Biden Quietly Extends COVID-19 Emergency Declaration
By Cullen McCue February 21, 2022 at 6:53pm
On Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden announced an extension to the U.S. national emergency declaration, which was enacted in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The emergency declaration will now be extended beyond March 1. President Trump had initially declared a national emergency almost two years ago to free up $50 billion in federal aid. The emergency measures would have been automatically terminated within 90 days of its anniversary unless Biden informed Congress of his decision to renew it.
“There remains a need to continue this national emergency,” Biden said in a letter to Congressional leaders on Friday. The president cited the “deaths of more than 900,000 Americans” and emphasized the need to respond to the pandemic with “the full capacity” of the federal government.
House Republicans had previously called on Biden to end the emergency declaration and to treat COVID-19 as an endemic virus. Government’s response to COVID-19 has led to significant economic and social disruptions,” GOP lawmakers wrote in a letter. “So many Americans have lost their businesses and jobs, far too many children have been left behind in school.”
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https://nationalfile.com/biden-quietly-extends-covid-19-emergency-declaration/
