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With National Emergency Declaration, Trump Unleashes Presidential Power to
Combat Coronavirus

Masood Farivar

   WASHINGTON - By declaring the coronavirus pandemic a "national
   emergency" Friday, President Donald Trump is marshaling the full power
   of his office against the deadly virus after earlier measures fell
   short.

   The Trump administration had already declared the coronavirus a public
   health emergency. The new national emergency declaration, made under
   the 1976 National Emergencies Act and the National Security Act,
   triggers more than 100 statutory authorities available to the president
   to combat the coronavirus, which is now wreaking havoc across the
   United States.

   The proclamation authorizes the secretary of Health and Human Services
   to "waive or modify" certain requirements of government-funded health
   plans, such as Medicare and Medicaid, used by millions of Americans
   during the emergency.

   $50 billion to help states

   At the same time, Trump invoked the Stafford Disaster Relief and
   Emergency Assistance Act, which authorizes the president to direct the
   release of funds to states affected by a disaster or emergency.

   Trump said the declaration will open up $50 billion in funds for
   states. All but three of 50 American states have reported coronavirus
   cases and more than two dozen have declared emergencies.

   "It gives tremendous powers for things we need," Trump told reporters
   at the White House after making the announcement. "It gives the kind of
   power we need to get rid of this virus."

   The Stafford Act enables the president to make a "major disaster
   declaration" and an emergency declaration, authorizing the Federal
   Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to tap into billions of dollars in
   its Disaster Relief Fund.

   The national emergency declaration gives Trump authority well beyond
   the ability to release emergency funds. The declarations range from
   waiving medical licensing requirements for doctors to allowing them to
   work across state lines to foregoing regulatory rules in order to
   approve a new coronavirus test "within hours."

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