U.S. Senate passes Republican bill to repeal Biden vaccination mandate

U.S. Senate passes Republican bill to repeal Biden vaccination mandate. 

WASHINGTON – The Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate approved a Republican measure to overturn President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine-or-test mandate. Two Democrats joined Republicans to back the initiative.

The vote of 52-48 sends the measure to the Democratic-led House of Representatives, where it faces a lot of headwinds, and Biden may threaten to block the bill.

The law would amend administration regulations requiring businesses with 100 or more employees to mandate vaccinations or coronavirus tests for millions of employees.

The bill did not have to be required to be subject to Senate rules that need 60 out of 100 members to agree on all legislation. This means that it could pass with a simple majority of 51 votes. 

In addition, two Senate Democrats Senators from the Democratic Party – Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana – joined 50 Republicans in supporting the measure.

The move demonstrates the fierce opposition to administration efforts to combat COVID-19 when health officials are working to limit the highly infectious Omicron variant.

“I have always supported a vaccine mandate for federal employees and the military because maintaining essential services and military readiness the federal government provides is a matter of national importance,” Manchin declared in a statement after the vote.

“However, I do not support any government vaccine mandate for private businesses. It is not the place of the federal government to tell private business owners how to protect their employees from COVID-19 and operate their businesses,” he added.

Manchin said he was vaccination-free, given a booster dose, and urged Americans to follow suit.

Republicans have stated that they received a flood of messages from companies with up to 500 employees concerned about dismissing employees who are opposed to COVID-19 vaccines or testing.

“It’s got Main Street America scared,” Republican Senator Mike Braun. He led the legislative effort in the lead-up to voting in the Senate vote.

The White House said in a statement released on Tuesday that employers will bear no financial burdens from the rule since most American adults have been vaccinated. 

However, they also said that the rule does not cover small-sized enterprises.

Biden’s private business mission was already put in limbo by a Federal appellate court. 

A U.S. Judge in Georgia also denied the Biden vaccine requirement for federal contractors on Tuesday.

“We are in the middle of a public health crisis. Everyone sees the damage it causes,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat, spoke about in an address. “The way to solve this is to be driven by science.”

It is said that the United States has the world’s most frequent daily increase in coronavirus-related infections. The virus has affected 49.5 million Americans in the United States and has killed more than 74,000, the highest number of deaths in any nation, as per the Reuters COVID-19 Tracker.

Republicans have praised the measure’s broad support as a clear indication of concern from the public about the potential negative impact of the law on businesses, workers, and economic growth.

The chamber’s most senior Republican, Mitch McConnell, has criticized the Biden directive for being an “illegal” and “absurd” attempt by the government to control the private lives of citizens.