Mo Brooks introduces the Freedom to Fly Maskless Act
Congressman Mo Brooks has introduced a bill to prohibit the federal government from mandating masks, negative COVID-19 tests, and vaccinations on public transportation, including domestic flights. The Freedom to Fly Maskless Act aims to “limit the authority of the Department of Health and Human Services to regulate interstate commerce relating to communicable diseases, to amend title 49, United States Code, to limit the authority of the Federal Aviation Administration to regulate air commerce relating to communicable diseases.” In December, Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly told the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee: “The statistics I recall is that 99.97% of airborne pathogens are captured by the [high efficiency particulate air] filtering system, and it’s turned over every two or three minutes. I think the case is very strong that masks don’t add much, if anything, in the air cabin environment. It’s very safe, and very high quality compared to any other indoor setting.” Original cosponsors include Reps. Paul Gosar, (AZ), Jeff Duncan (SC), Bob Gibbs (OH), Scott Perry (PA), Brian Mast (FL), Brian Babin (TX), Thomas Tiffany (WI), Mary Miller (IL), and Byron Donalds (FL). Brooks stated, “The American people are sick and tired of being dictated to by unelected Washington bureaucrats. As we have seen throughout the pandemic, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has worked with other entities like the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to impose masks, testing, and vaccination requirements. Unelected bureaucrats have falsely claimed the power to foist unnecessary and anti-science mandates on the American people. These mandates have resulted in good Americans being fired from their jobs, being jabbed with needles against their will, and even losing their businesses in some cases. It is time to throw off the heavy boot of tyranny that’s crushing the American spirit. Washington bureaucrats need reminding that America was founded on freedom and liberty.” Brooks concluded, “My bill, the ‘Freedom to Fly Maskless Act’ would prohibit unelected Washington bureaucrats from requiring masks, tests, and vaccinations on public transportation, including domestic flights. Each individual has the right to decide what health precautions they want to take when confronting Communist China’s lab-created virus or any future illness. Let me be clear, there is no amount of mandates and dictates that will end the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 will continue to spread. Americans must learn to live with this virus because it’s going to be with us long-term. Continued mandates are not justified, and it’s long past time Americans return to our pre-pandemic lives.”
Reps. Barry Moore and Mo Brooks demand DOD halt involuntary discharges for vaccine refusal immediately
Reps. Barry Moore and Mo Brooks joined 40 of their colleagues in sending a letter to the Department of Defense (DOD) to demand that they halt efforts to involuntarily discharge members of the military who have refused COVID-19 vaccination. The letter requests that they stop until an in-depth review of natural immunity is complete, and the Department has issued uniform procedures for vaccine exemptions. According to Moore’s press release, Section 720 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 requires the DOD to establish uniform procedures for issuing exemptions and fully consider natural immunity. This includes eligibility timelines for consideration of exemptions for service members nearing separation and retirement in the development of uniform procedures relating to administrative exemptions. According to an NPR report, as of January 26, 96% of active troops had been completely vaccinated, while 3,350 soldiers had refused to get the vaccine. Nearly 5,900 have received temporary exemptions. “The DOD must immediately halt efforts to discharge our active-duty military members who refuse to get the vaccine just because overreaching politicians want to continue intervening in the private lives of the American people,” said Moore. “We must ensure that the DOD completes an in-depth review of natural immunity. I will continue to fight against the tyrannical vaccine mandate on our service members.” The letter states, “We are gravely concerned that the military services are proceeding with involuntary discharges when it is unclear to us whether uniform procedures have been issued by the Department of Defense. If the Department of Defense has not issued uniform procedures or reviewed the inclusion of natural immunity and the military services are moving forward with involuntary discharges, then we believe the Department is ignoring and violating Section 720. Congress included this language to protect our service members, and we expect the Department of Defense to abide by the law.” Additional members of Congress to sign the letter include Vicky Hartzler, Doug Lamborn, Elise Stefanik, Brian Mast, David McKinley, Darrell Issa, Kevin Hern, Rodney Davis, Bill Huizenga, Yvette Herrell, Michael Waltz, Bill Posey, Michael Guest, David Valadao, Thomas Tiffany, Pete Stauber, Mike Kelly, Andy Biggs, Neal Dunn, Gus Bilirakis, Dan Crenshaw, Randy Weber, Sr., Louie Gohmert, Lauren Boebert, Glenn Grothman, Alex Mooney, Joe Wilson, Scott DesJarlais, Jack Bergman, David Schweikert, Jeff Duncan, Ralph Norman, Bruce Westerman, Jim Banks, Rick Crawford, Jodey Arrington, Christopher H. Smith, Victoria Spartz, Ted Budd, and Gregory Steube.
Conservatives decry door-to-door vaccine checks
Two Alabama leaders, Mo Brooks and Barry Moore, and dozens of other members of Congress sent a joint letter to President Joe Biden last week regarding his decision to implement door-to-door checks on the American people to coerce them into receiving the COVID-19 vaccine: The letter states, “Your administration’s decision to go door-to-door to coerce individuals to receive a COVID-19 vaccine is deeply disturbing and violates the privacy of Americans. The private health information of millions of Americans should never be a matter of concern for the federal government. Americans must be free to make their own personal health choices.” The concern, coming mostly from Republicans, comes from a statement from President Biden on July 6, when he stated, “Now we need to go to community by community, neighborhood by neighborhood, and oftentimes, door to door – literally knocking on doors – to get help to the remaining people protected from the virus.” During the White House briefing, the president also called on providing vaccines to all healthcare providers, including pediatricians, and discussed providing mobile clinics that could be set up at events like sports events and festivals. Even though Alabama has one of the lowest rates of COVID-19 vaccinations in the country, there are no plans to start a door-to-door campaign. According to NBC15, Dr. Karen Landers commented that it was a strategy that was discussed but that the state is not adopting it. Dr. Landers stated, “No, we are not doing that in this point in time as far as going door to door.” “Persons just really not necessarily being receptive to persons coming on to their property or coming to their door with information,” she said. Jim Zeigler recently called on Governor Kay Ivey to ban what he called “door-to-door vaccine squads” in Alabama. Zeigler asked Ivey to “use the strongest steps to clearly direct federal agents and their recruits that their entry onto home properties in Alabama could legally be considered trespassing.” Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs said in a statement, “Door-to-door vaccine checks on Americans are a blatant abuse of government authority and a pure power play by the Biden administration. The federal government has no right to track the private health information of Americans or to intimidate people into getting the vaccine. Instead of meddling in private medical decisions, the Biden administration should focus on addressing the border crisis, the rampant rise in inflation, and the crime wave that is plaguing American cities – all crises it created. The door-to-door spying on Americans is one more example of the burgeoning surveillance state by the national government.” Biggs posted on Twitter, “I just sent a letter to Biden demanding answers on his door-to-door vaccine checks. The fed gov has no right to track the private health information of Americans or to intimidate people into getting the vaccine.” Other leaders that signed the letter include David Schweikert, Paul Gosar, Ralph Norman, Bob Good, Warren Davidson, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Thomas Tiffany, Jody Hice, Lauren Boebert, Alex Mooney, Chip Roy, Andy Harris, Scott DesJarlais, Andrew Clyde, Yvette Herrell, H. Morgan Griffith, Bill Posey, Randy Weber, Michael Cloud, Dan Bishop, Ben Cline, Mary Miller, Louie Gohmert, Debbie Lesko, Mike Garcia, and Matt Gaetz.
