When the Special Committee began its work in January 1973, there
was no basic study outlining the use of emergency powers in the
United States from the time of the Philadelphia Constitutional
Convention to the present. To fill this scholarly gap, we asked Dr.
Harold Relyea of the Library of Congress to write a chronological
history of the American government in times of emergency. This is a
valuable study. The great crises of American history are
highlighted; so are the mechanisms of administration by which the
Federal Government--all three branches--met particular emergency
situations. Especially significant are the experiences and legacies
of Shay's Rebellion, the Civil War, labor strikes of the late 19th
century, and both World Wars. The contemporary situation is more
complicated. The United States has been in a state of national
emergency since March 9, 1933. In fact, there are now in effect
four Presidentially proclaimed states of national emergency. In
addition to the banking emergency declared by President Roosevelt,
there is also the national emergency proclaimed by President Truman
on December 16, 1950, during the Korean conflict, plus the states
of national emergency declared by President Nixon on March 23,
1970, and August 15, 1971. Concomitantly, especially since the days
of the 1933 economic emergency, it has been Congress' habit to
delegate extensive emergency authority--which continues even when
the emergency has passed--and not to set a terminating date. The
United States thus has on the books at least 470 significant
emergency powers statutes without time limitations delegating to
the Executive extensive discretionary powers, ordinarily exercised
by the Legislature, which affect the lives of American citizens in
a host of all-encompassing ways. This vast range of powers, taken
together, confer enough authority to rule this country without
reference to normal constitutional processes. These laws make no
provision for congressional oversight nor do they reserve to
Congress a means for terminating the "temporary" emergencies which
trigger them into use. No wonder the distinguished political
scientist, the late Clinton Rossiter, entitled his post-World War
II study on modern democratic states, "Constitutional
Dictatorship." Emergency government has become the norm. The
Special Committee has undertaken a study of the states of national
emergency in which we now find ourselves, and the plethora of
emergency powers, including Executive Orders and other presidential
directives, classified and unclassified, that Congress and the
Executive have brought into being over the years. The Special
Committee has also been examining the consequences of terminating
the declared states of national emergency that now prevail; to
recommend what steps Congress should take to insure that the
termination can be accomplished without adverse effect upon the
necessary tasks of governing; and, also, to recommend ways in which
the United States can meet future emergency situations with speed
and effectiveness but without relinquishment of congressional
oversight and control. Dr. Relyea's study provides the Special
Committee and the public an informative and useful background to
the present quandry in which we now find ourselves. Frank Church
Charles McC. Mathias, Jr. Co-Chairmen
General
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