Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) has set his sights on what he calls the “last federal mandate standing.”
The Texas congressman introduced a bill Thursday to repeal the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) directive requiring the coronavirus vaccination for Veterans Health Administration healthcare personnel.
“The federal government never should have forced an experimental vaccine on the American people – especially after it knew the vaccine did nothing to prevent COVID transmission,” Roy said in a statement to Breitbart News. “These mandates forced people to choose between making their own healthcare decisions and their livelihoods; doing so was and still is unjust and un-American.”
“The VA’s vaccine policy is the last federal mandate standing – it’s time to repeal it and end them all for good.”
Doctor wearing protective gear injects coronavirus vaccine into solider (Stock photo via Getty).
Mandates on vaccinations, masking, and other supposed precautions against the coronavirus have grown increasingly unpopular due to questions regarding their efficacy as well as constitutionality. Republicans in Congress have largely united against vaccine mandates, using spending bills and authorizations to force the Biden administration to walk back most of its prior mandates.
Biden has continued to call for continued vaccinations, even requesting Congress subsidize further vaccine research and production.
Republicans successfully forced the administration to rescind the mandate in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. However, affected veteran service members are continuing to fight for restitution for time and pay lost.
Roy has been a leader in Washington fighting against vaccine mandates. In the opening days of Congress, he introduced a bill that would reinstate troops discharged over the Biden administration’s military coronavirus vaccine mandate and protect unvaccinated troops, cadets, and midshipmen from punishment. He has also warned against the harm vaccine mandates will do to military recruitment efforts and readiness.
With the passage of Roy’s latest bill, the country could take another significant step towards closing a chapter it would like to forget, although bureaucratic actors within the federal government surely would move forward with additional mandates if given the opportunity.
Cosponsoring Roy’s bill are Reps. Eli Crane (R-AZ), Matt Rosendale (R-MT), Scott Perry (R-PA), Michael Cloud (R-TX), Mary Miller (R-IL), Bob Good (R-VA), Andy Ogles (R-TN), John Rutherford (R-FL), Dan Bishop (R-NC), Ronny Jackson (R-TX), Andrew Clyde (R-GA), Mike Collins (R-GA), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), and Eric Burlison (R-MO).
Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.
