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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Republican Leader of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee, is working to stop President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandates.

Click HERE to download the photo of Rep. Guthrie joining his colleagues at a press conference on the Congressional Review Act resolution at the U.S. Capitol.

“While I have been vaccinated and believe COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, I strongly believe that Kentuckians should be able to make the best decision for themselves. It is unfortunate that President Biden has resorted to overreaching mandates and the fear of losing livelihoods to vaccinate Americans. Further, I am concerned about the impact of these mandates on our military readiness, supply chains, businesses, and the health care workforce. I will continue to fight against these unfair vaccine mandates,” said Guthrie.

Guthrie cosponsored a Congressional Review Act resolution, which was introduced last week, to nullify President Biden’s vaccine mandates on businesses. Specifically, this would strike down the vaccine mandate on private businesses with 100 or more employees. If the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rule goes into effect, it would impact around 80 million workers and noncompliance could result in over $13,653 fines per violation.

Guthrie last week also cosponsored the Fairness for Federal Contractors Act of 2021 to shield employees of federal contractors from President Biden’s vaccine mandate. This bill would prevent federal agencies from enforcing a mandate for federal contractors and terminating contracts due to a contractor’s and subcontractor’s vaccination status.

Additionally, Guthrie cosponsored the Justice for All Businesses (JAB) Act, which would prevent OSHA from being able to implement the vaccine mandate on businesses with at least 100 employees by prohibiting funding for drafting, implementing, or enforcing the Vaccine-and-Testing Emergency Temporary Standard rule. This bill would also prevent the collection of fines for not complying with the rule.

Guthrie has also sent letters to the Biden Administration to express his strong concerns with the impact of federal vaccine mandates. On October 27, 2021, Guthrie sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on the negative impacts that vaccine mandates could have on border security and Customs and Border Patrol agents, who could be terminated from their job if not vaccinated. Guthrie asked for reasonable accommodation requests of agents to be carefully considered. Guthrie also joined a letter to President Biden and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin on November 2, 2021, to express his concern about the federal vaccine mandate’s impact on military readiness. This letter asks for the COVID-19 vaccine mandate to be indefinitely suspended for all service members, civilian personnel, and contractors, while Congress awaits information from the Biden Administration. The information requested includes the vaccine mandate’s impact on mission readiness, the processes for vaccination exemptions and appealing to the initial ruling, and the total cost of discharging service members, civilian personnel, and contractors due to the mandate.

The Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee, which Guthrie serves as the Republican Leader of, held a hearing on the nation’s health care workforce on October 26, 2021. Guthrie voiced his opposition to federal COVID-19 mandates and his concerns on its negative impact on the health care workforce.

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