As Tennessee’s unvaccinated National Guardsmen face an uncertain future after Thursday’s deadline to take the COVID-19 jab or be fired has come and gone, one member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee has taken action at the federal level.
Representative John Rose (R-TN-06) is co-sponsoring a bill with Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY-04) that would prevent government-mandated vaccinations for members of the U.S. Military.
Massie announced the partnership Thursday on Twitter.
“Thank you to [Rep. John Rose] for cosponsoring HR 3860, legislation I introduced to prevent members of the Armed Forces from being forced to take the COVID-19 vaccine. It’s great to have your support!” Massie said.
Thank you to @RepJohnRose for cosponsoring HR 3860, legislation I introduced to prevent members of the Armed Forces from being forced to take the COVID-19 vaccine. It's great to have your support!
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) June 30, 2022
“This bill prohibits the use of federal funds to require a member of the Armed Forces to receive a COVID-19 vaccination,” according to the bill’s summary. “The bill also prohibits adverse action (e.g., punishment) being taken against a member of the Armed Forces because the member refuses to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.”
Rose’s office did not return a comment request in time for publication.
Other members of Tennessee’s federal congressional delegation have taken action to stop the guardsmen from being fired.
Firing 40,000 Guardsmen and women for refusing the COVID vaccine would be both a complete disgrace and a threat to our national security. https://t.co/jPIawpwtK4
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) June 30, 2022
As The Tennessee Star has reported, National Guardsmen who have refused to take the vaccine face uncertainty, and have been offered little in the way of relief from the office of Gov. Bill Lee (R).
“We take seriously the religious and personal exemptions requested by members who are not part of the 93 percent who are vaccinated in accordance with DoD policy,” Lee told The Star this week.”We have no plans to terminate these members based on their status and have asked DoD to approve their individual exemption requests.”
Lee has made no effort to change the policy that calls for the guardsmen to be fired.
The Star reported that “Lee was unresponsive to the repeated requests by guardsmen to ask Attorney General Slatery to file suit on behalf of the guardsmen and the guardsmen’s message that many of those being fired have not requested vaccine exemptions as those requests have widely been ignored,” and that “Governor Lee’s messaging does not address the fact that a May letter containing orders sent to the guardsmen by their commanders is still in effect.”
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “John Rose” by Congressman John Rose. Photo “Thomas Massie” by Congressman Thomas Massie. Background Photo “COVID-19 Vaccine” by Tennessee National Guard.
