorities are deployed only for genuine crises rather than as an expansive tool of executive power. Cohen emphasized that the bill addresses the potential for abuse of emergency declarations, while the legislative framework requires explicit congressional action—not mere inaction—to sustain emergency measures beyond the initial 30-day period.
The reintroduction follows a prior iteration of the legislation that advanced from the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in September 2024, demonstrating sustained bipartisan support across consecutive congressional sessions. The dual-approval requirement—mandating congressional action on both the declaration itself and the powers invoked under it—represents a more stringent mechanism than simple automatic reauthorization, positioning it as a meaningful structural reform to the executive's unilateral emergency authorities under current law.
The bill signals ongoing legislative concern among members of both parties regarding the scope and duration of presidential emergency powers, with the 30-day congressional review window serving as the central enforcement mechanism for renewed constitutional limits on the executive branch's unilateral authority during crises.
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