Two Republicans who represent Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives voted for a bill that some people say would give the federal government access to information about any one person’s COVID-19 vaccination status.
Representative David Kustoff (R-TN-08) and Representative Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN-03) voted yes last week on H.R. 550. That bill is otherwise known as the Immunization Infrastructure Modernization Act of 2021.
The bill, if enacted into law, would require that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) improve data sharing and other aspects of immunization information systems. Representative Ann Kuster (D-NH-02), the bill’s sponsor, said in the bill that the databases are confidential.
Breitbart News, however, reported that some conservative members of the House are deeply unhappy with the bill and that they think it is “Orwellian.” They reportedly said the government is incapable of protecting Americans’ medical records.
Communications staff for both Kustoff and Fleischmann did not return The Tennessee Star’s requests for comment before Monday’s stated deadline.
The other Republicans who represent Tennessee, including Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07) and Representative Scott DesJarlais (R-TN-04) voted no on the bill. The two Democrats who represent Tennessee, Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) and Representative Jim Cooper (D-TN-05), voted yes, according to the U.S. House of Representatives’ website.
Republicans in the House from neighboring Georgia — with one exception — all voted against H.R. 550. The exception, U.S. Representative Buddy Carter (R-GA-01), told The Georgia Star News on Monday that he did not vote for a federal database that documents who got vaccinated against COVID-19.
“I have never, and will never, support a federal vaccine database. Unfortunately, some of my Republican colleagues are trading in truth for cheap political headlines,” Carter wrote via email.
“The truth is that HR 550 makes it harder for the government to track an individual’s vaccination status – that’s why I voted for it. The bill simply modernizes existing systems and ensures that your private vaccine information is not available to the government.”
Journalist Kyle Becker reported that the bill would spend $400 million in taxpayer money.
“The database would allow the government to notify people about when their booster shot is due,” Becker reported, quoting an unnamed political observer.
“Although the system is described as confidential, confidential in this case means confidential from the public, until of course records are indiscriminately released like has happened with the IRS, Department of Defense, Veterans Administration, or any number of high-profile government leaks and hacks.”
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “David Kustoff” by U.S. House Office of Photography. Photo “Chuck Fleischmann” by United States Congress. Background Photo “Vaccination” by Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York. CC BY 2.0.
