(Michael Guest, Steven Palazzo, Trent Kelly)
U.S. House resolution introduced using Congressional Review Act to halt President Biden’s mandate. Senate has already approved a similar measure.
Mississippi Congressmen Steven Palazzo (MS-04), Trent Kelly (MS-01), and Michael Guest (MS-03) joined over 150 Republicans last week to support a resolution under the Congressional Review Act to halt President Biden’s vaccine mandate for healthcare workers via the Medicare and Medicaid providers system.
The measure was approved in the U.S. Senate by a vote of 52-48. Mississippi Republican Senators Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith supported the CRA.
The Congressional Review Act process is the legal process whereby Congress can overturn an Administration regulation, once it has been properly noticed. “Proper notice” occurs once a regulation is printed in the Federal Register and received by the Clerks of the House and Senate.
The CMS vaccine mandate regulation was printed in the Federal Register on November 5, 2021. It was noted as received by the Senate Clerk on December 1, 2021, and by the House Clerk on December 9, 2021. Now that all three of those notices have been received, a CRA receives privilege in the House if the Minority Leader brings it up as a “privileged resolution,” which means the House must bring the legislation to the floor for a vote.
South Mississippi Congressman Palazzo said the mandate puts healthcare workers and providers in a challenging position.
“I was happy to join this effort and continue my charge against federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates,” said Congressman Palazzo. “Our nation’s healthcare workers have carried the lion’s share of the pandemic’s burden and President Biden is thanking them by threatening their jobs. Forcing our frontline workers to choose between a their values and their livelihoods is unconstitutional and dangerous. We have all heard of the labor shortages our nation is facing, and the healthcare industry is no different. Forcing Medicare and Medicaid providers into such a challenging position is not only a flagrant misuse of power, it could also put lives at risk.”
North Mississippi Congressman Kelly agreed, adding that the healthcare workers deserve the right to make their own personal health decisions.
“Since the Coronavirus Pandemic started, we have called on our frontline workers for help and they have delivered all across this great Nation,” Congressman Trent Kelly said. “These heroes deserve the right to make the best possible choices regarding their personal health.”
Central Mississippi Congressman Guest says the Biden mandate threatens the jobs of those who have saved thousands of lives during the pandemic. He says he will fight to defend those workers’ rights.
“After diligently working through one of the worst pandemics this country has seen, this Administration is threatening the jobs of those front-line workers who saved hundreds of thousands of American lives,” Congressman Michael Guest said. “Our healthcare workers, law enforcement officers, and other first responders have given their time and wellbeing to keep our country healthy and safe over the last 18 months. They have earned the right to decide for themselves whether to receive the vaccine, and we must fight against this Administration to defend that right.”
Frank Corder
