House Republicans have passed a bill that would put an end to the federal government’s COVID-19 public emergency declaration, which has been in place since the pandemic began in 2020. The bill — titled the Pandemic is Over Act — would go against President Joe Biden’s wishes to end the declaration in May but might likely not pass in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
The bill, which passed the lower chamber 220-210 along party lines, would end the Trump-era declaration on the day it is enacted.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who described some of the COVID-19 lockdown measures in the declaration as an “authoritarian power grab,” revealed that House Republicans are committed to a future built on freedom.
Stefanik also described the bill’s passage as righting the wrongs forced upon the American people through “authoritarian lockdowns and mandates.”
Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY), who introduced the bill, sent out a statement immediately after it passed the House stating that the pandemic is over and it is time to move the country beyond “operating under a perpetual emergency.” Guthrie added that the bill had already moved the country forward even before the House vote. Sighting Biden’s announcement that the declarations would end in May.
The Pandemic is Over Act passed in the House. This moves our country beyond operating under an emergency due to COVID-19 and holds President Biden accountable for ending the COVID-19 public health emergency. Statement: https://t.co/setKA8Sb4e
— Rep. Brett Guthrie (@RepGuthrie) February 1, 2023
“It was still critical for the House to pass the Pandemic is Over Act today to ensure Congress has a vehicle to take its authority back and a way to hold President Biden accountable for ending the COVID-19 public health emergency,” Guthrie said in his statement. “I hope this bill also results in the Biden Administration finally producing their plans to Congress that my House Republican colleagues and I have been pressing for since last February to unwind the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Despite Biden claiming the pandemic is over, his administration has refused to end the declarations. It, however, announced on Tuesday that it would end the emergency declaration in May.
Joe Biden said the pandemic was “over,” in September.
So why’s he waiting until May 2023 to end the public health emergency?
Why not TODAY?
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) January 31, 2023
Biden argued that bringing the declaration to an abrupt end could cause chaos for the country’s healthcare system and end Title 42, which could lead to further mayhem at the southern border.
