COVID is rising, so Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) responded by proclaiming that masking didn’t work, the COVID uptick is no big deal, and he tried to pass a bill banning mask mandates.
Video of Vance:
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) introduces the “Freedom to Breathe Act” to ban mask mandates for the next 15 months. He says “mandatory masking was a failure” and that the uptick in COVID cases is “nothing to worry about.” pic.twitter.com/2OYN8d2US6
— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) September 7, 2023
Vance, “It’s not just that masks, according to randomized controlled studies, do no good. It’s that they can actively cause harm…We cannot return to the failed policies of the COVID pandemic. Vance’s bill would have banned the use of taxpayer dollars for mask mandates and would have banned mandates for masks on public transportation.
Sen. Vance tried to pass his bill via unanimous consent, but Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) objected:
1) Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) has blocked a unanimous consent request from Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) to call to the floor and immediately pass a bill to bar federal mask mandates on flights, mass transit and in schools.
To pass his bill, Vance needed all 100 senators to agree.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) September 7, 2023
COVID infections are on the rise, so the Senate Republican answer is to make sure that the American people can’t protect themselves. Bills banning mask mandates are big government in action. Sen. Vance believes that politicians in Washington, not those who serve in local communities should get to decide for everyone.
MAGA Republicans, like JD Vance, have been wrong on COVID from day one, and even though this was a long-shot effort to pass a bad bill that Democrats were never going to let pass, Vance’s legislation shows that if Republicans are returned to power, the public health will be in jeopardy.
Jason Easley
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