Last week, U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., unveiled the “National Emergency Declaration Reform Act.”
The bill “would require both houses of Congress to vote every six months to determine whether a National Emergency Declaration should remain in effect.”
Gimenez’s office offered some of the reasons the congressman introduced the bill.
“In the past two years, President Biden’s executive branch has abused the powers of the executive office to use the COVID Emergency Declaration to suspend student loan payment deadlines, to close ports of entry, to expand federal agencies, and to lawlessly cancel student loans all without the approval of Congress,” the congressman’s office noted.
“We have given way too much power to the executive branch and unelected bureaucrats. The power must be handed back to the people through their elected representatives. I am proud to introduce the National Emergency Declaration Reform Act to ensure both houses of Congress will vote and represent the interests of the American people,” said Gimenez. “Over the past two years we have watched President Biden overreach his power with the use of the COVID Emergency Declaration with few to no checks from Congress. The executive branch, no matter the party, should never be able to abuse its power.“
The bill was sent to the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure; Foreign Affairs; and the Rules Committees. So far, there are no co-sponsors in the U.S. House and no companion measure over in the U.S. Senate.
