Dear Friends,

For three years, Americans have been living under a public health emergency and national emergency due to COVID-19. In 2020, then-Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Alex Azar declared a COVID-19 public health emergency and President Trump declared a national emergency, giving the Executive Branch additional authorities to fight the novel virus. As part of these efforts, the Trump Administration created Operation Warp Speed to get testing, therapies, and vaccines in place and also created regulatory flexibilities to specifically to deal with COVID-19. The Biden Administration continued much of the Trump Administration’s work to roll out vaccines and therapies but went further by enacting mandate policies that I believe represent government overreach.

Today, our country is in a different stage in addressing COVID-19 and has vaccines as well as other therapies to effectively manage and live alongside this endemic virus. That’s why it is time to move our country beyond operating under a perpetual emergency and return the authority back to Congress. Moving forward, Congress can take actions to address COVID-19. I believe the left's agenda having nothing to do with COVID-19 has been advanced as a result of the Biden Administration's policies during the COVID-19 public health emergency and national emergency declaration. The Biden Administration has also enacted polices of vaccine and mask mandates on the American people.

As Health Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, I am leading the charge on pushing back against government overreach in the name of COVID-19 and restoring checks and balances between Congress and the Executive Branch. Now that there is a new House Republican majority, my colleagues and I are able to do more to hold the Biden Administration accountable.

Below are five recent bills the House passed to recognize COVID-19 is endemic:

1. End the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (Pandemic is Over Act)

For a year, my House Republican colleagues and I have been trying to get the Biden Administration to release their plan to Congress on how they plan on unwinding the COVID-19 public health emergency. I expected President Biden to release this plan soon after he said the COVID-19 pandemic is over on national television last September. Unfortunately, President Biden never responded to our requests for his plan. To apply pressure to end the COVID-19 public health emergency, I introduced the Pandemic Is Over Act to end the COVID-19 public health emergency and force President Biden to relinquish his emergency powers.

Click HERE to watch Rep. Guthrie press his colleagues to vote for the Pandemic is Over Act

As this bill was gaining traction and the night before the bill was supposed to be on the House floor, President Biden announced he would unwind the COVID-19 public health emergency in May. My House Republican colleagues and I moved forward with passing the Pandemic is Over Act to have a vehicle to hold the Biden Administration accountable for President Biden's stated policy of unwinding the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Click HERE to watch Rep. Guthrie’s interview on the Pandemic is Over Act on Newsmax

My bill does not end Title 42, which has been used to help secure the Southern Border. Terminating this policy is at the discretion of President Biden, and I am disappointed that the Biden Administration announced that they will end the Title 42 policy. My House Republican colleagues and I are working on legislation to secure the border.  

2. End the COVID-19 National Emergency Declaration (H.J.Res.7)

The national emergency declaration for COVID-19 was also invoked in 2020. The Biden Administration cited the COVID-19 national emergency declaration in how they could trigger a statute to enact President Biden’s student loan debt cancellation policy plan. This student loan debt cancellation policy plan has since been held up in court. I voted to end the COVID-19 national emergency declaration, which passed in the House of Representatives and would end this executive overreach.

3. End CMS COVID-19 vaccine mandate on health care workers (Freedom for Health Care Workers Act)

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) only has one federal vaccine mandate on health care workers and that is the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. I strongly disagree with this federal mandate, which is a one-size-fits all mandate that makes health care workers decide between their job and the COVID-19 vaccine. I voted to end the COVID-19 vaccine mandate on health care workers, and this bill passed the House at the end of January.

4. Return federal agencies to pre-pandemic telework policies (Stopping Home Office Work’s Unproductive Problems Act)

I hear from my constituents about how slow the federal bureaucracy can be, and my team of caseworkers and I work tirelessly to help constituents navigate the bureaucracy and get timely responses. I voted for the SHOW UP Act to require workers in federal agencies to return to pre-pandemic telework policies. I want to ensure federal agencies are being responsive to the American people.

5. End COVID-19 vaccine mandate on international travelers (H.R. 185)

The United States is the only country in North America with a vaccine mandate on international travelers, who are traveling by air. There are also no religious or moral exceptions for this mandate. Many other countries around the world also do not have this mandate or testing requirements. I voted to align the United States with the rest of North America by ending the vaccine mandate on international travelers.

Next steps

The work continues to recognize COVID-19 is endemic and return our country back to normal. At the same time, I am working on reforms to ensure our country is better prepared for future pandemics. I recently co-led a hearing on this with top public health officials to begin this work, and I went through the federal government's missteps with addressing COVID-19. I hope these reforms can be accomplished in a bipartisan way and that these reforms will restore public trust in federal health agencies.

Click HERE to watch Rep. Guthrie talk about the federal government’s missteps with COVID-19 and legislation to improve pandemic response in the future

How Can I Help?

My office and I are happy to help you. My constituent services team can help provide assistance with the Department of Veterans Affairs and other federal agencies. Please click HERE or call 270-842-9896 or 202-225-3501 to contact my office.