U.S. Senate Democrats blocked Senator JD Vance’s (R-OH) motion on Thursday for unanimous consent on his legislation to prevent the re-imposition of federal mask mandates in the United States.
This follows Vance introducing The Freedom to Breathe Act on Tuesday, which aims to prohibit any federal official, including the president, from issuing mask mandates for domestic air travel, public transit systems, or primary, secondary, and post-secondary schools. The legislation would also prohibit air carriers, transit authorities, and educational institutions from refusing service to individuals who choose not to wear a mask.
The Freedom to Breathe Act would apply through the end of 2024.
As previously reported by The Ohio Star on Tuesday, Vance said that he would force a vote in the Senate on his legislation. Vance said that any floor objection to his unanimous consent request would indicate that Democrats intend to reimpose mask mandates in the near term.
According to Vance, the United States has already tried mask mandates, and these misguided policies failed to control the spread of COVID-19.
“All of us have lived through the failed experiment of mass mandatory masking. I want to ensure that we do not subject the American people to this tyranny again for the sake of nothing,” Vance said.
U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) blocked Vance’s attempt to pass the bill unanimously on Thursday, claiming that local officials must be able to impose mask mandates when necessary.
“The bill would undermine the ability of states, cities, and towns across this country to make decisions about what’s best for their communities. It would silence and hamstring public health experts who have guided our nation out of the darkest days of a pandemic that has killed 1,139,000 people in our country in three years,” Markey said.
Vance rebutted against Markey’s comment saying, “We lost [Americans] in spite of some of the most aggressive masking policies in the world. If mandatory masking were to save our citizens, it would have already done so.”
Vance said that Markey blocking his motion, it sends a clear signal to the nation that Democrats support the return of mask mandates.
“We cannot repeat the anxiety, the stress, and the nonstop panic of the last couple of years. That’s what this legislation is about. End the mandates, end the panic, and let’s get back to some common sense,” Vance said.
The Freedom to Breathe Act is cosponsored by Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Mike Braun (R-IN), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Ted Budd (R-NC), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Katie Britt (R-AL).
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star, The Star News Network, and The Tennessee Star. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected]
