A joint resolution to terminate the COVID-19 emergency declared under the National Emergencies Act has been filed by Rep. Paul Gosar. The resolution will force Congress to debate and vote on termination the Act.
Gosar along with Representatives Matt Rosendale, Thomas Massie, Chip Roy, Ralph Norman, Brian Mast and Randy Weber say Congress has failed to do its “due diligence to decide if the emergency should continue.”
The NEA was passed in 1974 to reign in presidential emergency powers which are activated when a formal emergency is declared. Congress must enforce checks and balances on these unique powers by determining whether or not to terminate the emergency six months after it is declared, and every six months after that.
Gosar and his colleagues complain that it has been over a year later, and Congress still has not met to consider whether the COVID-19 emergency should continue.
They accuse Congress of “lazily” interpreting the “law to mean that if no member motions to terminate the emergency, then there is no opposition to it. This blatantly ignores good process, keeping representatives from debating and voting on the merits of continuing the emergency and the unusual powers it gives the President.”
The representatives argue that with COVID cases down and states are reopening, it is time for Congress to meet its responsibilities and “debate and vote on the merits of extending these emergency powers. This debate needs to happen to ensure Congress is restoring its role in national emergencies and bringing the voice of the American people to the national COVID-19 debate. ”
“Over a year later, with cases falling, vaccine rates rising, and states reopening, it is prudent for Congress to consider the merit of the emergency continuation. I have always said, good process, makes good policy, which makes good politics. Ensuring Congress adheres to good process is the foundation for an effective government, and I am proud to introduce this resolution to restore Congressional role in emergency powers” said Gosar.
“Too often, government policy and basic reality don’t align. The vaccine is here, it is available, and the emergency is over, but on paper, the emergency continues. It’s time for the Congress to step up as a equal branch of government, make the paper match up with the facts, and vote formally to end the emergency powers that have impeded the freedoms of so many Americans in the name of fighting the pandemic” said Rosendale.
“The National Emergencies Act was never intended to give the President endless and unlimited authority over Americans’ lives. There are times and places for emergency declarations, but the COVID-19 pandemic at its peak was far from the COVID-19 pandemic we see in the United States today. It is unacceptable for President Biden to continue to extend this emergency in order to increase his own power over the American people – crushing businesses, keeping kids from school, instituting mandates and continuing to fear monger. It is time for Congress to step in to end this National Emergency” said Roy.