House COVID-19 subcommittee investigating vaccine mandates
Gabrielle M. Etzel
Video Embed
Chairman of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) on Tuesday demanded that four executive agencies provide an account of the development and implementation of COVID-19 vaccination mandate policies.
The select subcommittee is requesting all documents, communications, and guidance on the vaccine mandates from the Department of Defense, Office of Personnel Management, Department of Labor, and Department of Health and Human Services.
KAMALA HARRIS INSISTS SHE HAS ‘GREAT APPROVAL RATINGS
“Although all federal mandates have since been rescinded, overturned, or otherwise ended, the detrimental consequences of these policy decisions continue to affect thousands of Americans,” the subcommittee’s press release read.
Wenstrup, in his letter to OPM Director Kiran Ahuja, noted that President Joe Biden made a campaign promise not to institute mandate vaccines but then in 2021 signed an executive order requiring federal employees to be vaccinated.
Wenstrup also asked acting Labor Secretary Julie Su about the mandate for private businesses with over 100 employees to require vaccination or weekly testing.
“The [Emergency Temporary Standard COVID-19 vaccination] mandate was breathtaking in its scope, applying to approximately 84 million American employees and preempting any contrary states laws,” Wenstrup wrote.
In January, the Supreme Court overturned the Occupational Safety and Health Administration mandate applied to private sector employees, calling it “a significant encroachment into the lives — and health — of a vast number of employees.”
Last week, the select subcommittee held a hearing inquiring into the devastating economic and social consequences of the COVID-19 vaccination mandates, such as the physician shortage and their effect on military recruitment.
Democrats on the subcommittee during the hearing said the vaccine mandates were both necessary and beneficial, especially for military readiness. Several committee members referenced prior inoculation requirements for military service dating back to George Washington’s required smallpox inoculation during the Revolutionary War.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“As of March 2023, approximately 17,000 service members refused to take the vaccine. Around half of those members have been discharged and a few secured temporary or permanent exemptions. As of January 10, 2023, the armed forces had tens of thousands of pending exemption requests,” Wenstrup wrote in his letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. “This raises serious concerns regarding the vaccine mandate’s effect on military readiness.”
Executive agency officials have until Aug. 15 to respond to the subcommittee’s request for all communication and official and unofficial documents related to the mandates.