Fifteen Republican and Democrat senators sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), urging them to take up legislation that would grant Congress more oversight over President Donald Trump’s national emergency authority.

Fifteen Republican and Democrat senators sent a letter to McConnell and Schumer, urging them to allow a Senate floor vote on the ARTICLE ONE Act. The ARTICLE ONE Act would stipulate that a national emergency would expire within 30 days unless Congress votes to continue the national emergency through a simple majority in each chamber of Congress.

The legislation would invert the current proceeding for Congress to nullify a national emergency.

After a president declares a national emergency, Congress can terminate the declaration by passing a resolution of disapproval against the national emergency. Congress has passed resolutions to end Trump’s national emergency declaration; however, the president vetoed the legislation, and Congress failed to override the veto.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) sponsored the Article ONE Act in March and passed through the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs by voice vote in July.

President Trump declared a national emergency to build a wall along the southern border in the wake of Congress’ inability to pass significant border wall funding. The ARTICLE ONE Act would not eliminate Trump’s ability to declare a national emergency; although, the bill would make it easier for Congress to terminate the emergency, especially with a Democrat-led House.

The 15 senators that sponsored the ARTICLE ONE Act include:

  1. Mike Lee
  2. Ron Johnson (R-WI)
  3. Gary Peters (D-MI)
  4. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ)
  5. Roy Blunt (R-MO)
  6. Maggie Hassan (D-NH)
  7. Roger Wicker (R-MS)
  8. Tom Udall (D-NM)
  9. Rob Portman (R-OH)
  10. Brian Schatz (D-HI)
  11. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
  12. Mitt Romney (R-UT)
  13. Ben Sasse (R-NE)
  14. Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
  15. Tom Carper  (D-DE)

Sen. Sinema said in a statement Monday, “It is Congress’s constitutional duty to appropriate funds, and we must protect that power regardless of who is president.”

Read the senator’s letter to Schumer and McConnell here.

Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.