Biden ends COVID national emergency after Congress acts
Source: Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. national emergency to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic ended Monday as President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan congressional resolution to bring it to a close after three years — weeks before it was set to expire alongside a separate public health emergency.
The national emergency allowed the government to take sweeping steps to respond to the virus and support the country’s economic, health and welfare systems. Some of the emergency measures have already been successfully wound-down, while others are still being phased out. The public health emergency — it underpins tough immigration restrictions at the U.S.-Mexico border — is set to expire on May 11.
The White House issued a one-line statement Monday saying Biden had signed the measure behind closed doors, after having publicly opposed the resolution though not to the point of issuing a veto. More than 197 Democrats in the House voted against it when the GOP-controlled chamber passed it in February. Last month, as the measure passed the Senate by a 68-23 vote, Biden let lawmakers know he would sign it.
The administration said once it became clear that Congress was moving to speed up the end of the national emergency it worked to expedite agency preparations for a return to normal procedures. Among the changes: The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s COVID-19 mortgage forbearance program is set to end at the end of May, and the Department of Veterans Affairs is now returning to a requirement for in-home visits to determine eligibility for caregiver assistance.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-covid19-coronavirus-national-emergency-e3a52722b57a6b4f24187426c27b3b39
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/legislation/2023/04/10/bill-signed-h-j-res-7/
On Monday, April 10, 2023, the President signed into law:
H. J. Res. 7, which terminates the national emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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H. J. RES. 7
One Hundred Eighteenth Congress of the United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, the third day of January, two thousand and twenty-three
Relating to a national emergency declared by the President on March 13, 2020.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, pursuant to section 202 of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622), the national emergency declared by the finding of the President on March 13, 2020, in Proclamation 9994 (85 Fed. Reg. 15337) is hereby terminated.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and President of the Senate.
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