In section 5(a) the conferees accepted the provisions of the House joint resolution relating to the transmittal of the presidential report to Congress, with amendments which (1) provide for the possibility of reconvening of Congress in case of adjournment in order to consider such report, and (2) provide that 30 percent of the membership of the respective Houses may petition for such reconvening. The House joint resolution provided that use of United States Armed Forces by the President without a declaration of war or specific statutory authorization could be terminated by Congress through the use of a concurrent resolution. The Senate amendment provided for such termination by a bill or joint resolution. The conference report contains the concurrent resolution provision. The House joint resolution provided for termination of certain peacetime deployments of United States Armed Forces through the elapsing of a time period in which Congress failed to approve such deployments. The Senate amendment did not include such deployments in its congressional action provisions. The conference report requires presidential reporting on such deployments but section 5(b) does not require their termination. CONGRESSIONAL PRIORITY PROCEDURES Both the House joint resolution and the Senate amendment contained congressional priority procedures. They differed primarily in that the House language specifically stipulated resort to a procedure of committee consideration while in the Senate version any pertinent bill or joint resolution was to be considered as reported directly to the floor of the House in question unless otherwise decided by the yeas and nays. The language agreed to by the conference in sections 6 and 7 corresponds to the House version including separately stipulated priority procedures for consideration of concurrent resolutions requiring removal of forces. The following changes, however, were made: (1) language was added at the end of sections 6(a) and 7(a) allowing each House to change the procedures by the yeas and nays; (2) the various time frames in section 6 for full cycle consideration of a joint resolution or bill were shortened to conform to the change in section 5 (b) from 120 days to 60 days; (3) following the reporting of a joint resolution or bill or concurrent resolution by the appropriate committee it was stipulated that the time for debate in the Senate shall be equally divided between the proponents and the opponents; and (4) section 6(d) and section 7 (d) provide for expedited conference committee procedures in the consideration of pertinent legislation passed by both houses. TERMINATION OF CONGRESS Section 7 of the House joint resolution provided a mechanism to insure that the time period provided for under section 4 of the joint resolution would not expire while Congress was in adjournment. The Senate amendment had no similar provision. The conference report does not contain the House provision on the grounds that the language H. Rept. 93-547 of section 5 of the conference report had obviated the need of this section. INTERPRETATION OF JOINT RESOLUTION The Senate amendment contained definitions of certain terms. The House joint resolution, while incorporating some broad interpretations of the meaning of the joint resolution, did not contain such definitive language. The conferees agreed to combine both definitions and interpretations in a single section 8 with changes including: (1) adoption of modified Senate language defining specific statutory authorization, and defining the phrase "introduction of United States Armed Forces" as used in the joint resolution; (2) elimination of House language concerning the constitutional process requirement contained in mutual security treaties; and (3) addition of Senate language which makes clear that the resolution does not prevent members of the United States Armed Forces from participating in certain joint military exercises with allied or friendly organizations or countries. The "high-level military commands" referred to in this section are understood to be those of NATO, the North American Air Defense command (NORAD) and the United Nations command in Korea (UNC). SEPARABILITY CLAUSE The Senate amendment contained a separability clause stipulating that, if any of its provisions or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the Act and the application of such provision to any other person or circumstance would not be affected. The House version did not contain a corresponding provision. The conferees accepted the language of the Senate amendment, with certain technical modifications. EFFECTIVE DATE Both the House joint resolution and the Senate amendment contained language providing that the legislation would take effect on the date of its enactment. This provision was not in disagreement. 93D CONGRESS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session { REPORT No. 93-287 WAR POWERS RESOLUTION OF 1973 JUNE 15, 1963.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. ZABLOCKI, from the Committee on Foreign Affairs, REPORT TOGETHER WITH MINORITY AND [To accompany H.J. Res. 542] The Committee on Foreign Affairs, to whom was referred the joint resolution (House Joint Resolution 542) concerning the war powers of Congress and the President, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the joint resolution as amended do pass. The amendments are as follows: On page 2, line 19, strike out "forty-eight” and insert in lieu thereof "seventy-two". On page 4, line 18, insert "one such resolution or bill" immediately after “and”. On page 5, line 13, insert "one such resolution" immediately after "and". On page 6, immediately after line 2, insert the following: TERMINATION OF CONGRESS SEC. 7. For purposes of subsection (b) of section 4, in the event of the termination of a Congress before the expiration of the one hundred and twenty-day period specified in such subsection (b), without action having been taken by the Congress under such subsection, such one hundred and twentyday period shall not expire sooner than forty-eight days after the convening of the next succeeding Congress, provided that a resolution or bill is introduced, pursuant to such subsection (b), within three days of the convening of such next succeeding Congress. 63-970 - 764 (17) On page 6, line 4, strike out "7" and insert in lieu thereof “8”. On page 6, line 16, strike out "hereof" and insert in lieu thereof "of this Act". On page 6, immediately after line 16, insert the following: APPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN EXISTING COMMITMENTS SEC. 9. All commitments of United States Armed Forces to hostilities existing on the date of the enactment of this Act shall be subject to the provisions hereof, and the President shall file the report required by section 3 within seventytwo hours after the enactment of this Act. On page 6, line 18, strike out "8" and insert in lieu thereof "10". On page 6, lines 4 and 18, strike out "resolution" and insert in lieu thereof "Act". BACKGROUND On three occasions in the past two sessions of Congress, the House of Representatives has passed war powers legislation. In the 91st Congress a joint resolution reported by unanimous vote from the Committee on Foreign Affairs was adopted under suspension of the rules in the House by a vote of 288 to 39. The House-passed measure was sent to the Senate where, because of that body's failure to act, it died with the end of the 91st Congress. In the 92d Congress, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, again unanimously, reported House Joint Resolution 1 to the House. It was passed unanimously in the House by a voice vote under a suspension of the rules. The Senate, however, passed its own version of a war powers measure, and because of a parliamentary snarl which developed, it became necessary for the House to act once again. The Senate bill was amended with the language of House Joint Resolution 1 in the House-by a vote of 344 to 13-and sent to conference. The conferees met once near the end of the 92d Congress but could come to no agreement and the war powers resolution died once again. ACTION IN THE 93D CONGRESS Upon the opening of the 93d Congress the chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security Policy and Scientific Developments, and 11 cosponsors, introduced a new war powers resolution (House Joint Resolution 2), somewhat modified from those of prior years. Six days of hearings were held by the subcommittee on that resolution and other war powers measures which had been referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. Among those proposals were: Concerning the war powers of the Congress and the President. H.J. Res. 96-Pepper H.R. 2053-Matsunaga H.J. Res. 498-du Pont Governing the use of the Armed Forces of the United States in the absence of a declaration of war by the Congress. H.R. 317-Bingham H.R. 4038-Nix H.R. 5669-Bingham H.R. 6424-Bingham et al. To define the authority of the President of the United States to intervene abroad or to make war without the express consent of Congress. H.R. 3722-Sisk H.R. 4834-Nix To make rules respecting military hostilities in the absense of a declaration of war. H.R. 926 Quie H.R. 2616-Railsback H.R. 2740-Tiernan To make rules governing the use of the Armed Forces of the United States in the absence of a declaration of war by the Congress. H.R. 454-Dellenback H.R. 1454-Ullman H.R. 3139-Harrington H.R. 3333-Charles H. Wilson of Calif. H.R. 3408-Fish H.R. 3832-Mazzoli H.R. 4725-Sandman H.R. 4858-Ruppe H.R. 4966-Meeds H.R. 5455-Zwach H.R. 5594-Esch To make rules governing the use of the Armed Forces of the United States in the absence of a declaration of war by the Congress of the United States or of a military attack upon the United States. H.R. 3046-Dennis et al. H.R. 4295-Rousselot H.R. 6318-Dennis et al. Testifying were seven Members of the House, two Senators, a spokesman for the Department of State, and five private experts. Four markup sessions followed at which new language was drafted. A revised war powers resolution was ordered reported to the full committee by a vote of 9 to 1 on May 2. The following day the measure, House Joint Resolution 542, was introduced by the subcommittee chairman with 14 cosponsors, including Mr. Fountain, Mr. Fraser, Mr. Bingham, Mr. Fascell, Mr. Davis of Georgia, Mr. Charles Wilson of Texas, Mr. Findley, Mr. du Pont, Mr. Biester, Mr. Nix, Mr. Broomfield, Mr. Pepper, Mr. Hays, and Mr. Holifield. The committee considered the bill in markup on May 22, May 31, and June 7. The resolution was reported with amendments on the latter date by a vote of 31 to 4, with one member answering "present." CONSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT The Cambodian incursion of May 1970 provided the initial impetus for a number of bills and resolutions on the war powers. Many Members of Congress, including those who supported the action, were disturbed by the lack of prior consultation with Congress and |