Press Releases

Washington, DC—November 4, 2021....Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) today helped introduce the No Vaccine Mandate Act, legislation to prevent the Biden Administration from enacting its announced vaccine mandate on U.S. private businesses and workers. The bill would fight unprecedented federal government overreach by preventing appropriated funds from being used to implement the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) rules requiring Americans to undergo COVID-19 vaccinations or testing.

Congressman Womack said, “This isn’t about health and safety; it’s about government control. While President Biden contradicts his original stance and forces vaccine mandates on private business, he’s simultaneously flying untested and unvaccinated illegal migrants around the country. So American citizens can lose their jobs, but those breaking our laws can do what they want? I support vaccinations, but this move is a complete federal overreach and likely unconstitutional.”

Under the direction of President Biden—who originally assured the public there would be no issuance of mandatory COVID vaccines—OSHA and CMS delivered a regulation requiring employers with over 100 employees to force their workers into getting a COVID-19 vaccine, fire them, or face fines. There are no provisions in the Constitution that suggest the executive branch unilaterally can impose blanket vaccine regulations on private businesses or their employees. Additionally, Democrats have included a provision in their monstrous tax and spend reconciliation bill that would increase OSHA fines tenfold, meaning businesses that fail to comply with the White House’s mandate could face devastating penalties of up to $700,000.

Womack has publicly supported voluntary vaccination efforts and encourages Americans to receive their shots. He is also a proponent of protecting individual rights and opposes federal mandates or COVID vaccinations being made a condition of employment. Additionally, these measures will likely exacerbate workforce shortages we are seeing throughout critical industries, including healthcare, child welfare, transportation, and education. 

Read the full text of the bill here.

Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) has represented Arkansas’s Third Congressional District since 2011. He is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

womack.house.gov

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