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S.J.Res. 163119th Congressintroduced

Iran War Powers Resolution (S.J.Res. 163)

Would direct the President to remove U.S. forces from hostilities against Iran unless Congress declares war or specifically authorizes force.

The Senate rejected a motion to discharge S.J.Res. 163 from the Foreign Relations Committee on May 13, 2026, by a vote of 49 to 50. This action did not decide passage of the resolution.

Part of Senate Votes on Iran War Powers, with how every senator voted on 15 related roll calls.

Status

introduced

Apr 13, 2026

Recorded actions

1

Complete roll calls

Origin

senate

119th Congress

Public law

Not enacted

No enactment date

How the Senate voted

Each roll call below links to the complete list of how every senator voted, with the official question and source.

  1. · Senate roll call 118

    Advancing an Iran War Powers Resolution

    Discharge S.J.Res. 163, an Iran war powers resolution, from the Foreign Relations Committee

    Motion to Discharge Rejected · 49 yea, 50 nay, 1 not voting

What the text provides

Summaries of provisions visible in the cited measure text, with the exact location to check.

Direction to remove forces

Section 2(a) would direct the President, under section 1013 of the Department of State Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1984 and 1985, to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Iran unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or a specific authorization for use of military force.

Section 2(a) · Source record

Rules of construction

Section 2(b) states that the resolution does not prevent the United States from defending against attacks on the United States or its personnel or facilities abroad, sharing intelligence about defense from threats by Iran or its proxies, or helping partner countries attacked by Iran since February 28, 2026 intercept retaliatory attacks, including with defensive materiel.

Section 2(b)(1) through (3) · Source record

Findings

Section 1 states findings on Congress's power to declare war, the President's responsibility to defend against attack, the absence of a declaration of war or specific authorization for force against Iran, the treatment of force against Iran as hostilities under the War Powers Resolution, and the expedited procedures that apply to the resolution.

Section 1, paragraphs (1) through (5) · Source record

How this text differs from S.J.Res. 184

Compared with S.J.Res. 184, an earlier measure in this vote series with a Senate roll call on Apr 30, 2026. Locations refer to S.J.Res. 163.

The direction to the President uses the same words as S.J.Res. 184, with an added Statutes at Large citation. S.J.Res. 163 has only general findings, no exception for the evacuation of U.S. citizens, and exceptions that do not name Israel.

  • Section 1, paragraphs (1) through (5)

    Has five general findings: Congress's power to declare war, the President's responsibility to defend against attack, the absence of a declaration of war or authorization against Iran, the use of force against Iran as hostilities, and the expedited procedures. It does not include S.J.Res. 184's findings on the March 2, 2026 notification or the 60-day period.

  • Section 2(b)(2) and (3)

    The intelligence and defensive-assistance exceptions refer to partner countries attacked by Iran since February 28, 2026 and other nations, without naming Israel. The defensive-assistance exception covers intercepting retaliatory attacks upon their territory.

  • Section 2(b)(1) through (3)

    Has three exceptions. It has no exception for the evacuation of U.S. citizens.

Texts compared: S.J.Res. 163 as introduced: Iran war powers · S.J.Res. 184 as introduced: Iran war powers

Statements on related topics from the same weeks

Statements that share a topic with this measure and were made within 30 days of one of its votes. They are not described as statements about this measure.

Sources for this record

How to read this record

Use each official roll call to verify the exact action and every recorded member position. Use the cited measure text to verify the provision summaries. A vote does not establish a legislator's motive or support for every provision in a multi-subject measure.