Q: What is a national emergency?
A: In 1976, Congress passed the National Emergencies Act, which permits the president to pronounce a national emergency when he considers it appropriate. The act offers no specific definition of "emergency" and allows a president to declare one entirely at his or her discretion.
By declaring a national emergency, the president avails himself of dozens of specialized laws. Some of these powers have funds the president otherwise could not access.
Under existing law, emergency powers lapse within a year unless the president renews them. A national emergency can be redeclared indefinitely and, in practice, that is done frequently. There have been 58 pronounced under the National Emergencies Act, of which 31 are still in effect.
Q: When have they been declared in the past?
A: Presidents have declared national emergencies since World War II. President Bill Clinton declared emergencies 17 times, George W. Bush 12 and Barack Obama 13.
The vast majority have been economic sanctions against foreign actors whose activities pose a national threat, according to Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Brennan Center for Justice's Liberty and National Security Program. A handful of others have involved noneconomic crises:
Clinton declared a national emergency during the 1996 Cuba embargo, preventing U.S. ships or aircraft from entering Cuban territory without authorization. Obama declared a national emergency during the H1N1 Swine Flu epidemic in 2009 to activate disaster plans to set up proper patient treatment.
