Legislation to end COVID-19 emergency declaration approved by Senate

In a 62-36 vote Tuesday, the U.S. Senate voted to end the COVID-19 national emergency declaration.

The declaration gave then-President Donald Trump authorization in 2020 to take action during the emergency.

U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas introduced legislation in September to end the emergency after President Joe Biden told CBS News that the pandemic is “over.”

The legislation now goes to the U.S. House for a vote.

Reports state that Biden will veto the legislation when it reaches his desk.

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia voted in favor of ending the emergency.

“When COVID-19 hit, Congress acted with urgency under a number of emergency declarations to provide the flexibilities and funding needed to save lives, roll out a vaccine, and keep our economy afloat. We’ve come a long way since then, and while it might be easier to kick the can down the road, I think it’s time to have a bipartisan conversation about how we unwind from these emergency actions and move forward with the valuable lessons we’ve learned. Today’s resolution won’t affect critical flexibilities, such as the ones facilitating access to telehealth. Rather, this vote should serve as the beginning of a productive and bipartisan effort to examine which mitigation efforts and flexibilities are worth embedding permanently into our lives, and which are no longer relevant or necessary,” Warner said in a press release.