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The Biden administration will end both the COVID-19 national emergency and public health emergency on May 11, the White House informed Congress on Monday night.

The current public health emergency is in place through April, while the national emergency is in place until March. They began in 2020, soon after the onset of the pandemic.

"At present, the Administration's plan is to extend the emergency declarations to May 11, and then end both emergencies on that date. This wind down would align with the Administration's previous commitments to provide at least 60 days' notice prior to termination of the PHE," the administration wrote in a letter to Congress.

"To be clear, continuation of these emergency declarations until May 11 does not impose any restriction at all on individual conduct with regard to COVID-19," the administration wrote. "They do not impose mask mandates or vaccine mandates. They do not restrict school or business operations. They do not require the use of any medicines or tests in response to cases of COVID-19."

The impact of the public health emergency ending will come into clearer focus over the next three months, as different agencies in the federal government determine which related programs can be continued without the order in place -- and how to unwind programs that can't.

One potential impact will be on hospitals and doctors' offices, which have come to rely on higher rates for Medicare patients and more flexibility around bed capacity rules when there's a surge of patients.

States will also soon be exempt from sharing data with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has mandated information like case counts and COVID-19 deaths during the public health emergency -- a change that could lead to a cloudier future picture of COVID-19 in the U.S.

A senior administration official told ABC News that the CDC will reach out to states in the coming months to encourage them to continue sharing that information voluntarily.

The public health emergency also affects the health care coverage Americans have come to rely on for free COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and tests. While vaccines will remain largely free for people with insurance even after the emergency ends -- so long as they're administered by an in-network provider -- free treatment and tests could be less of a guarantee.

The senior official predicted the change will be relatively minor and that instead, the larger change in COVID-19 coverage will come later this year, when the government stops buying and distributing vaccines, tests and treatments for free for all Americans and insurance companies begin to take up the cost, moving the whole system to the private market.

People on Medicaid may also face changes in their health care coverage after April 1, when states will once again be able to remove enrollees who no longer qualify for the program.

States have so far been barred from ending people's Medicaid coverage for the duration of the pandemic, even if enrollees' circumstances change and they no longer qualify, as a tenet of the public health emergency. According to a group of Republican governors, who in December pressured the Biden administration to end the public health emergency, the Medicaid expansion has led to an increase of approximately 20 million people on the program's rolls since the start of the pandemic.

At least 13% of Medicaid recipients could get removed from their coverage when the Medicaid rules change, according to research compiled by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) from around 20 states.

The end of the public health emergency could also bring the end of Title 42 -- the order that has allowed the Trump and Biden administrations to turn many migrants away at the border by citing the potential spread of the virus.

The Biden administration supports "an orderly, predictable wind-down of Title 42, with sufficient time to put alternative policies in place," the government said in Monday's announcement.

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The Biden administration proposed a rule that would reduce credit card late fees from roughly to $30 to $8, saving consumers up to $9 billion annually, the White House announced on Wednesday.

The rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), along with other actions — like the White House urging Congress to pass a bill to crack down on entertainment, utility and travel fees that hit many consumers — was announced in the fourth meeting of the President’s Competition Council. 

“These unfair fees add up. It’s a basic question of fairness. And with the help of the folks in this room, we’re going to keep building an economy that’s fair, an economy that’s competitive, and an economy that works for everyone,” President Biden said at the meeting.

These actions build on Biden’s efforts to eliminate or limit junk fees, which are hidden or unexpected fees customers face.

“We worry that credit card companies are actually hoping that consumers are a day or two late, so they can cash on fees,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “While it may be fair to charge customers for extra costs that credit card companies are incurring, that’s not what we see here.”

To come to the $8 figure, Chopra said the CFPB analyzed current costs and found that the number now is five times higher than it needs to be.

Chopra said at the meeting that he expects people will start to see real relief due to these actions next year.

“People want to be able to see the price up front and know what they’re getting and not be surprised for something they can’t even budget for,” he said.

The president agreed, noting that his administration is working to rebuild confidence in the government’s ability to deliver for the American people.

“People have lost faith in government’s ability to deliver, have lost faith in private sector and what they advertise or say they’re delivering, and it’s about just letting people know that we see what’s happening and its totally appropriate to do what we’re doing,” Biden said.

Biden urged a focus on reducing junk fees through an executive order issued in October. 

He called on Congress to pass a Junk Fee Prevention Act, which is also set to crack down on four types of junk fees. Those fees include excessive online concert, sporting event and entertainment fees, and early termination fees for television, phone and internet services.

The White House said on Tuesday the administration wants congressional action in these areas because it can be faster than administrative action, which includes the rulemaking process.

The two other types of junk fees include surprise resort and destination fees and airline fees for families to sit with young children.

“Having parents and children separated isn’t good for anyone involved and should not be something that families have to pay extra to achieve,” said Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council.

“These fees can be incredibly frustrating for typical Americans who have to travel or who are seeking to just engage in practical ways in our economy, like accessing internet services,” Deese added.

Deese noted, though, that he doesn’t anticipate the push for congressional action on junk fees to come up in Biden’s meeting with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), which is set for Wednesday.

The Competition Council met just hours before the meeting with McCarthy.

Other actions announced on Wednesday included the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) releasing a report assessing the barriers to competition in the current mobile app store ecosystem. 

The report targets technology companies Apple and Google specifically and will include recommendations to level the playing field for app developers, giving consumers more control.

“The report finds that the current mobile app ecosystem, and especially the current app store model, is harmful to consumers and to app developers. As outlined in our report, the marketplace for apps is largely controlled by two firms, Apple and Google. Their practices and policies hinder a competitive app ecosystem,” said NTIA administrator Alan Davidson.

Updated: 1:48 p.m.

Possibly curbing 'egregious rent increases'

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'Aggressive administrative action is so important'

The Biden administration released a new design for Permanent Resident Cards, also known as green cards, and Employment Authorization Documents (EADs), adding a series of new security measures for the immigration documents.

The new cards will be issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) as of Monday; older cards will remain valid until their expiration date.

“This redesign further demonstrates USCIS’ commitment to taking a proactive approach against the threat of secure document tampering, counterfeiting, and fraud,” said USCIS Director Ur Jaddou in a statement. 

“Consistent updates to secure documents, informed by our knowledge of the latest methods of bad actors and the innovation and ingenuity of our staff, ensure the continued integrity of secure documents issued by our agency.”

Permanent Resident Cards and EADs serve as proof of authorization to work in the United States for qualifying immigrants.

Green cards are granted to legal permanent residents, a majority of whom are eligible to apply for citizenship. EADs are granted to foreign nationals who can work but don’t have a temporary work visa, such as recently graduated higher education students, green card applicants, asylum-seekers and refugees.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, there are almost 13 million legal permanent residents in the United States — that number declined by 1.7 percent from 2021 to 2022 as more permanent residents chose to pursue naturalization.

The new green cards and EADs will have “improved detailed artwork,” as well as upgrades to holographic images and optically variable ink, and the arrangement of data fields will change from current cards.

USCIS will run through its stock of existing cards before issuing the new model, meaning some cards printed from Monday onwards will still be of the previous generation.

Though existing cards will remain valid, USCIS is encouraging people who have older models without expiration dates to apply for a replacement in order to prevent fraud if the older card is ever lost or stolen.

According to USCIS, the current card design was introduced in May 2017, and the agency aims to issue redesigns every three to five years as part of its fraud prevention program.

As housing prices remain high across the nation, the Biden administration is taking action. The administration announced new actions earlier this week to protect access to housing and make rentals more affordable.

According to the White House, roughly 35% of the U.S. population — or over 44 million households — live in rental housing, but there are no comprehensive federal laws to protect renters. While not binding, the “Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights” offers guidelines for keeping renters in affordable housing, along with “access to safe, quality, accessible and affordable housing” and “clear and fair leases.”

The federal government and numerous federal agencies will take action on these and other issues outlined in the blueprint. The administration said it will also launch the “resident-centered housing challenge,” which leans on housing providers and state, local and tribal governments to expand access to housing through stronger policies. The challenge is set to take place this spring and will affect more than 15 million rental units.

Rent hike protections

Nearly one-third of all rental units nationwide are financed with federally backed mortgages — and the blueprint may help curb some of the steep rent price increases for these properties. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), along with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, stated in the blueprint that the agencies will consider the establishment of tenant protections to limit “egregious rent increases” for properties purchased with certain types of federal mortgages.

In addition, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) stated that it will use its authority to “take action against acts and practices that unfairly prevent consumers from obtaining and retaining housing” — including high application fees, deposits and background check screening algorithms that do not conform to the Fair Housing Act.

The focus will also be put on the multifamily market. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) stated that it will launch a public process to examine renter protections and rent hike limits, which aims to increase affordability of multifamily rental properties.

The FHFA will also require half of all Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae multifamily purchase loans in 2023 to be “mission-driven.” Fannie Mae provided more than $69 billion in debt financing to support the multifamily market last year.

But while these guidelines are intended to help limit high rent increases, organizers with People’s Action told the Washington Post that the policies are unlikely to “change tenants’ lives materially today” due to a lack of binding conditions on matters like federal financing.

“The White House announcement introduces potential for agency-level action but falls short of issuing directives to regulate rent and address consolidation of the rental market,” said Tara Raghuveer, the homes certain campaign director at People’s Action, told the Washington Post.

“The rent is too … high, and landlords, many who receive federal financing and subsidies, made record-setting profits in the past two years. There is much more the president can do to provide material relief to tenants, and we’re counting on this administration to continue working with our campaign to make it happen.”

Eviction protections

More than 2 million eviction filings and approximately 900,000 evictions occurred every year prior to the pandemic, which disproportionately affected Black women and children, according to the report.

And, according to reports, most rental assistance — including the approximately $47 billion the Biden administration earmarked for rental assistance programs during the COVID-19 pandemic — has nearly dried up or failed to reach at-risk tenants. That puts at-risk renters in a precarious position, one that could lead to eviction.

The blueprint’s eviction guidelines aim to curb some of the potential issues. According to the blueprint, if an eviction is filed, tenants should get 30 days’ notice and counsel during an eviction proceeding.

In addition, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will award $20 million for the Eviction Protection Grant Program to fund the provision of legal assistance by non-profit and government organizations to low-income evicted tenants or those at risk of eviction. 

But while eviction protections may be in the blueprint plans, the guidelines have their fair share of opposition.

Bob Pinnegar, the president and CEO of trade group the National Apartment Association, told CNBC that the industry is opposed to the expansion of federal involvement in the landlord-tenant relationship.

“Complex housing policy is a state and local issue and the best solutions utilize carrots over sticks,” Pinnegar said.

Protections for military members, disabled tenants

Other protections in the blueprint focus on military members and disabled tenants. The Department of Justice (DOJ) stated in the blueprint that it has the duty to certain housing to military members and to assist them in housing inspections before signing a lease. It will also assist in rent negotiation, lease reviews, and addressing discrimination complaints.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) says it plans to Improve its accessibility standards for disabled tenants, acting on the feedback of tenants and advocates.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will also ensure that tenants who are seeking compliance with the terms of their leases can do so without retaliation risks. In addition, the USDA is developing a lease structure that follows the HUD Section 8 model.

“We are heartened to see the Blueprint outline the need for federal, state, and local governments to protect against source of income discrimination; solutions to Improve the Section 504 program which is essential to supporting housing for people with disabilities; and the need for guidance on the use of tenant screening algorithms that create barriers for renters and may violate the Fair Housing Act,” Nikitra Bailey, executive vice president of the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), said in a statement.

Will the guidelines be enough?

While the guidelines outlined in the blueprint are a start, chances are that they won’t curb the rental crisis in America, according to Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

“The hard truth is that administrative action on its own can’t resolve the housing crisis that we’re in,” Yentel told the Washington Post. “It’s going to require major action from Congress, and unfortunately, the opportunity we had through Build Back Better passed by … We are clear-eyed about the limitations of administrative actions but are still pushing to do all we can now. The need is greater than ever.”