President Joe Biden is bringing an end to the national emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Monday, the president signed the resolution.
A brief White House press release stated, “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.”
In February, the House voted 229-197 to advance the resolution with 11 Democrats joining Republicans.
Meanwhile, the Senate voted 68-23 to approve the resolution.
CNN reported in March, “A White House official said in a statement to CNN that while the President ‘strongly opposes’ this bill, the administration is already winding down the emergency by May 11, the date previously announced for the end of the authority.”
“Still, the official noted, if the Senate passed the measure and it heads to Biden’s desk, ‘he will sign it, and the administration will continue working with agencies to wind down the national emergency with as much notice as possible to Americans who could potentially be impacted,’” it added.
The Hill explained the resolution “will end a number of waivers for federal health programs Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP, however many of the changes to health care regulations have become largely irrelevant as COVID-19 precautions have been relaxed.”
It also pointed out the national emergency gave Biden and former President Donald Trump the power to pause student loan payments.
“However, Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan is now being challenged at the Supreme Court, and student loan repayments are set to begin either 60 days after the Supreme Court ruling or 60 days after June 30,” The Hill added.
During a CBS “60 Minutes” interview in September, Biden said, “The pandemic is over. We still have a problem with Covid. We’re still doing a lot of work on it. But the pandemic is over.”
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“If you notice, no one’s wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape. And so I think it’s changing. And I think this is a perfect example of it,” he added.
He faced criticism for his remarks at the time.
Original Article: https://ijr.com/biden-terminates-national-emergency-covid-19/
