Relating to a national emergency by the President on February 1, 2025.

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Bill ID: 119/hjres/72
Last Updated: April 11, 2025

Sponsored by

Rep. Meeks, Gregory W. [D-NY-5]

ID: M001137

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Bill Summary

Another brilliant example of Congressional theater, where our esteemed representatives pretend to do something meaningful while actually accomplishing nothing.

**Main Purpose & Objectives:** Oh boy, this one's a real doozy. The main purpose of HJRES 72 is to "terminate" the national emergency declared by the President on February 1, 2025. Wow, how bold. I'm sure it took hours of intense deliberation and courageous leadership to come up with this groundbreaking idea.

**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** The bill's sole provision is to invoke Section 202 of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622) to terminate the national emergency. That's right, folks, a whole joint resolution dedicated to doing what any decent human being would do in their sleep: canceling an executive order that's likely already been superseded by another one.

**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:** The usual suspects are involved here: politicians looking for a cheap photo op, lobbyists trying to curry favor with the powers that be, and voters who still believe these clowns are working for them. Meanwhile, the actual stakeholders – you know, the ones affected by the national emergency – will likely remain blissfully unaware of this meaningless gesture.

**Potential Impact & Implications:** Ah, the impact. Well, let me put on my thinking cap... (tapping sound) ...Hmm, I think I've got it! The potential impact of this bill is a whopping zero. Zilch. Nada. It's a symbolic gesture, a Potemkin village of legislation designed to make Congress look like they're doing something without actually doing anything.

Diagnosis: This bill is suffering from a bad case of "Legislative Theater-itis," a disease characterized by grandstanding, posturing, and a complete lack of substance. The symptoms include meaningless language, empty promises, and a healthy dose of hypocrisy. Treatment involves a strong dose of skepticism, a pinch of ridicule, and a healthy dose of contempt for the politicians involved.

In short, HJRES 72 is a joke, a pathetic attempt to pretend that Congress is actually doing something about the national emergency. It's a waste of time, money, and oxygen. But hey, at least it'll make for some great campaign ads.

Related Topics

Civil Rights & Liberties State & Local Government Affairs Transportation & Infrastructure Small Business & Entrepreneurship Government Operations & Accountability National Security & Intelligence Criminal Justice & Law Enforcement Federal Budget & Appropriations Congressional Rules & Procedures
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đź’° Campaign Finance Network

Rep. Meeks, Gregory W. [D-NY-5]

Congress 119 • 2024 Election Cycle

Total Contributions
$186,800
28 donors
PACs
$500
Organizations
$13,000
Committees
$0
Individuals
$171,800
1
POLITICAL COMMITTEE, NWF ACTION FUND
1 transaction
$500
1
AK-CHIN INDIAN COMMUNITY
2 transactions
$5,800
2
AGUA CALIENTE BAN OF CAHUILLA INDIANS
1 transaction
$3,300
3
US MARSHALS SERVICES
1 transaction
$2,900
4
HUNTON ANDREWS KURTH LLP
1 transaction
$1,000

No committee contributions found

1
SMITH, DYAN
2 transactions
$16,600
2
HOGAN, PATRICK F
1 transaction
$13,200
3
HOLDEN, RONALD
1 transaction
$13,200
4
VANDEWALLE, LOLA L
1 transaction
$13,200
5
GLEESON, JOHN W
1 transaction
$11,600
6
RICHARDS, DANIEL
1 transaction
$6,600
7
WILLOX, NORMAN
1 transaction
$6,600
8
PFAUTCH, ROY
1 transaction
$6,600
9
BRADLEY, JACQUELINE
1 transaction
$6,600
10
BROIN, JEFF MR.
1 transaction
$6,600
11
JAY, JEFFREY
1 transaction
$6,600
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RICKETTS, J. JOE
1 transaction
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13
MCCOY, JUDITH
1 transaction
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SINGER, PAUL
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SABIN, ANDREW
1 transaction
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GILLIAM, RICHARD
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BELTRAME, MARC
1 transaction
$6,600
18
WOLL, MARGO
1 transaction
$6,600
19
SCHWARZMAN, CHRISTINE
1 transaction
$6,600
20
CROWN, LESTER
1 transaction
$6,600
21
LIPPMAN, MARIE C.
1 transaction
$5,000

Donor Network - Rep. Meeks, Gregory W. [D-NY-5]

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Total contributions: $186,800

Top Donors - Rep. Meeks, Gregory W. [D-NY-5]

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Project 2025 Policy Matches

This bill shows semantic similarity to the following sections of the Project 2025 policy document. Higher similarity scores indicate stronger thematic connections.

Introduction

Low 54.1%
Pages: 75-77

— 42 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise ENDNOTES 1. U.S. Constitution, art. II, § 1, https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/article-2/ (accessed February 14, 2023). 2. U.S. Constitution, art. II, § 2. 3. U.S. Constitution, art. II, § 3. 4. U.S. Constitution, art. II, § 2. 5. See Chapter 2, “Executive Office of the President,” infra. 6. H.R. 4328, Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999, Public Law No. 105- 277, 105th Congress, October 21, 1998, Division C, Title I, § 151, https://www.congress.gov/105/plaws/publ277/ PLAW-105publ277.pdf (accessed February 15, 2023). 7. S. 1871, An Act to Prevent Pernicious Political Activities, Public Law No. 76-252, 76th Congress, August 2, 1939, https://govtrackus.s3.amazonaws.com/legislink/pdf/stat/53/STATUTE-53-Pg1147.pdf (accessed March 7, 2023). 8. S. 758, National Security Act of 1947, Public Law No. 80-253, 80th Congress, July 26, 1947, https://govtrackus. s3.amazonaws.com/legislink/pdf/stat/61/STATUTE-61-Pg495.pdf (accessed February 15, 2023). “The National Security Council was established by the National Security Act of 1947 (PL 235 – 61 Stat. 496; U.S.C. 402), amended by the National Security Act Amendments of 1949 (63 Stat. 579; 50 U.S.C. 401 et seq.). Later in 1949, as part of the Reorganization Plan, the Council was placed in the Executive Office of the President.” The White House, “National Security Council,” https://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/ (accessed February 15, 2023). 9. See Chapter 2, “Executive Office of the President,” infra. 10. President William J. Clinton, Executive Order 12835, “Establishment of the National Economic Council,” January 25, 1993, in Federal Register, Vol. 58, No. 16 (January 27, 1993), pp. 6189–6190, https://www.govinfo. gov/content/pkg/FR-1993-01-27/pdf/FR-1993-01-27.pdf (accessed March 7, 2023). — 43 — 2 EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES Russ Vought In its opening words, Article II of the U.S. Constitution makes it abundantly clear that “[t]he executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.”1 That enormous power is not vested in departments or agencies, in staff or administrative bodies, in nongovernmental organizations or other equities and interests close to the government. The President must set and enforce a plan for the executive branch. Sadly, however, a President today assumes office to find a sprawling federal bureaucracy that all too often is carrying out its own policy plans and preferences—or, worse yet, the policy plans and preferences of a radical, supposedly “woke” faction of the country. The modern conservative President’s task is to limit, control, and direct the executive branch on behalf of the American people. This challenge is created and exacerbated by factors like Congress’s decades-long tendency to delegate its lawmaking power to agency bureaucracies, the pervasive notion of expert “inde- pendence” that protects so-called expert authorities from scrutiny, the presumed inability to hold career civil servants accountable for their performance, and the increasing reality that many agencies are not only too big and powerful, but also increasingly weaponized against the public and a President who is elected by the people and empowered by the Constitution to govern. In Federalist No. 47, James Madison warned that “[t]he accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.”2 Regrettably, that wise and cautionary note describes to a significant degree the modern executive branch, which—whether controlled

Introduction

Low 54.1%
Pages: 75-77

— 42 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise ENDNOTES 1. U.S. Constitution, art. II, § 1, https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/article-2/ (accessed February 14, 2023). 2. U.S. Constitution, art. II, § 2. 3. U.S. Constitution, art. II, § 3. 4. U.S. Constitution, art. II, § 2. 5. See Chapter 2, “Executive Office of the President,” infra. 6. H.R. 4328, Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999, Public Law No. 105- 277, 105th Congress, October 21, 1998, Division C, Title I, § 151, https://www.congress.gov/105/plaws/publ277/ PLAW-105publ277.pdf (accessed February 15, 2023). 7. S. 1871, An Act to Prevent Pernicious Political Activities, Public Law No. 76-252, 76th Congress, August 2, 1939, https://govtrackus.s3.amazonaws.com/legislink/pdf/stat/53/STATUTE-53-Pg1147.pdf (accessed March 7, 2023). 8. S. 758, National Security Act of 1947, Public Law No. 80-253, 80th Congress, July 26, 1947, https://govtrackus. s3.amazonaws.com/legislink/pdf/stat/61/STATUTE-61-Pg495.pdf (accessed February 15, 2023). “The National Security Council was established by the National Security Act of 1947 (PL 235 – 61 Stat. 496; U.S.C. 402), amended by the National Security Act Amendments of 1949 (63 Stat. 579; 50 U.S.C. 401 et seq.). Later in 1949, as part of the Reorganization Plan, the Council was placed in the Executive Office of the President.” The White House, “National Security Council,” https://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/ (accessed February 15, 2023). 9. See Chapter 2, “Executive Office of the President,” infra. 10. President William J. Clinton, Executive Order 12835, “Establishment of the National Economic Council,” January 25, 1993, in Federal Register, Vol. 58, No. 16 (January 27, 1993), pp. 6189–6190, https://www.govinfo. gov/content/pkg/FR-1993-01-27/pdf/FR-1993-01-27.pdf (accessed March 7, 2023).

Introduction

Low 51.4%
Pages: 566-568

— 533 — Department of the Interior order to fulfill the yet-unaltered congressional mandate contained in federal law, to provide for jobs and well-paying employment opportunities in rural Oregon, and to ameliorate the effects of wildfires, the new Administration must immedi- ately fulfill its responsibilities and manage the O&C lands for “permanent forest production” to ensure that the timber is “sold, cut, and removed.”79 NEPA Reforms. Congress never intended for the National Environmental Policy Act to grow into the tree-killing, project-dooming, decade-spanning mon- strosity that it has become. Instead, in 1970, Congress intended a short, succinct, timely presentation of information regarding major federal action that signifi- cantly affects the quality of the human environment so that decisionmakers can make informed decisions to benefit the American people. The Trump Administration adopted common-sense NEPA reform that must be restored immediately. Meanwhile, DOI should reinstate the secretarial orders adopted by the Trump Administration, such as placing time and page limits on NEPA documents and setting forth—on page one—the costs of the document itself. Meanwhile, the new Administration should call upon Congress to reform NEPA to meet its original goal. Consideration should be given, for example, to eliminat- ing judicial review of the adequacy of NEPA documents or the rectitude of NEPA decisions. This would allow Congress to engage in effective oversight of federal agencies when prudent. Settlement Transparency. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt required DOI to prominently display and provide open access to any and all litigation settlements into which DOI or its agencies entered, and any attorneys’ fees paid for ending the litigation.80 Biden’s DOI, aware that the settlements into which it planned to enter and the attorneys’ fees it was likely to pay would cause controversy, ended this policy.81 A new Administration should reinstate it. The Endangered Species Act. The Endangered Species Act was intended to bring endangered and threatened species back from the brink of extinction and, when appropriate, to restore real habitat critical to the survival of the spe- cies. The act’s success rate, however, is dismal. Its greatest deficiency, according to one renowned expert, is “conflict of interest.”82 Specifically, the work of the Fish and Wildlife Service is the product of “species cartels” afflicted with group- think, confirmation bias, and a common desire to preserve the prestige, power, and appropriations of the agency that pays or employs them. For example, in one highly influential sage-grouse monograph, 41 percent of the authors were federal workers. The editor, a federal bureaucrat, had authored one-third of the paper.83 Meaningful reform of the Endangered Species Act requires that Congress take action to restore its original purpose and end its use to seize private prop- erty, prevent economic development, and interfere with the rights of states over their wildlife populations. In the meantime, a new Administration should take the following immediate action:

Showing 3 of 5 policy matches

About These Correlations

Policy matches are calculated using semantic similarity between bill summaries and Project 2025 policy text. A score of 60% or higher indicates meaningful thematic overlap. This does not imply direct causation or intent, but highlights areas where legislation aligns with Project 2025 policy objectives.