republic-os/legal/us/code/title-06/chapter-1/section-466.md

type, title, description, jurisdiction, corpus, kind, title_number, title_name, chapter_number, chapter_name, section, citation, status, release_point, release_date, source, source_url, source_identifier, source_file, source_hash, raw_snapshot_hash, text_hash, retrieved_at, confidence, tags

type	title	description	jurisdiction	corpus	kind	title_number	title_name	chapter_number	chapter_name	section	citation	status	release_point	release_date	source	source_url	source_identifier	source_file	source_hash	raw_snapshot_hash	text_hash	retrieved_at	confidence	tags
LegalText	6 U.S.C. § 466	Sense of Congress reaffirming the continued importance and applicability of the Posse Comitatus Act	us	united_states_code	code_section	6	DOMESTIC SECURITY	1	HOMELAND SECURITY ORGANIZATION	466	6 U.S.C. § 466	current	119-100	2026-06-26	official	https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc06@119-100.zip	/us/usc/t6/s466	data/legal/raw/us/code/title-06/usc06.xml	3a851bc1699abdea8d00799045074bdb8e92ecb3da06ac17f36bb86d58910a20	a286ebc069cd8c7d317b4084d217abe94cd2a3642b1a3e409a909d1e92452161	1a97f44714d55c2b7286f0f199f42fce8ababa2908fea0ba8beaf3dacc37a569	2026-07-04	official	legal us-code

6 U.S.C. § 466 - Sense of Congress reaffirming the continued importance and applicability of the Posse Comitatus Act

Text

(a) Findings Congress finds the following:

(1) Section 1385 of title 18 (commonly known as the “Posse Comitatus Act”) prohibits the use of the Armed Forces as a posse comitatus to execute the laws except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress.

(2) Enacted in 1878, the Posse Comitatus Act was expressly intended to prevent United States Marshals, on their own initiative, from calling on the Army for assistance in enforcing Federal law.

(3) The Posse Comitatus Act has served the Nation well in limiting the use of the Armed Forces to enforce the law.

(4) Nevertheless, by its express terms, the Posse Comitatus Act is not a complete barrier to the use of the Armed Forces for a range of domestic purposes, including law enforcement functions, when the use of the Armed Forces is authorized by Act of Congress or the President determines that the use of the Armed Forces is required to fulfill the President’s obligations under the Constitution to respond promptly in time of war, insurrection, or other serious emergency.

(5) Existing laws, including chapter 13 of title 10 (commonly known as the “Insurrection Act”), and the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), grant the President broad powers that may be invoked in the event of domestic emergencies, including an attack against the Nation using weapons of mass destruction, and these laws specifically authorize the President to use the Armed Forces to help restore public order.

(b) Sense of Congress Congress reaffirms the continued importance of section 1385 of title 18, and it is the sense of Congress that nothing in this chapter should be construed to alter the applicability of such section to any use of the Armed Forces as a posse comitatus to execute the laws.

(Pub. L. 107–296, title VIII, § 886, Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2248; Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title XII, § 1204(a)(1), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 2017.)

Notes

Editorial Notes

References in TextThe Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(5), is Pub. L. 93–288, May 22, 1974, 88 Stat. 143, which is classified principally to chapter 68 (§ 5121 et seq.) of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 5121 of Title 42 and Tables. This chapter, referred to in subsec. (b), was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 107–296, Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2135, known as the Homeland Security Act of 2002, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 101 of this title and Tables.

Amendments2018—Subsec. (a)(5). Pub. L. 115–232 substituted “chapter 13” for “chapter 15”.