The Lakewood Scoop
Rep. Chris Smith is calling on Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives to allow a vote on legislation that would block President Biden’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate for private companies, federal employees, and US military service members.
“Biden’s vaccine mandates – which force millions to choose between their likelihood and making their own medical decision – are an overreach of federal authority, unconstitutional, and disrespect Americans’ rights,” Smith said.
“The federal government has no authority to mandate vaccinations and should not be coercing Americans into taking the vaccine,” he said.
President Biden’s move to compel vaccinations is already facing serious legal trouble. Recently, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked Biden’s plan to mandate vaccines for companies with 100 or more employees. The case will end up being decided by the Supreme Court.
Rep. Smith said that while he is encouraged by the legal challenges the Biden administration is facing regarding the vaccine mandates, he is taking legislative action in the meantime to stop Biden’s executive decrees.
Included in those legislative efforts are Smith’s co-sponsoring of the Parental Rights Protection Act, which prohibits Covid vaccine mandates for minors and requires parental consent for the vaccination of minors, and the Stop Vaccine Mandates Act, which would nullify Biden’s mandate on federal employees.
“The public-private sector effort to swiftly create safe and effective vaccines to protect against Covid has no parallel in history,” Congressman Smith said. “Both my Marie and I have been vaccinated, and I glad that – through American ingenuity and medical expertise – people have been given the opportunity to voluntarily receive the vaccine if they believe it is appropriate or beneficial.”
The keyword is voluntarily,” Smith noted. “No one should be forced to lose their job or military pension because they have moral objections or medical concerns about the Covid vaccine.”
