House Votes To Kill Travel Vax Mandate For Foreign Travelers

Wednesday’s vote by the Republican-led House was to repeal the requirement that foreign travellers have proof of COVID vaccination in order to fly to the United States.

Seven Democrats voted with the GOP majority in passing the legislation Legislation 227-201Sending the bill to the Democrat led Senate, where it faces long odds.

However, Republicans who oppose the election win the vote The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has some guidelines These regulations require that adult visitors seeking to enter the United States via air must show proof of having been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 prior to boarding a flight.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R–KY), who Introduced the billCDC requirements are confusing because many immigrants cross the southern border ungoverned. “Where’s the logic in that?” He said.

The Democrats’ basic argument against my bill to end the COVID-19 mandate on international air visitors is this: Congress should defer to bureaucrats because “science is hard” and Democrats aren’t qualified to vote on laws affecting basic human rights. pic.twitter.com/T30MelBhu2

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) February 8, 2023

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) said Republicans are prioritizing “politics over science” and warned unvaccinated individuals could bring new, dangerous variants into the country.

Republicans are bringing their second bill in as many weeks to the House floor today that questions the safety of COVID-19 vaccines and undermines our public health agencies. I’m leading the opposition to this dangerous bill. pic.twitter.com/INb0Zeqmrg

— Rep. Frank Pallone (@FrankPallone) February 8, 2023

The federal government is expected to let the coronavirus public health emergency expire in May.

Pallone acknowledged policy-change discussions are warranted, but accused Republicans of rushing partisan legislation forward without up-to-date input from public health officials. To that end, he took issue with a clause in the bill that blocks “any successor or subsequent order” from the CDC requiring foreigners traveling by air to show proof of COVID–19 vaccination as a condition on entering the United States.

More than 1 million deaths in the United States have been attributed to COVID-19 since it first emerged in late 2019. While rates are far below the peaks during the height of the pandemic, the CDC reports weekly deaths attributed to COVID hovering between 2,500 and 4,400 since the beginning of this year.

During his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Joe Biden talked about the United States emerging from the grip of a years-long pandemic. “And today, COVID no longer controls our lives,” Biden said.