He was the first member of Congress to call for such a resolution in a letter to the Secretary of Labor after the mandate was announced
WASHINGTON—United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today voted in favor of a resolution that would eliminate President Joe Biden’s regulation requiring that, in order to work, all employees of private employers with 100 or more employees must be vaccinated or subject to at-least-weekly COVID testing. The resolution, which was co-sponsored by every member of the Republican conference and which received bipartisan support, was adopted and passed.
“Taking the vaccine, which I believe is safe and effective, is a personal decision that each Tennessean should be allowed to make in consultation with his or her doctor, not under federal threat of job loss and financial penalty,” said Senator Hagerty. “Today, the U.S. Senate sent a bipartisan message to the White House that they have overstepped and that this anti-worker mandate should be immediately withdrawn.”
Hagerty was the first member of Congress to call for such a resolution in a letter to the Secretary of Labor sent the day after the mandate was announced.
The Congressional Review Act provides for Congress to oversee the federal regulatory process for implementing legislation by allowing it to review and potentially revoke, through a resolution of disapproval, rules that substantively affect the American people.
BACKGROUND:
- On September 9, President Joe Biden announced a vaccine mandate that extends to more than 80 million private-sector workers, in addition to other mandates on tens of millions of federal employees and contractors and health care workers.
- To implement this mandate, OSHA issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) regulation. Employers that fail to comply will be fined up to $136,532.
- This mandate improperly burdens employees and employers and oversteps the federal government’s role by attempting to control Americans’ medical decisions, especially during a time when businesses are struggling to find employees and supply chains are already under duress.
- This mandate is also unlawful and was immediately struck down by the U.S. Court of Appeals upon issuance.
- Under the CRA, regulations must be submitted to Congress for review before they can take effect, at which point they can be brought for a vote under expedited procedures, which is what occurred today in the Senate.
- In September, the day after the vaccine mandate was announced, Hagerty sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Labor Martin Walsh to confirm that the mandate regulation would be submitted to Congress for review under the CRA.