Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr on Tuesday announced the state has filed a lawsuit challenging the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers.
Kemp and Carr announced this in an emailed press release.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the emergency regulation this month. The regulation mandates full COVID-19 vaccination for all eligible staff at health care facilities that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs by January 4, 2022.
Kemp said in the press release that President Joe Biden’s mandate “will only worsen worker shortages in a critical-need area.”
Carr, meanwhile, said in the press release that Biden is acting recklessly.
“With this latest unconstitutional mandate, the Biden administration is targeting a health care community that is already reeling from the impacts of a global health pandemic,” Carr said.
“Georgia health care providers, particularly those located in our rural areas, cannot afford to lose workers or lessen care services due to the unlawful actions of the federal government. We will continue to stand up for the rule of law and defend against this blanket mandate as we work to protect the citizens of this state.”
The plaintiffs are asking the court to enjoin the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and CMS from enforcing the mandate on individuals working at Medicare and Medicaid-certified facilities.
The lawsuit asserts the vaccine mandate is unlawful and unconstitutional for many reasons. In the press release, Kemp and Carr said the mandate:
• Exceeds CMS’s statutory authority under the Social Security Act
• Involves an unlawful attempt to supervise or control the practice of medicine
• Was issued without statutorily required public notice and comment
• Violates the Congressional Review Act
• Is arbitrary and capricious
• Was issued without consulting the appropriate state and local agencies
• Violates a law that requires public notice and comment for all new rules that will have a significant impact on rural hospitals
• Violates the Spending Clause by placing an unconstitutional condition on receipt of federal funds
• Violates the Anti-Commandeering Doctrine by directing state officers to administer federal law
• Violates the Tenth Amendment because the federal government lacks the power to mandate vaccines
Georgia has joined Louisiana, Montana, Arizona, Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, and West Virginia in filing the lawsuit with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana (Monroe Division), according to the press release.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Chris Carr” by Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency. Photo “Brian Kemp” by Governor Brian Kemp. Background Photo “COVID-19 Vaccination” by U.S. Secretary of Defense. CC BY 2.0.
