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Fact check: How many years has the US been under a national emergency
Executive Summary
The most defensible, widely reported fact is that the United States has been continuously subject to at least one declared national emergency since 1979, a span of roughly 46 years as of 2025. Discrepancies in counts and years arise from differing definitions (when the clock starts), whether sources count total emergencies declared versus those currently active, and whether they include renewals as continuous emergencies [1] [2].
1. Bold Claims Extracted — What different reports say and why they matter
Multiple specific claims appear in the documents: that the U.S. has been under a national emergency for over 46 years, that 90 emergencies have been declared since 1976 with 48 currently in effect, that other sources report 39 years or 31 active emergencies, and that President Trump declared multiple new emergencies in 2025 [1] [3]. These are distinct types of claims: one about continuous duration since a specific start date, another about cumulative totals since the National Emergencies Act, and a third about how many are active today. Knowing which metric a source uses is essential because different metrics answer different questions—continuity since 1979, total proclamations since 1976, or the snapshot of active emergencies—and conflating them produces contradictory-sounding statements [2] [4].
2. The 46-year continuity: why 1979 is the anchor and what “continuous” means
The commonly cited anchor is President Jimmy Carter’s 1979 emergency tied to the Iran hostage crisis and the related freeze of Iranian government assets; that emergency has been renewed annually and is often treated as the start of an uninterrupted state of emergency that persists to 2025—about 46 years [2] [1]. Continuous in this context means at least one presidentially declared emergency has been in effect without a gap since that first declaration was renewed year to year. This interpretation treats renewals of individual declarations as sustaining a continuous national emergency environment, which is how many compilations describe the timeline [1]. Other counts that produce smaller year totals typically use different baselines or count only currently active emergencies of certain types [1] [5].
3. Totals versus active counts — why numbers like 90, 48, 31, and 28 diverge
Compilations report differing totals: 90 emergencies declared since 1976 with 48 active (p1_s1/p3_s1), versus older tallies of 31 active or 28 active [5] [1]. These discrepancies arise because some sources update databases more frequently, differentially include or exclude expirations and proclamations tied to statutes that sunset, and interpret what constitutes “active.” Some lists count every distinct proclamation since the 1976 law; others count only those actively listed on a given government registry or those tied to specific statutory authorities. Reporting dates matter: a 2019 list will naturally show fewer active emergencies than a 2025 compilation that incorporates later declarations and renewals [1] [5].
4. Legal context — the National Emergencies Act and how Congress fits in
The National Emergencies Act [6] created the modern framework: presidents must declare an emergency and cite statutory authority, while Congress retains the power to terminate emergencies by joint resolution—an option that has never successfully ended a long-running emergency [4]. Statutory authorities like IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act) are tied to declared emergencies, and some emergency tools remain in place until affirmatively ended, which sustains the continuing effect of certain measures even as proclamations are renewed annually [2] [4]. This legal architecture explains why emergency declarations can persist for decades without legislative termination.
5. Political framing and why numbers get used strategically
Different outlets and actors emphasize different metrics to shape narratives: counting a long continuous span since 1979 highlights systemic, enduring executive power; tallying the number of new emergency declarations by a particular president emphasizes contemporary use of authority [3] [7]. Sources dated 2019 or 2023 naturally show lower cumulative or active totals than 2025 sources; likewise partisan or policy-focused outlets may foreground either longevity or recent expansion depending on their agenda. Readers should match the claim to the metric: continuous years since 1979, cumulative proclamations since 1976, or count of active emergencies today are separate, valid but distinct facts [1] [7].
6. Bottom line for the question asked — safe, source-backed answer
The clearest, source-backed statement: the U.S. has been under at least one declared national emergency continuously since 1979—about 46 years through 2025—because Carter’s 1979 emergency has been renewed annually and other emergencies have been layered on since [2] [1]. If you ask instead how many emergencies have been declared since the law’s enactment in 1976 or how many are active right now, totals vary across reputable compilations; recent 2025 tallies report around 90 declared with about 48 active, while older or differently-scoped lists report lower numbers [1] [5]. Match your metric to the question for an accurate answer.