[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 110 (Thursday, June 24, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S4747]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Mask Mandates

  Mr. COTTON. There is a disturbing trend in the not-so-friendly skies 
these days--a big spike in confrontations, often violent, on American 
airplanes. It is all the more disturbing because it is totally 
unnecessary. In most cases, these disputes go back to one of the Biden 
administration's dumbest policies--the mask mandate at airports and on 
airplanes.
  When the Wuhan coronavirus broke out in our country last year, 
confusion and uncertainty reigned, but within a couple of months, some 
commonsense standards had emerged: Protect the elderly and the frail. 
Outdoor activities are safer than indoor ones. Keep your distance. Wear 
a mask when you can't for prolonged periods inside. Be civil and kind 
to each other.
  Thanks to Operation Warp Speed, these standards are largely a thing 
of the past. Americans are tired of it, and they want their freedoms 
back, and they are right. But too many Democratic politicians and know-
it-all bureaucrats don't want to give up their newfound powers.
  No single action captures this power grab by government busybodies 
better than the TSA's decision to extend its zero-tolerance mask 
mandates for planes, trains, and buses until September, through the 
summer travel season. This mandate applies to the vaccinated and the 
unvaccinated alike, as well as kids over the age of 2.
  Passengers without a mask or accompanied by children without a mask 
can lose their seats and be banned from airlines and subject to a 
$1,500 fine. This draconian and punitive policy has no basis in 
science. After all, airports typically have larger spaces and higher 
ceilings than, say, a grocery store and pharmacy. Planes have some of 
the most advanced air filtration systems available in the market today.
  But this stupid mandate does have real-world consequences. Just last 
month, a Colorado mother and her family were removed from their flight 
because the plane's captain didn't believe that her 3-year-old son with 
autism would keep his mask on. This mother, unfortunately, was not the 
first to be removed from a flight, and I am sure she won't be the last 
if this absurd mandate remains in place.
  This policy discourages family travel after a year of separation and 
forces Americans with children, especially children with disabilities, 
to cancel travel or else live in constant fear that an untimely tantrum 
or a bad day could ruin their trip and cost them more than $1,000 in 
fines.
  As the father of two young boys, I can only assume the morons who 
cooked up this rule don't have children, or perhaps they outsource 
their kids to nannies and au pairs during flights, just as they do 
during their dinner parties and fancy retreats. Young kids, especially 
when they are in a new location surrounded by strangers, tend to act 
out and misbehave, as any parent will tell you. That entirely 
predictable behavior shouldn't result in their whole family being 
kicked off planes, trains, and buses far from home or their 
destination.
  I must also observe--although I know that facts have nothing to do 
with this mandate--that young kids are also the least likely to get the 
coronavirus and the least likely to spread it.
  Now, I concede that it is not only young kids who sometimes cause 
problems on planes. There are too many instances of grownups refusing 
to wear masks or berating flight attendants merely trying to do their 
job. These unruly adults should know better, of course, but so should 
the politicians and the bureaucrats who imposed this idiotic mandate in 
the first place.
  Millions of Americans are flying again, and to say simply that ``they 
should follow my rules'' is impractical and ignores all we know about 
human nature.
  The mandate, therefore, hurts not only passengers but also flight 
attendants. In our line of work, we probably fly more than most 
Americans these days. Over the last couple of months, I have personally 
seen so many flight attendants set up for failure by the Biden 
administration. They usually don't want to boss around their passengers 
or kick them off an airplane and cause a scene that will go viral on 
social media, but they are also told they have to enforce this stupid 
mask mandate, and it is all for no good reason.
  It would be one thing if there was scientific evidence that suggested 
that these masks in airports and on airplanes or buses or trains 
actually slowed the spread of the virus among the unvaccinated, but 
that is not the case. Even the Secretary of Transportation, Pete 
Buttigieg, can't defend these mandates on the merits. He doesn't even 
try. The only rationale he could give when recently asked about the 
mandate was, ``They're a matter of respect,'' to which I would respond, 
how about some respect for Americans and their common sense?
  If you can't defend a policy on the merits, you shouldn't have the 
policy, and the Biden administration should therefore immediately 
rescind its mask mandates for airports and airplanes and buses and 
trains. Vaccinated Americans and their young kids should not be forced 
to wear face coverings on airplanes or anywhere else, for that matter. 
It is unnecessary, it is unscientific, and in the case of children, it 
is cruel.
  I think I speak for millions of Americans when I say: Mask mandates 
have long since outlived their usefulness and their welcome. We have 
all but won the war against the Wuhan coronavirus. It is time for us to 
act like it, to reclaim victory and reclaim our freedom.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. COTTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  Mr. BROWN. Object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  Mr. COTTON. Mr. President, I again ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. BROWN. Object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The bill clerk continued with the call of the roll.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.