GOP senators renew efforts to defund Biden's vaccine mandates
GOP senators vow to oppose COVID-19 vaccine mandates 'until they are discontinued in ambition, design, and practice'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FIRST ON FOX: A group of Republican senators wrote a letter to their colleagues Monday urging them to oppose easing passage of the Continuing Resolution before the Senate until there is a roll call vote on an amendment that would defund the enforcement of President Biden's vaccine mandates.
Explaining their intention to stand against such mandates "until they are discontinued in ambition, design, and practice," Sens. Mike Lee of Utah, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Mike Braun of Indiana, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ted Cruz of Texas said they "will not consent to a time agreement that eases passage of the Continuing Resolution" until such a vote is permitted.
"We have consistently opposed President Biden’s federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates, which would force millions of Americans to choose between an unwanted medical procedure and being able to provide for their families. For legal, constitutional, and policy reasons, we remain not only strongly opposed to the mandates, but also firmly convinced that the risk of inaction on our part is unacceptably high," the senators wrote.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sen. Ted Cruz speaks during a television interview at the U.S. Capitol on April 28, 2021. (Reuters/Eric Scott)
"Millions of Americans are now free from this unwarranted federal invasion into health care decisions, but for how long?" the senators continued, referring to the recent Supreme Court decision that blocked the OSHA mandate.
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Sen. Mike Lee speaks during the news conference in the Capitol on July 20, 2021. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)
"In addition to the lingering, harmful uncertainty faced by those subject to the four remaining COVID-19 mandates – specifically, those imposing vaccine requirements on medical workers, military personnel, federal employees, and federal contractors – the American people as a whole still face uncertainty as to whether President Biden has abandoned his desire to impose similar requirements on them."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The letter went on to slam Biden's vaccine mandates as a "serious abuse of both federal power and executive authority" that further strains the country economically and socially while ignoring scientific evidence regarding natural immunity and the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines.
Sen. Rand Paul questions Dr. Anthony Fauci during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on May 11, 2021, in Washington. (Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images)
"In any event, President Biden has no business forcing people to make a tragic choice between unemployment and an unwanted vaccination," they added.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"History will bear record of whether we chose to endure tyranny, or oppose it, in this pivotal moment. We invite you to stand with us and oppose the [Continuing Resolution] until it explicitly defunds the implementation and enforcement of these mandates. At a minimum, we need to take a vote on this before funding their enforcement. The livelihoods and personal freedoms of millions of Americans are at stake," they concluded.