Senate passes Resolution to Repeal Biden Vaccine Mandate, with help of two Democrats
On the cover Joe Biden and The United States Capitol, the meeting place of the United States Congress (House and Senate)
by NBC News
The Senate passed a resolution Wednesday to repeal President Joe Biden’s vaccination-or-testing mandate for private sector employers in a bipartisan rebuke of a key component of the White House’s Covid-19 strategy.
The measure, which needed only a simple majority to advance, passed in a 52-48 vote.
It was supported by every Republican and two moderate Democrats: Sen. Jon Tester of Montana and Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia. “I’m not crazy about mandates,” Tester told NBC News before the vote, later calling the federal requirements “burdensome regulations.”
Senate Republicans argue that while they consider vaccines important, they believe the mandate is “unconstitutional.”
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“I want to go off script for a second and emphasize how important the vaccine is, especially booster shots for the omicron variant,” Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told reporters Wednesday, shortly before the vote. “But the mandate is going to backfire. The people that have thus far have not gotten, have not received the vaccine are not going to do it until this White House acknowledges natural immunity.”
The resolution faces an uphill battle in the Democratic-controlled House. Republican lawmakers would need a solid number of Democrats to join them in forcing a vote on the measure.
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If the House were to pass the resolution, it would then go to Biden’s desk. The White House has signaled that Biden would veto the measure, which did not pass with a veto-proof majority in the Senate on Wednesday.
Biden, in September, unveiled his vaccination-or-testing mandate for businesses with at least 100 employees, as well as a vaccination requirement for federal contractors, in an effort to increase the country’s Covid-19 vaccination rate.
An estimated 76 percent of Americans age 5 and older have received at least one vaccine dose, federal data show. As of Tuesday, the U.S. was averaging roughly 1.8 million doses per day, according to NBC News data.
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Federal courts have blocked enforcement of the vaccine mandates, with some judges saying the president may have exceeded his authority by imposing the requirements.
“The president of the United States cannot reach into every company and pick and choose who he wants hired and fired,” Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said.
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Originally published by NBC News
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