by Michelle Edwards at UnCover DC
Last week, as Omicron-related cases continue to decline, U.S. health officials announced they are preparing for “the next phase” of the COVID-19 pandemic. Officials acknowledged the nation is reaching a point where COVID-19 is no longer a “constant crisis.” Still—despite falling COVID cases coupled with a growing number of U.S. states easing COVID-19 restrictions—on Friday, Joe Biden extended the national emergency initially put in place in 2020 by President Trump. Just a few short days before The People’s Convoy begins its journey across the nation in the name of freedom, Biden declared “there remains a need to continue this national emergency,” writing:
“Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date. In accordance with this provision, I have sent to the Federal Register for publication the enclosed notice stating that the national emergency declared in Proclamation 9994 of March 13, 2020, beginning March 1, 2020, concerning the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, is to continue in effect beyond March 1, 2022.
There remains a need to continue this national emergency. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause significant risk to the public health and safety of the Nation. More than 900,000 people in this Nation have perished from the disease, and it is essential to continue to combat and respond to COVID-19 with the full capacity and capability of the Federal Government.”
A National Emergency Grants Emergency Powers
The powers of the president are significantly enhanced during a national emergency. Explaining these powers further (rattled by the potential national emergency declaration made by President Trump to secure construction funding for the wall along the U.S. southern border), the left-leaning Brennan Center (BC) assembled a report titled “A Guide to Emergency Powers and their Use” in 2018. According to the report, there are currently over 130 extraordinary powers that will continue to be granted to Biden with his extension of the COVID-19 national emergency.
With similar comparisons being made to what Prime Minister Trudeau has implemented in neighboring Canada to halt the Trucker Convoy, extending the national emergency declaration gives Biden vast powers affecting many aspects of Americans’ lives. Those powers include the authority to freeze bank accounts and shut down or take over radio stations, wire, and other types of communications. It also grants the president the ability to deploy troops inside the country to halt civil unrest.
Brief History of the National Emergencies Act
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Congress passed laws to give the president additional authority during economic, military, or labor crises. As outlined in a 2019 article in the Atlantic (like BC, the publication appeared unnerved at the time by President Trump), a more formalized approach to emergency powers evolved in the early 20th century, when Congress legislated powers would lie dormant until the president activated them by declaring a national emergency. Under this scenario, by the 1970s, hundreds of statutory emergency powers, and four undoubtedly obsolete states of emergency, were in effect. For example, the national emergency declared by Truman in 1950 during the Korean War remained in place and was utilized to help prosecute the war in Vietnam.
Aiming to correct the accumulation of previous emergency declarations, in 1976, Congress passed the National Emergencies Act (NEA), which still offers the president complete discretion to declare an emergency. However, the act states he must specify in the declaration which powers he intends to use, issue public updates if he decides to invoke additional powers, and report to Congress on the government’s emergency-related expenses every six months. Notably, the act stipulates the Senate and the House must meet every six months while the emergency is in effect “to consider a vote” on termination. Articulating the failure of the National Emergencies Act, the Atlantic wrote:…