Submitted by Sen. Mike Braun’s Press Office
Braun
Senator Mike Braun (Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate HELP Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety), along with Sens. Dan Sullivan, Bill Hagerty, Roger Marshall, Mike Lee, James Lankford, Rick Scott, Marsha Blackburn, Rand Paul, Cynthia Lummis, Shelley Moore Capito, Marco Rubio, John Barrasso, Cindy Hyde-Smith, John Thune, Jerry Moran, Roger Wicker, Richard Burr, Mike Rounds, John Hoeven, Pat Toomey, Tommy Tuberville, James Risch, Mike Crapo, Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, Joni Ernst, Kevin Cramer, Josh Hawley, John Boozman, Jim Inhofe, Chuck Grassley, Todd Young, John Kennedy, Ron Johnson, Ben Sasse, Steve Daines, Deb Fischer, Lindsey Graham, Thom Tillis, and John Cornyn, as well as Representative Fred Keller (Pa.-12; Ranking Member, U.S. House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections), and other members in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday formally moved to disapprove and nullify President Biden’s vaccine mandate on private employees under the Congressional Review Act, the official process for Congress to eliminate an executive branch rule.
This week, President Biden’s White House is expected to issue a rule to officially mandate vaccination requirements for employees at private businesses with more than 100 employees. The rule, which will affect more than 80 million Americans, imposes $14,000 fines for persons who do not comply.
According to the senators and representatives, this rule by the Biden administration is a highly inappropriate invasion of what should be a personal medical decision for every American. They say the federal vaccine mandate threatens to worsen the current labor shortage and further disrupt supply chains. Furthermore, they say this unacceptable federal directive impacts tens of millions of Americans and warrants review by Congress – the representatives elected by the American people to make the laws.
Background
On Sept. 8, President Joe Biden announced vaccine mandates that extend to 80 million private sector workers and additional mandates on millions of federal workers and contractors. These mandates are expected to force private-sector employers with more than 100 employees to become vaccinated or produce at-least-weekly negative test results before coming to work. And as announced, the federal employee and contractor plan doesn’t even include the option of weekly testing rather than taking a vaccine.
To implement this mandate, OSHA is promulgated an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS).
The Congressional Review Act (CRA) can be used by Congress to overturn certain federal agency regulations and actions through a joint resolution of disapproval. If a CRA joint resolution of disapproval is approved by both houses of Congress and signed by the President, or if Congress successfully overrides a presidential veto, the rule at issue is invalidated.