[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 1, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H607-H611]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RELATING TO A NATIONAL EMERGENCY DECLARED BY THE PRESIDENT ON MARCH 13, 
                                  2020

  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 75, 
I call up the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 7) relating to a national 
emergency declared by the President on March 13, 2020, and ask for its 
immediate consideration in the House.

[[Page H608]]

  The Clerk read the title of the joint resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 75, the joint 
resolution is considered read.
  The text of the joint resolution is as follows:

                              H.J. Res. 7

         Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, 
     pursuant to section 202 of the National Emergencies Act (50 
     U.S.C. 1622), the national emergency declared by the finding 
     of the President on March 13, 2020, in Proclamation 9994 (85 
     Fed. Reg. 15337) is hereby terminated.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The joint resolution shall be debatable for 
1 hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and the ranking 
member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure or their 
respective designees.
  The gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Graves) and the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. Larsen) each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous materials on H.J. Res. 7.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Missouri?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in support of H.J. Res. 7, which 
terminates the March 13, 2020, national emergency declared for COVID-19 
under the National Emergencies Act, or the NEA.
  The time has come to move past the COVID-19 pandemic. It is no longer 
a global emergency as it was nearly 3 years ago. It is that simple.
  President Biden said, in his own words, ``The pandemic is over.'' He 
said that last September, and our Senate colleagues, with a bipartisan 
vote, agreed by passing a resolution last Congress, on November 15, 
2022.
  The NEA was intended to provide emergency authorities to the 
President to respond to extraordinary situations in which the President 
must act quickly. We are no longer in that spot.
  The national emergency was declared by President Trump at the 
beginning of the pandemic, nearly 3 years ago, in March 2020. At that 
time, it was a new virus. The American public and the world at large 
had little information, and we had to get a handle on the spread of 
COVID-19.
  Today, we are in a vastly different spot. We have treatments. We have 
better methods to track COVID. We have a better understanding of the 
virus itself, and the Federal Government has spent trillions combating 
the virus and protecting the economy from the fallout of the global 
shutdown.
  At this point, there is no longer a need for the declaration to 
utilize the extraordinary authorities provided under the NEA. It seems 
that the White House agrees with this, too, but just thinks we need to 
wait until May 11.
  That logic and math just doesn't seem right to me. Consider this: The 
declaration is scheduled to end on March 1 of this year, so the 
President is suggesting he does intend to, once again, extend the 
emergency. That is why Congress needs to act on this resolution.
  It is simple. Absent the President ceding these emergency powers, it 
is incumbent on Congress to rein in the executive branch to ensure 
these powers are not abused and that these authorities do not continue 
in perpetuity.
  America should be fully open. Our kids should be back in the 
classroom. Our families should be back at work. Here in the House, we 
are starting by removing this emergency declaration.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this resolution, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.

                              {time}  1515

  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in opposition to H.J. Res. 7, a resolution 
to terminate the COVID-19 emergency declaration, a resolution 
introduced by Representative Gosar.
  The coronavirus pandemic has been a public health and economic 
calamity for our country. We lost over 1 million of our fellow citizens 
to this deadly virus in wave after wave of devastating news for 
families. Entire industries have been forced to shut down and then 
restart from a standstill. Others have had to entirely reimagine the 
way they do business, costing billions of dollars in the process.
  The impact of the pandemic was inequitable in the extreme. The 
digital divide grew even wider as those with internet access could work 
from home or go to school from home while others were left behind. 
Transportation workers, healthcare workers, law enforcement, and 
grocery store workers were all unable to work from home, leaving them 
at an elevated risk during a very dangerous time.
  But thanks to actions of the previous Congress, including the 
American Rescue Plan, the CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation 
Reduction Act, and the bipartisan infrastructure law, we are well on 
our way to robust recovery from this dark chapter of our Nation's 
history.
  However, our work is not done. New variants continue to emerge, 
taking a toll on our workforce and exacerbating the labor shortage 
facing many businesses. Healthcare workers are still on the front lines 
of this pandemic. Last week, they saw nearly 4,000 Americans die from 
COVID.
  Terminating the emergency declaration now sends the wrong message and 
could have consequences for public health and safety. In my State 
alone, we had over 4,000 cases in last week.
  The uncertain impact of long COVID, particularly on those with 
preexisting health conditions, adds a layer of complexity to our path 
to normalcy.
  With these complex issues still facing businesses, local leaders, and 
the American people, it would be harmful and irresponsible to force a 
premature end to the flexibility offered by the Presidential emergency 
declaration from March of 2020.
  President Biden has no intention of using these emergency powers 
forever. We know that because he announced his intention to end the 
COVID-19 national emergency on May 11. This May deadline provides time 
to develop a strategic and a thoughtful plan regarding the termination 
of these authorities. There is no need for Congress to act now before 
the President acts on this issue. Forcing an end to the emergency 
declaration without regard to the consequences is shortsighted and 
wrong.
  There are many examples where a rushed move to end the national 
emergency declaration could have unintended negative consequences for 
the U.S. Ending the emergency declaration would roll back the 
enrollment and payment deadlines for individuals who have lost their 
jobs to sign up for COBRA or pay COBRA premiums. This will mean 
burdensome deadlines on consumers who get healthcare coverage from job-
based plans, including laid-off workers and their families.
  Ending the emergency declaration will reverse efforts to address mass 
incarceration and prison crowding by terminating the CARES Act home 
confinement provisions. This makes it difficult for the Bureau of 
Prisons to protect inmates who are at high risk of serious illness or 
death from COVID-19.
  Ending the emergency declaration will end video court proceedings. 
This is inefficient and will cost marshals time and money if they 
resume transporting inmates back and forth to court.
  Ending the emergency declaration will cut preplanned sickness 
benefits and unemployment benefits for rail workers. It is wrong to cut 
these earned benefits when rail workers need them most.
  Ending the emergency declaration will also threaten Victims of Crime 
Assistance funding, or VOCA funding, a critical lifeline for 
individuals and children dealing with the aftermath of being a victim 
to crime.
  The administration has a plan to bring the national emergency 
declaration to an orderly end on May 11, aligning with its commitment 
to give at least 60 days' notice prior to termination. I think this is 
a sensible and reasoned approach that Congress should support.
  We shouldn't be using an ax when a scalpel will do. Rushing this 
resolution to the floor is the wrong approach, and I urge my colleagues 
to oppose it.

[[Page H609]]

  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Crawford), the chairman of the 
Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
  Mr. CRAWFORD. Mr. Speaker, the pandemic is over.
  At least that is what we were told by President Biden several months 
ago in a September interview. Yet here we are almost 5 months later, 
and the White House has failed to roll back the emergency declaration.
  In fact, it wasn't until House Republicans scheduled a vote to do 
just that, to terminate that declaration, that President Biden 
announced that he would actually end it on May 11. What he really did 
was announce that he was giving our friends on the other side of the 
aisle a little bit of political cover to vote ``no'' on this bill. 
Instead, they would rather continue to watch the American economy 
suffer for an additional 3 months while we continue this unnecessary 
declaration of an emergency.
  I am glad President Biden has followed House Republicans' lead on 
this, but why wait months?
  We can vote to end it right now, today.
  We have already let this measure drag on for nearly 3 years, 
signifying an egregious abuse of Presidential powers. These emergency 
powers have been used to harm our economy and exacerbate our supply 
chain problems, and the President is content to allow that to happen 
for another 3 months.
  Our supply chain doesn't need this to continue anymore. It needs to 
end now. It is time for us to stop living in the past. Americans are 
ready to move forward. They are tired of hearing mixed messages that 
the pandemic is over but still seeing all of the consequences of these 
emergency declarations and implementing COVID regulations.

  Let's finally deliver on this promise that the end isn't near; it is 
right here, right now.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the underlying 
resolution.
  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I just note that there is no 
record that the national emergency exacerbated supply chain problems in 
the U.S. There is every record in evidence that COVID exacerbated 
supply chain problems in the U.S., bringing our economy to a 
standstill, and in my view, every evidence that the investment in the 
bipartisan infrastructure law and the CHIPS and Science Act are doing 
exactly what they needed to do, to bring our economy back. There is no 
evidence otherwise. Just saying that for the record.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gosar).
  Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.J. Res. 7, legislation 
I introduced requiring the Biden administration to finally end the 
outdated and abusive COVID national emergency declaration.
  Nearly 3 years have passed since President Trump rightfully declared 
a national emergency concerning the COVID pandemic. The factual basis 
for this declaration was apparent then.
  As time has progressed and as we have learned about this virus, we 
know that it is no longer a national emergency. Since President Trump's 
initial declaration, the House of Representatives has not once voted, 
let alone debated, whether to terminate this national emergency or keep 
it as required--let me repeat that--required under the National 
Emergencies Act.
  The National Emergencies Act requires Congress to review termination 
or continuation of a national emergency no later than 6 months after 
its implementation and at least every 6 months thereafter. Yet, former 
Speaker Pelosi repeatedly blocked my attempts to simply debate about 
the merits of extending or terminating the COVID national emergency 
declaration, despite the law requiring its review. That would make it 
almost four to six times we should have had this debate during that 
time.
  What type of representative body cannot even discuss a national 
emergency?
  Until now, the House of Representatives has failed to perform its 
most basic constitutional duty: checking the powers of the executive 
branch and the power of the purse.
  In contrast, companion legislation has twice passed the Senate, most 
recently with overwhelming bipartisan support.
  Last September, Mr. Biden declared the pandemic is over, cases are 
down, America has opened back up. This hardly sounds like a country 
under a national COVID emergency. Yet, Joe Biden continued to extend 
the COVID national emergency simply to force Americans to live under 
extreme measures that deprive us of our freedoms.
  Just this week, Mr. Biden issued a Statement of Administrative Policy 
opposing H.J. Res. 7, implying to veto the legislation. This action 
stands in stark contrast to the recent promises that Biden would end 
the COVID national emergency in May.
  Let's not forget that Mr. Biden once promised the American people 
that there would be no Federal COVID vaccine mandates. Yet, he soon 
lied and mandated COVID vaccines for millions of Americans.
  We simply cannot trust if and when Biden will keep his word. The 
evidence is to the contrary.
  It is time to end this emergency declaration now. If passed through 
the House today, the National Emergencies Act requires the Senate to 
expeditiously vote on my resolution within 18 calendar days.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this legislation and 
send it to the Senate. Do your due diligence. Do what the law requires.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from 
engaging in personalities toward the President.
  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, thank you for that 
announcement.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry), the chairman of the 
Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency 
Management.
  Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for the opportunity and 
would just tell the body and everybody listening: Not since World War 
II, and that crisis that our country had to deal with, has the cause of 
socialism and Big Government been advanced more than during the 
declaration of this national emergency.
  People might disagree with me, but let me make it real for you. The 
Federal Government and State governments used this national emergency 
to stop people from working in their businesses, stop their businesses 
cold and force them to inject something into their body if they wanted 
to go to work, if they wanted to go to school, if they wanted to 
travel. If that is not Big Government and oppression, I am not sure 
what is.
  People say, well, what does it matter?
  Well, there are more than 120 special statutory authorities granted 
to the administration that are now going to go away. Everybody says: 
Well, he is going to do it on May 11. Well, he said last September he 
was going to do it then.
  What is taking so long?
  The rest of the country knows that the pandemic is over, and they 
know that the national emergency should be over, as well. They know 
that part of the 122 special statutory authorities includes allowing 
the President to suspend a prohibition on testing chemical and 
biological substances on unwitting human subjects--think about that--or 
allowing the President to shut down or take over radio stations or 
freeze any asset or financial transaction.
  Indeed, the pandemic is over. The President announced it last 
September. The Senate, just in November, just a couple months ago, 
voted to end it overwhelmingly.

  For anybody that is concerned about title 42, the statute governing 
title 42 does not make any mention of the emergency declaration.
  It needs to be ended. It needs to be ended now. Americans need to be 
free and not oppressed by this Federal Government and these 
extraordinary powers that have advanced the cause of socialism like no 
other time in our history.
  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.

[[Page H610]]

  I would just note that everyone is looking forward to the day when 
COVID-19 is a distant memory. But we have to work toward that day 
cautiously and steadily, and the emergency declaration should not be 
terminated until there is time to conduct a careful review on science. 
It should not be terminated on the whim of any one Member of Congress.
  The administration has a plan to bring the national emergency 
declaration to an orderly end on May 11, aligning with their commitment 
to give at least 60 days' notice prior to the termination. I think it 
is a sensible and reasoned approach that Congress should support.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa).
  Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, so the national emergency declaration was 
on March 13 of 2020, nearly 3 years ago.
  This legislation we are talking about today passed the Senate twice 
with the votes of nearly two-thirds of the Senators. But the former 
Speaker repeatedly blocked the resolution from coming to the floor in 
the House.
  The President is granted more than 120 special statutory powers--
statutory, which usually means passing a law--through the national 
emergency declaration, all of which he continues to wield as long as 
this emergency is in place.
  The President has extended the emergency twice, which would otherwise 
have automatically terminated on the anniversary of the first 
declaration.
  These powers are meant for the time of actual emergency. President 
Biden himself has said the pandemic is over in his ``60 Minutes'' 
interview in September of 2022.
  This administration has continually abused these powers and used the 
national emergency to enact liberal policies without the approval of 
Congress. These are things that probably wouldn't pass muster in 
Congress, because I don't think a lot of my colleagues would want to 
vote for them on the record.
  Since the emergency was first declared, the Federal Government has 
spent over $6 trillion in response to COVID-19. Students have lost 
invaluable time learning in school facilities. Countless businesses 
closed down that aren't coming back. Families have been separated from 
loved ones during holidays and at hospitals, unable to see dying loved 
ones and not even able to have a funeral for them. Heartless.

                              {time}  1530

  Nurses and docs, at one point called heroes, start to be called goats 
because they don't necessarily want to take an experimental vaccine.
  We have Jekyll and Hyde ideas coming out of the administration now--
thinking like, well, we are going to sue to make people wear masks 
again on planes and trains at the same time he is saying we are going 
to end it all in May. It is crazy. We are going in the wrong direction.
  Why don't we pass this legislation that the President won't do 
himself and put the power back into the hands of the people here that 
are elected by the people.
  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I would just note that if we 
are going cite President Biden's comment that the pandemic is over, 
will the House also agree with the President that there will be no cuts 
to Social Security and Medicare?
  Will the House also agree that President Biden has said that the 
economy has turned around, creating 11 million jobs, and the economy is 
robust?
  If we are going to pick and choose what the President says to make 
any one argument, then let's look at the totality of the President's 
record, in fairness to the President.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. 
Payne).
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Larsen for allowing me this time 
to speak.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the bill before us, H.J. 
Res. 7.
  I am pleased that President Biden announced this week that he will 
end the COVID-19 national emergency declaration on May 11. This will 
provide a reasonable path to winding down the pandemic measures without 
leaving States and cities caught off guard with sudden shifts in their 
budgets.
  COVID was a once-in-a-lifetime emergency, and an abrupt end to the 
spending under the emergency declaration would cause chaos for 
Americans. The wind down aligns with the administration's previous 
plans to give cities, States, businesses, and taxpayers at least 60 
days' notice prior to the termination of the emergency declaration.
  Mr. Speaker, this is sensible policymaking, and it is a welcome 
change from the prior administration's frantic, poorly-considered, and 
dangerous approach to any sort of emergency, including COVID.
  I agree with the President's plan to wind down the emergency 
declaration, and I know my colleagues on the other side of the aisle 
agree with this plan, as well. Why?
  Because this bill was rushed to the floor without allowing our 
committee to review it, without soliciting input from any of the cities 
or States that would be impacted. Nobody has been working with the 
Senate or the White House to find a solution that makes sense.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute 
to the gentleman from New Jersey.
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, the majority knows that abrupt shifts are 
bad. Yet, they are free to vote for a bill which they know would cause 
chaos. They also know that it won't be considered by the Senate.
  I can forgive a messaging bill; we all do that from time to time. 
What is so galling about the bill before us today is that it shows just 
how far outside the mainstream the Republican Party is.
  The American people want commonsense solutions that protect our 
economy, not a far-right agenda driven by the most extreme voices in 
their party. It is the same voices that brought us yesterday's anti-
vaccine bill.
  Who knows what other secret promises the Speaker made to the 
extremists to secure the gavel?
  Let's get the bill over with because we all know that it is not going 
anywhere.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has again expired.
  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 
seconds to the gentleman from New Jersey.
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, we can then get on to debating the majority's 
economic plans, like a 30 percent national sales tax or holding the 
debt limit hostage.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' so we can stop 
wasting time with this nonsense and get back to the work for the 
American people.
  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Massie).
  Mr. MASSIE. Mr. Speaker, I find it incredible what the other side of 
the aisle is saying. They said this bill was rushed to the floor.
  Do you remember when this was invoked, the National Emergencies Act? 
March 13, 2020. After that we were told 15 days to slow the spread. How 
many days are we up to? Does anybody over there know?
  It is over 1,000 days. What has happened in that period of time? How 
did we get to this position?
  The law that Congress passed that was invoked by the former-President 
and extended by this President, the National Emergencies Act, requires 
at least every 6 months you vote on whether to extend it. We did not 
follow the law under the former Speaker.
  They used the Rules Committee to prevent this bill from coming to a 
vote and then the claim that the Senate would need time to deal with 
this. The Senate has already passed this. The bipartisan Senate passed 
61 to 37.
  I expect there would have been a lot of votes here but the President 
came in to try to save their skin. The gig is up, but he wants to keep 
the music going a little bit longer.
  Mr. Biden says that he wants to honor his commitment to give 60 days' 
notice before ending it because he issued this statement of 
administrative policy. He only issued this when this bill came to the 
floor; but he is going to honor his commitment to 60 days' notice.
  Why is he taking 100 days? If anybody over there can do the math for 
me. May 11--is that 60 days from now?

[[Page H611]]

  No, it is more like 100 days from now, roughly.
  The notion that this was rushed to the floor is ridiculous. Biden 
wants to keep it going. He wants to spend money under his emergency 
authorities, which he shouldn't have right now. It is very 
irresponsible with the debt limit looming and with us in extraordinary 
measures.
  The reality is he wants 100 more days to shove money out the door and 
to waste money that hasn't been guarded very well or audited. It has 
been 1,000 into 15 days to slow the spread. It is time to end this 
emergency now.
  Mr. Speaker, I support Mr. Gosar's bill.
  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Bost).
  Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, back in September, President Biden said the 
pandemic is over. In early January, he extended his public health 
emergency for COVID for the twelfth time. Now he says the public health 
emergency will end May 11.
  The emergency's been ended, then extended, then expired, when all of 
us know that it hasn't existed for months.
  I guess we can say now that COVID will magically disappear in May 
because he says so. Who knows? We might even get new guidance tomorrow. 
I guess the Americans should watch out.
  The American people--regardless of what was said on the other side of 
the aisle--are tired of this. They want to get back to business as 
usual. The American people are fed up with shutdowns that killed our 
jobs and restricted our rights.
  We are going to end this madness now; we need to, that is why I am a 
cosponsor of the bill.
  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues on the other 
side of the aisle are fond of quoting the President and saying the 
pandemic is over. I just hope they will also agree with the President 
that we have had the 2 strongest years of job growth in history the 
last 2 years. We have had the lowest level of unemployment in 50 years. 
We have a new record low unemployment for Black and Hispanic Americans 
and record low unemployment for people with disabilities.
  I hope as they are picking and choosing what they choose to agree 
with the President on, that they look at these facts, and also come out 
and agree with the President that these are also the facts.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from Colorado (Mrs. Boebert).
  Mrs. BOEBERT. Mr. Speaker, it has been nearly 3 years since the first 
national emergency declaration was issued related to the COVID-19 
pandemic on March 13, 2020.
  Since then, the Federal Government has authorized over $6 trillion in 
response to COVID-19. Our children have suffered severe learning loss 
due to school closures, and countless small businesses have been forced 
to permanently close their doors.
  The Democratic Party has used and abused the national emergency 
authorization to push their unpopular, radical agenda, like the 
eviction moratorium, student loan forgiveness, and reckless spending 
that has led to skyrocketing inflation that is impacting my 
constituents today--your constituents today.
  When they go to the grocery store and are paying $9, $10, $11 for 12 
eggs, this is a problem. They also put unconstitutional vaccine 
mandates in place to put healthcare workers and our military 
servicemembers, serving in all branches of our military, out of work.
  COVID is over. Yet, nearly 3 years later, more than 35 National 
Emergencies Acts are still in effect, and the current administration is 
continuing to abuse more than 120 special statutory powers only meant 
for times of emergency.
  Even Joe Biden said the pandemic is over. We agreed with that long 
before he said it, and we are happy he is finally saying it. It is far 
past time to put an end to this abuse.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague, Representative Gosar, 
for his strong leadership on this issue. I am proud to be cosponsor of 
this legislation, and I strongly support it.
  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, the administration has a plan 
to bring the national emergency declaration to an early end on May 11, 
aligning with its commitment to at least 60 days' notice prior to 
termination. This gives time for a deliberate and sensible wind down of 
the national emergency.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to oppose H.J. Res. 7, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, in closing, last year President 
Biden acknowledged that the pandemic is over, as has been pointed out.
  There is no compelling need for the President to continue exercising 
the extraordinary authorities under the NEA. The Senate, on a 
bipartisan basis, agreed in November, and here in the people's House I 
think it is time that we do the same.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this joint resolution, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 75, the 
previous question is ordered on the joint resolution.
  The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the joint 
resolution.
  The joint resolution was ordered to be engrossed and read a third 
time, and was read the third time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on passage of the joint 
resolution.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.

                          ____________________