By Brandon Moseley
Congressman Barry Moore (R-AL02) joined over 100 other lawmakers in a letter to the Biden administration asking the government to drop the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Hundreds of thousands of unvaccinated workers, many of them medical professionals, are approaching employer deadlines to get the shot or face losing their jobs.
“President Biden's reckless and dangerous federal vaccine mandate impacts Americans across the nation, ”Moore said.
The letter was sent to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure.
“CMS's vaccine mandate requires health care workers whose employers participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4,” said Moore. “This mandate will put 54 million Medicare-aged seniors at risk of losing their preferred providers. I will continue to fight against the unconstitutional vaccine mandate.”
A U.S. District judge has already temporarily blocked the administration’s move to put the mandate in place, saying that is the job of Congress.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) agrees with Moore.
“It ought to be your choice as a responsible adult to decide whether to get the COVID vaccine,” Cruz said in a statement. “No pissant politician — whether a local mayor or a governor or the President of the United States — has the right or legal authority to force you to make that decision.”
In September, President Joseph R. Biden (D) issued executive orders ordering that all federal workers get the vaccine, that all employees of federal contractors get the vaccine, that all the employees of any medical provider that receives Medicare or Medicaid dollars get the vaccine, and finally that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) write new rules requiring that every employer with one hundred or more workers get the vaccine.
There are health and religious exemptions for unvaccinated employees, but even when those requests for exemptions are being honored, some employers claim they are being segregated from other workers and are facing rigorous coronavirus testing.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) and Attorney General Steve Marshall (R) are fighting the mandates in court where they have had some early victories. The legislature passed some anti-vaccine mandate legislation during the recent special session but stopped short of passing a law declaring that every Alabamian has health freedom and that employers may not violate those rights. The business community strongly pushed back against efforts to undermine their authority over their employees.
The Biden Administration meanwhile defends the COVID-19 vaccine mandates arguing that mass vaccination is the only way that the U.S. will move beyond the global pandemic.
The White House said in a statement that: “The President’s plan will reduce the number of unvaccinated Americans by using regulatory powers and other actions to substantially increase the number of Americans covered by vaccination requirements—these requirements will become dominant in the workplace.”
Civil liberty groups argue that the president has exceeded his authority and his order violates the rights of Americans, and states, under the Ninth and Tenth Amendments.
Moore is in his first term representing Alabama’s Second Congressional District.
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandon.moseley@1819News.com.
