No WAR Act (Iran Reconciliation Budget Point of Order)

Current understanding

The No WAR Act would create a budget point of order in the reconciliation process to block reconciliation legislation that provides funds for U.S. military hostilities against Iran unless Congress has enacted a declaration of war or an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) covering such action. The mechanism leverages Senate budget procedure — rather than substantive war powers statute — to raise the procedural bar (a 60-vote waiver threshold in the Senate) for funding unauthorized hostilities against Iran. The bill is at the introduced stage; fiscal impact depends entirely on whether reconciliation vehicles are used to fund Iran-related operations.

Evidence log

• 2026-04-13 — A joint resolution to direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against the Islamic Republic of Iran that have not been authorized by Congress.: cross-connection with iran-hostilities-war-powers: Related Iran-war constraint mechanisms — WPR removal directive vs. budget point of order. (novelty: 2)
• 2026-05-07 — No Funds for Iran War Act: cross-connection with no-funds-for-iran-war-act: Both restrict funding/appropriations for war with Iran via different legislative mechanisms (funding prohibition vs. reconciliation point of order). (novelty: 2)
• 2026-07-13 — A joint resolution to direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against the Islamic Republic of Iran that have not been authorized by Congress.: cross-connection with iran-hostilities-forces-removal: Both measures aim to constrain unauthorized U.S. military action against Iran—S.J.Res. 180 through direct force-removal, the No WAR Act through budget-process points of order. (novelty: 2)
• 2026-07-23 — A joint resolution to direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against the Islamic Republic of Iran that have not been authorized by Congress.: cross-connection with iran-hostilities-forces-removal: Companion legislative approaches restricting unauthorized U.S. military action against Iran — one via war-powers removal, the other via a budget point of order. (novelty: 2)
• 2026-07-23 — Directing the President, pursuant to section 5© of the War Powers Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran.: cross-connection with war-powers-iran-hostilities-withdrawal: Both are congressional constraints on unauthorized U.S. use of force against Iran, one via §5© directive and the other via a budget point of order. (novelty: 3)
• 2026-04-16 — Directing the President, pursuant to section 5© of the War Powers Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran.: cross-connection with war-powers-iran-hostilities: Complementary congressional constraints on unauthorized U.S. military action against Iran — H.Con.Res. 40 uses the War Powers Resolution withdrawal mechanism while the No WAR Act uses a reconciliation budget point of order. (novelty: 2)
• 2026-06-24 — Directing the President, pursuant to section 5© of the War Powers Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran.: Companion effort noted: a separate concurrent resolution invoking War Powers Resolution §5© has been introduced to direct withdrawal of U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran absent a declaration of war or AUMF — a substantive war-powers pathway alongside the No WAR Act’s budget-procedural approach. (novelty: 2)

Open questions

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