Senate Report 93-549

Senate Report 93-549 was a document issued by the "Special Committee on the Termination of the National Emergency" of the 93rd Congress (Hence the "93" in the name) (1973 to 1975). Its purpose was to discuss and address the 40 year long state of emergency that had been in effect in the United States since 1933. During the continued state of emergency, Congress voted to transfer powers from Congress to the President. The debate to end long-running states of National Emergency was ended in 1976 with the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601-1651), which limits any such declared emergencies to two years, with exception to the banking emergency of 1933, as explained below.

Cover page: Emergency Powers Statutes: Provisions of Federal Law now in effect (1973) delegating to the Executive extraordinary authority in time of National Emergency.

Forward: "Since March 9, 1933, the United States has been in a state of declared national emergency." (1973)

Introduction: "A majority of the people of the United States have lived all of their lives under emergency rule." (1973)

Content

The report primarily consists of the history of the national state of emergency and examples of Congressional acts that transferred powers to the President.

Located in the forward, this US Senate Report begins with:

"Since March 09, 1933, the United States has been in a state of declared national emergency."

It continues,

"A majority of the people of the United States have lived all of their lives under emergency rule. For 40 years, freedoms and governmental procedures guaranteed by the Constitution have, in varying degrees, been abridged by laws brought into force by states of national emergency."

The subject matter listed below has been clearly separated by subject and cited for easy reference. All of this information (to date) is pertinent to this Senate Report (93-549, November 19, 1973). Actual hard copies are on hand from law libraries, and are used to illustrate this crisis in detail, but the digital copies are also linked. The subjects of this report include: Emergency War Powers, Trading With the Enemy Act (1917), Presidential Proclamation #2039 of March 6, 1933 (TWEA 1917 amended), Empowering Act of Congress - U.S.C. Title 12, Section 95(b), and the Bank Holiday of March 6, 1933.

It is important to note, and to avoid confusion, that these are not separate and isolated events, but rather a condensing of several actions under the emergency of war powers in the time of a perceived crisis. To clarify, the Presidential Proclamation announced the emergency and invoked the war powers, and Congress enacted legislation for the emergency and empowered the Executive Branch with wartime abilities (namely the President and Secretary of Treasury) in a pivotal fashion. Finally, the current law to date verifies all of this is accurate.

Emergency War Powers

To date, the Emergency War Powers enacted by Franklin D. Roosevelt and conferred by Congress are still in full force, as no act of Congress has rescinded the March, 1933 Proclamations, nor can they terminate the emergency powers of the President without his cooperation:

"The actions, regulations, rules, licenses, orders and proclamations heretofore or hereafter taken, promulgated, made, or issued by the President of the United States or the Secretary of the Treasury since March 4, 1933, pursuant to the authority conferred by section 95a of this title, are approved and confirmed."

Senate Report 93-549, 1st Session, 1973:

"The 2,000-year-old problem of how a legislative body in a democratic republic may extend extraordinary powers for use by the executive during times of great crisis and dire emergency -but do so in ways assuring both that such necessary powers will be terminated immediately when the emergency has ended and that normal processes will be resumed -has not yet been resolved in this country. Too few are aware of the existence of emergency powers and their extent, and the problem has never been squarely faced."

Franklin D. Roosevelt's Inauguration Speech, Saturday March 4, 1933:

"I am prepared under my constitutional duty to recommend the measures that a stricken nation in the midst of a stricken world may require. These measures, or such other measures as the Congress may build out of its experience and wisdom, I shall seek, within my constitutional authority, to bring to speedy adoption. But in the event that the Congress shall fail to take one of these two courses, and in the event that the national emergency is still critical, I shall not evade the clear course of duty that will then confront me. I shall ask the Congress for the one remaining instrument to meet the crisis -- broad Executive power to wage a war against the emergency, as great as the power that would be given to me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign foe."

Trading With The Enemy Act, 1917 as Amended

Often confused with the National Banking Act, the Trading With the Enemy Act of 1917 as amended is still erroneously referenced to date, and that the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601-1651) completely rescinds the powers conferred to the President in 1975. In fact, citing from the very text below, we can see that the empowering Act itself was clearly not included:

"SEC.502.(a)The provisions of this Act shall not apply to the following provisions of law. The powers and authorities conferred thereby, and actions taken thereunder:

(1)Section 5(b) of the Act of October 6, 1917, as amended (12 U.S.C. 95A;50 U.S.C. App. 5(b));"

This means the powers conferred to the President pursuant to standing law and to current day under Title 12, U.S.C. are still in effect, and the Emergency Powers since the Banking Holiday of March, 1933 are still in force, just as they were in 1973 when the Senate Report 93-549 illustrates. Additionally, the fact that the private banks operate and conduct business is proof the Emergency still exists, since it is the Bank Holiday of March 6, 1933 which grants the authorization for them to do so. See "Bank Holiday of March 6, 1933"

Presidential Proclamation #2039 of March 6, 1933 (Amending Trading With the Enemy Act of 1917)

Whereas it is provided in Section 5 (b) of the Act of October 6, 1917 (40 Stat. L. 411), as amended, "That the President may investigate, regulate, or prohibit, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, by means of licenses or otherwise, any transactions in foreign exchange and the export, hoarding, melting, or earmarkings of gold or silver coin or bullion or currency . . ."; and

The amended text continues following the ". . ." Ellipsis. This is important and is explained below.

By the year 1917, the United States was involved in World War I; at that point, it was recognized that there were probably enemies of the United States, or allies of enemies of the United States, living within the continental borders of our nation in a time of war. Therefore, Congress passed this Act which identified who could be declared enemies of the United States, and, in this Act, we gave the government total authority over those enemies to do with as it saw fit. We also see, however, in Section 2, Subdivision (c) in the middle, and again at the bottom of the page:

"...other than citizens of the united States."

The Act specifically excluded citizens of the united States, because we realized in 1917 that the citizens of the united States were not enemies. Thus, we were excluded from the war powers over enemies in this Act.

Section 5b of the same Act, states:

"That the President may investigate, regulate, or prohibit, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, by means of licenses or otherwise, any transactions in foreign exchange, export or earmarkings of gold or silver coin or bullion or currency, transfers of credit in any form (other than credits relating solely to transactions to be executed wholly within the United States)."

It is important to draw attention again to the fact that citizens of the United States in October, 1917, were not called enemies. Consequently the government, under the war powers of this Act, did not have authority over us; we were still protected by the Constitution. Granted, over enemies of this nation, the government was empowered to do anything it deemed necessary, but not over us.

However, in Section 2 of the Act of March 9, 1933 it states:

"Subdivision (b) of Section 5 of the Act of October 6, 1917 (40 Stat. L. 411), as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows;"

So we see that they are now going to amend Section 5(b). Now let's see how it reads after it's amended. The amended version of Section 5(b) reads:

"During time of war or during any other period of national emergency declared by the President, the President may, through any agency that he may designate, or otherwise, investigate, regulate, or prohibit, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, by means of licenses or otherwise, any transactions in foreign exchange, transfers of credit between or payments by banking institutions as defined by the President and export, hoarding, melting, or earmarkings of gold or silver coin or bullion or currency, by any person within the (united States) or anyplace subject to the jurisdiction thereof.."

At as far as commercial, monetary or business transactions were concerned, the people of the united States were no longer differentiated from any other enemy of the United States. We had lost that crucial distinction. we can see that the phrase which excluded transactions executed wholly within the united States has been removed from the amended version of Section 5 (b) of the Act of March 9, 1933, Section 2, and replaced with "by any person within the united States or anyplace subject to the jurisdiction thereof". All monetary transactions, whether domestic or international in scope, were now placed at the whim of the (President of the United States) through the authority given to him by the Trading with the enemy Act.

Empowering Act of Congress - U.S.C. Title 12, Section 95(b)

"The actions, regulations, rules, licenses, orders and proclamations heretofore or hereafter taken, promulgated, made, or issued by the President of the United States or the Secretary of the Treasury since March the 4th, 1933, pursuant to the authority conferred by Subsection (b) of Section 5 of the Act of October 6th, 1917, as amended [12 USCS Sec. 95a], are hereby approved and confirmed. (Mar. 9, 1933, c. 1, Title 1, Sec. 1, 48 Stat. 1.)"

This means that everything the President or the Secretary of the Treasury has done since the Emergency Banking Act of 1933, (48 Stat. 1, Public Law 89-719), or anything that the President or the Secretary of the Treasury is hereafter going to do, is automatically approved and confirmed by Congress. Essentially, this places dictatorial control into the hands of the President. Let us remember that, according to the Congressional Record of 1973, the United States has been in a state of national emergency since 1933. Then we realize that 12 U.S.C., Section 95(b) is current law. Any claims of restrictions and policies to rescind declared emergencies and proclamations, as we will find, are completely without merit, because in every case (as it is referenced above under Trading With the Enemy Act as Amended) this specific act has been explicitly kept out of any revocations. To date, there is no law which limits this specific Emergency War Power declaration, nor the power conferred unto the Executive by Congress. If this data is to be updated, please leave this information intact and cite references below:

Actual Law Rescinding The Emergency War Powers of 1933 (U.S.C. Title 12, Sec. 95(b), Trading With the Enemy Act as Amended.

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( none. )

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Bank Holiday of March 6, 1933

Initially to be prepared by the Treasury staff during Herbert Hoover's administration in its final days, the legislation was passed on March 9, 1933. On March the 5th, President Roosevelt asked for a special and extraordinary session of Congress in Proclamation 2038. He called for the special session of Congress to meet on March the 9th at noon. And at that Congress, he presented a bill, an Act, to provide for relief in the existing national emergency in banking and for other purposes. In the enabling portion of that Act, it states:

"Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the united States of America in Congress assembled, That the Congress hereby declares that a serious emergency exists and that it is imperatively necessary speedily to put into effect remedies of uniform national application."

In the Act of March 9, 1933, it further states in Title 1, Section 1:

"The actions, regulations, rules, licenses, orders and proclamations heretofore or hereafter taken, promulgated, made, or issued by the President of the United States or the Secretary of the Treasury since March the 4th, 1933, pursuant to the authority conferred by subdivision (b) of Section 5 of the Act of October 6, 1917, as amended, are hereby approved and confirmed."

The language in Title 12, U.S.C. 95(b) is exactly the same as that found in the Act of March 9, 1933, Chapter 1, Title 1, Section 48, Statute 1.

There should not be confusion over the fact that this seems to be repeated. The first time we see this language is in the March 9, 1933 Proclamation. Technically, it was earlier when sent from the Federal Reserve Board to Hoover in his last days of the Presidency, but that is covered below in the closing days of the Hoover Administration. The next we see it enacted is when Congress approves the Bank Holiday in U.S.C. Title 12. The interesting part to pay special attention to is the fact it is referenced by Congress to empower the President and Secretary of Treasury. Essentially, if the nation is operating under the Emergency War Powers, the power resides with the Executive Branch, so it does make sense.

The new law allowed the twelve, privately owned Federal Reserve Banks to issue additional currency on good assets so that banks that reopened would be able to meet every legitimate call. The Emergency Banking Act was introduced on March 9, 1933, to a joint session of Congress and was passed the same evening amid an atmosphere of chaos and uncertainty as over 100 new Democratic members of Congress swept into power determined to take radical steps to address banking failures and other economic malaise. The EBA was one of President Roosevelt's first projects in the 100 days. The sense of urgency was such that the act was passed with only a single copy available on the floor of the House of Representatives and legislators voted on it after the bill was read aloud to them by Chairman of the House Banking Committee Henry Steagall. Copies were made available to senators as the bill was being proposed in the Senate, after it had passed in the House, sight unseen.

The Strange Closing Days of The Hoover Administration

Found in the public papers of President Hoover (pages 1084-1088) President Hoover received a letter from Eugene Meyer (financier), who was the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. This is the same Eugene Meyer who later that year in June of 1933 bought the Washington Post at bankruptcy auction for $825,000.00. In the letter, the Chairman strongly suggests Hoover accepts the proposal. Hoover comments that Meyer had been the origin of the whole movement with William H. Woodin and was anxious to loom large in the new administration, but that he also objected to the letter all along. Mr. Woodin was the Director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, was the largest railroad car builder in the United States, and later became the Secretary of Treasury under Roosevelt.

The proposed executive order offered to Hoover by Meyer and Woodin later became (verbatim), the emergency banking proclamations executed by Franklin D. Roosevelt in his first days in office as President, with the intended amendment to the Trading With the Enemy Act of 1917 (see citation above for the Public Papers of H. Hoover). The President (Hoover) responded to the letter:

"I received at half past one this morning your letter dated March 3rd. I must assume that this letter was written on the basis of information received by you prior to 11:30 o'clock last night for the reason that before your letter was sent you had certain information as follows..."

Clearly, Hoover was having difficulty figuring out why he received a letter delivered by the policeman on a subject he already covered with the President-elect, Roosevelt. Continuing from page 1088:

"At 11 o'clock last night the President-elect had informed me he did not wish such a proclamation issued...that groups of representative bankers in both Chicago and New York, embracing members of the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Banks in those cities, were then in conference with the governors of the states of Illinois and New York, and that the governors of these two states were prepared to act if these representative groups so recommended...In view of the above I am at a loss to understand why such a communication should have been sent to me in the last few hours of this Administration, which I believe the Board must now admit was neither justified nor necessary."

Indeed, this must have been strange to see the private workings of the Federal Reserve Board in the time of a perceived banking crisis, and for it to have the exact language which was later used by Roosevelt to declare a banking emergency and invoke the emergency powers associated, it must have been confusing in retrospect.

See also

• State of emergency
• War Powers Resolution
• Emergency Banking Act
• National Emergencies Act
• Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917

External links

• HTML Version
• Photocopies of the Original (pdf)
• Discussion from the United States Department of State