On Monday, Joe Biden advised Congress that he is planning to terminate the two national emergencies declared in response to COVID-19 on May 11, three years after the start of the pandemic, according to The Associated Press.
The move would re-organize the federal handling of the virus, so it is treated as a common threat to public health that can be handled through the usual powers of agencies.
This comes after legislators have already ended the elements of the emergencies that helped keep millions of Americans insured during the global health crisis, and the drawdown of the majority of the federal COVID-19 relief money.
“The country has largely returned to normal,” Rep. Tom Cole, (R-OK) said in a statement before the White House’s declaration. “Everyday Americans have returned to work and to school with no restrictions on their activities. It is time that the government acknowledges this reality: the pandemic is over.”
In addition, Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY) the author of a bill that would terminate the public health emergency, still hopes the House will go ahead with its vote.
He commented, “I think we should go forward. If for some reason they don’t do it on May the 11th, the vehicle is still there for Congress to take back its authority.”
Biden’s announcement comes in a statement opposing resolutions being brought to the floor this week by House Republicans to bring the emergency to an immediate end, AP notes. House Republicans are also gearing up to launch investigations on the federal government’s response to COVID-19.
Then-President Donald Trump’s administration first declared a public health emergency on Jan 31, 2020. Trump later declared the COVID-19 pandemic a national emergency two months later. Biden has repeatedly extended the emergencies since he took office in Jan 2021.
