[House Document 116-108]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




116th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - - - - - House Document 116-108
 
 DECLARATION OF A NATIONAL EMERGENCY CONCERNING THE NOVEL CORONAVIRUS 
                      DISEASE (COVID-19) OUTBREAK

                               __________

                                MESSAGE

                                  from

                  THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

 AN EXECUTIVE ORDER DECLARING THAT THE OUTBREAK OF CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 
   (COVID-19) IN THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTES A NATIONAL EMERGENCY, 
  PURSUANT TO 50 U.S.C. 1621(a); PUBLIC LAW 94-412, SEC. 201(a); (90 
STAT. 1255) AND 42 U.S.C. 1320b-5(d); AUG. 14, 1935; CH. 531, TITLE XI, 
SEC. 1135(d) (AS ADDED BY PUBLIC LAW 107-188, SEC. 143(a)); (116 STAT. 
                                  628)

              [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


   March 16, 2020.--Message and accompanying papers referred to the 
Committees on Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means, and ordered to be 
                                printed
                                
                               __________

                      U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
                      
99-011                     WASHINGTON : 2020 
                                
                                
                                
                                
                                
                                
                                
                                
                                
                                
                                
                                
                                
                                
                                
                                
                                
                                
To the Congress of the United States:
    Pursuant to section 201 of the National Emergencies Act (50 
U.S.C. 1621), I hereby report that I have exercised my 
authority to declare that the outbreak of coronavirus disease 
(COVID-19) in the United States constitutes a national 
emergency. This declaration invokes section 1135 of the Social 
Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 1320b-5, to allow the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services to exercise the authority under that 
section to temporarily waive or modify certain requirements of 
the Medicare, Medicaid, and State Children's Health Insurance 
programs and of the Health Insurance Portability and 
Accountability Act Privacy Rule throughout the duration of the 
public health emergency declared in response to the COVID-19 
outbreak.
    I am enclosing a copy of the proclamation I have issued.

                                                   Donald J. Trump.
    The White House, March 13, 2020.

















Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease 
                          (COVID-19) Outbreak

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            By the President of the United States of America

                             A Proclamation

    In December 2019, a novel (new) coronavirus known as SARS-
CoV-2 (``the virus'') was first detected in Wuhan, Hubei 
Province, People's Republic of China, causing outbreaks of the 
coronavirus disease COVID-19 that has now spread globally. The 
Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) declared a public 
health emergency on January 31, 2020, under section 319 of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d), in response to 
COVID-19. I have taken sweeping action to control the spread of 
the virus in the United States, including by suspending entry 
of foreign nationals seeking entry who had been physically 
present within the prior 14 days in certain jurisdictions where 
COVID-19 outbreaks have occurred, including the People's 
Republic of China, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the 
Schengen Area of Europe. The Federal Government, along with 
State and local governments, has taken preventive and proactive 
measures to slow the spread of the virus and treat those 
affected, including by instituting Federal quarantines for 
individuals evacuated from foreign nations, issuing a 
declaration pursuant to section 319F-3 of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d-6d), and releasing policies to 
accelerate the acquisition of personal protective equipment and 
streamline bringing new diagnostic capabilities to 
laboratories. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization 
announced that the COVID-19 outbreak can be characterized as a 
pandemic, as the rates of infection continue to rise in many 
locations around the world and across the United States.
    The spread of COVID-19 within our Nation's communities 
threatens to strain our Nation's healthcare systems. As of 
March 12, 2020, 1,645 people from 47 States have been infected 
with the virus that causes COVID-19. It is incumbent on 
hospitals and medical facilities throughout the country to 
assess their preparedness posture and be prepared to surge 
capacity and capability. Additional measures, however, are 
needed to successfully contain and combat the virus in the 
United States.
    NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United 
States, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and 
the laws of the United States of America, including sections 
201 and 301 of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et 
seq.) and consistent with section 1135 of the Social Security 
Act (SSA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 1320b-5), do hereby find and 
proclaim that the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States 
constitutes a national emergency, beginning March 1, 2020. 
Pursuant to this declaration, I direct as follows:
    Section 1. Emergency Authority. The Secretary of HHS may 
exercise the authority under section 1135 of the SSA to 
temporarily waive or modify certain requirements of the 
Medicare, Medicaid, and State Children's Health Insurance 
programs and of the Health Insurance Portability and 
Accountability Act Privacy Rule throughout the duration of the 
public health emergency declared in response to the COVID-19 
outbreak.
    Sec. 2. Certification and Notice. In exercising this 
authority, the Secretary of HHS shall provide certification and 
advance written notice to the Congress as required by section 
1135(d) of the SSA (42 U.S.C. 1320b-5(d)).
    Sec. 3. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this 
proclamation shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
          (i) the authority granted by law to an executive 
        department or agency, or the head thereof; or
          (ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of 
        Management and Budget relating to budgetary, 
        administrative, or legislative proposals.
    (b) This proclamation shall be implemented consistent with 
applicable law and subject to the availability of 
appropriations.
    (c) This proclamation is not intended to, and does not, 
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United 
States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, 
employees, or agents, or any other person.
    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
thirteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand 
twenty, and of the Independence of the United States of America 
the two hundred and forty-fourth.

                                                   Donald J. Trump.

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