Republicans in the U.S. Senate have introduced a resolution intended to overturn the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for healthcare workers.
The resolution was authored by Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn and Kansas Senator Roger Marshall, and it is co-sponsored by more than 30 Republican Senators, according to a report from The Hill.
Congress adjourned for the year on December 18th, but Republicans are hoping to pass the resolution when the Senate resumes its session in the new year, under a provision in the Congressional Review Act of 1996 that allows the minority Party in Congress to force a vote on an expedited basis to disapprove of a federal regulation. The provision does not have a provision for the House, but the GOP is hoping to use a discharge petition to gather a simple majority of support to force a vote, which will require the support of some Democratic members.
The GOP’s resolution comes on the heels of another resolution authored earlier this month to overturn the Biden administration’s mandate for private businesses. The Daily Wire reported:
Indiana Republican Sen. Mike Braun led GOP senators with a challenge last month under the Congressional Review Act that would allow Congress to disapprove of the mandate.
[Democratic West Virginia Senator Joe] Manchin offered his support to Braun’s proposal in a statement last week regarding his vote that supported a vote to prevent a government shutdown.
“In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and as the new Omicron variant emerges, I will not vote to shut down the government for purely political reasons. There is too much at stake for the American people,” Manchin said in a statement on Thursday.
“But let me be clear, I do not support any government vaccine mandate on private businesses. That’s why I have cosponsored and will strongly support a bill to overturn the federal government vaccine mandate for private businesses. I have long said we should incentivize, not penalize, private employers whose responsibility it is to protect their employees from COVID-19. I have personally had both vaccine doses and a booster shot and I continue to urge every West Virginian to get vaccinated themselves.” he added.
In November, Braun declared the mandate to force private businesses with 100 or more workers to enforce COVID-19 vaccination by January 4, 2022, was an “unconstitutional invasion.”
“President Biden’s vaccine mandate is an unconstitutional invasion of what should be a personal medical decision for every American and an affront to the rights of 80 million American workers,” Braun said in a statement to Fox News.
“Today, my Republican colleagues and I will formally challenge this federal overreach, and I urge the Senate to vote in favor of this disapproval resolution when it comes to the Floor for a filibuster-proof, simple-majority vote in early December,” he added.
The resolution only requires a simple majority to pass in the 50-50 Senate. A similar resolution led by Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Fred Keller has been joined by 206 sponsors…
The vaccine mandate could impact up to 84 million American workers, according to the report.
That resolution passed the Senate with a 52-48 majority behind the support of Manchin and fellow Democratic Montana Senator Jon Tester, The Hill reported, but the resolutions are both likely to be met with vetoes by President Joe Biden.
The health worker mandate was issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and covers all health care workers at health care providers that participate in Medicare and Medicaid. The order was suspended in early December following a court injunction, but it has since been restored in 26 states after a judge ruled in the administration’s favor.
The Supreme Court recently agreed to hear oral arguments in the lawsuit brought by numerous companies, including The Daily Wire. The hearing is scheduled for January 7th.
The Daily Wire is fighting Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate in federal court. Join us in this fight by signing our petition to OSHA, telling them that you will not comply with this mandate.