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Congress and Biden May Repeal the COVID Vaccine Mandate For Military

We believe at Advocatz that the COVID Vaccine Mandate must end, in every State, for every government worker. Additionally, all workers who were fired because they could not, did not, or would not get the vaccination must be re-hired, and given all back pay and benefits.

Here are some of the previous articles posted here:

Judge Lyle Frank in NYS Supreme Court Rules Vaccine Mandate Invalid For PBA Members

NY City’s COVID Vaccine Mandate For Municipal Workers Given a Review at the U.S. Supreme Court

Mayor Adams Ends Mandate For Private Companies and Students’ Extra-Curricular Activities, But Not City Workers

Mayor Adams Unfairly Grants Exemptions To His COVID Vaccine Mandate But Not To NYC DOE Employees

Judge Rules St. Paul’s COVID Vaccine Mandate Cannot Be Enforced Due To Unfair Labor Practice

Ohio Judge Blocks Air Force Globally From Discharging Vaccine Refusers Requesting Religious Exemption

Michael Kane, et al. File Federal Case in Opposition to New York State Vaccine Mandate

Many in the military believe that the mandate must end, but the Defense Secretary is opposed:

Keep COVID-19 military vaccine mandate, defense secretary says

NYC is one of few cities in the US which are sticking to the premise that all government workers must be vaccinated or fired. NYC has no recall button, so we cannot show our dislike of this rule by Mayor Adams.

This needs to change.

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Congress, White House Consider Repealing Military Vaccine Mandate

Congress and the White House are mulling proposals from top lawmakers to repeal the U.S. military’s vaccine mandate several months after President Joe Biden declared the COVID-19 pandemic to be “over,” according to recent media reports.

Congress’ annual defense bill, the text of which is set to be published next week, may include a compromise amendment scrapping the military vaccine requirement, Democratic Rep. Adam Smith of Washington told Politico on Saturday. Smith’s comments followed prospective House leader Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s claims on Friday that House and Senate leaders had come to an agreement, which the White House is considering, on overturning the Biden administration’s service-wide mandate, according to Reuters.

President Joe Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and McCarthy had negotiated a bipartisan agreement to end the mandate, McCarthy told Fox News on Friday evening.

“We’re going to see in the NDAA – lift the vaccination mandate on our military men and women,” McCarthy said, referring to Congress’ yearly funding bill for the U.S. military.

However, the White House denied any agreement to scrap the mandate was set in stone, according to Reuters.

“Leader McCarthy raised this with the president and the president told him he would consider it,” White House spokesperson Olivia Dalton told the outlet.

“The secretary of defense has recommended retaining the mandate, and the president supports his position. Discussions about the NDAA are ongoing,” Dalton continued.

So far, the Army has discharged 1,841 servicemembers, the Navy 2,032 and the Marine Corps 3,717 for refusing the vaccine.

Smith confirmed on Saturday that Congress was close to getting rid of the mandate, a win for Republicans amid attempts to hammer out final provisions of the $847 billion budget bill that is already behind schedule, Politico reported.

“We haven’t resolved it, but it is very fair to say that it’s in discussion,” Smith told Politico.

The House and Senate versions of the bill left out any amendment forcing the Pentagon to lift its mandate, but closed-door negotiations could see one added in the final version, according to Politico.

The Pentagon imposed a service-wide requirement in August 2021, as the COVID-19 virus swept across the U.S. Defense leaders continue to call troops’ vaccination status a “readiness issue.”

Smith said the policy could be outdated. “At this point in time, does it make sense to have that policy from August 2021? That is a discussion that I am open to and that we’re having,” he added.

However, the Pentagon has fallen under intense scrutiny for imposing the mandate and sluggishly reviewing religious exemptions requests to the mandate.

Every service but the Army is currently under a form of legal injunction against separating or disciplining servicemembers seeking religious exemptions as several cases play out in court. Attorneys for the unvaccinated airmen and sailors say the Pentagon is violating the First Amendment and federal legislation prohibiting conscience discrimination.

The White House and the Department of Defense did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

‘National Security Risk’ — Republican Governors Tell Congress To Object To Biden’s Military Vaccine Mandate

Daily Caller, Henry Rodgers, November 30, 2022

A group of 21 Republican Governors sent a letter Wednesday to Leaders in Congress calling on them to object to President Joe Biden’s military vaccine mandate, saying it is putting the U.S. military readiness at risk.

In the letter, the group of GOP governors expresses their concerns with the military vaccine mandate to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. The lawmakers argue that the mandate creates a national security risk.

“We ask you to take immediate action to remove and prohibit the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate on members of the U.S. Armed Forces, issued by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on August 24, 2021—either through the National Defense Authorization Act or a standalone bill. The Biden vaccine mandate on our military creates a national security risk that severely impacts our defense capabilities abroad and our state readiness here at home,” the Governors wrote in the letter.

On Aug. 11, 2022, the CDC updated its COVID-19 guidance to ease recommendations for unvaccinated people who have been exposed to COVID-19, guidelines which are very similar to the recommendations for those who are vaccinated. The lawmakers state their issues with the current mandate in the letter.
A number of House Republicans have introduced legislation to put an end to vaccine and mask mandates. In late September, a group of House Republicans introduced a bill that would prohibit federal agencies from implementing vaccine mandates.

The Daily Caller contacted the Republican Governors Association (RGA) about the letter and why every Republican Governor in the U.S. did not sign on, to which they did not immediately respond.

See letter:

EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans Call On Secretary Of Defense To Reconsider Vaccine Mandate In Light Of New CDC Guidance

EXCLUSIVE: US Military Might Lose $4 Billion Due To Pentagon’s COVID Vaccine Mandate, According To Rep. Gaetz

 

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