[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 169 (Tuesday, September 28, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6726-S6728]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Unanimous Consent Request--S. 2850

  Mr. LEE. Mr. President, I rise today to express my deep concern with 
President Biden's disregard for American freedom. President Biden's 
strong-arm push to force Americans to choose between their health and 
decisions affecting their health, on the one hand, and providing for 
their families, on the other hand, is wrong.
  I simply do not believe the Federal Government has any business 
mandating the COVID-19 vaccination for all Americans.
  Now, let me be clear. I believe that vaccines, broadly speaking, have 
provided immense benefits to society, nearly eradicating measles, 
polio, smallpox, and more in the United States.
  I have personally received the COVID-19 vaccination, as has my entire 
family, and I view the rapid development of effective COVID-19 vaccines 
as a miracle; one that safeguards the vulnerable from severe illness 
and from hospitalization.
  I believe that the FDA's expedited approval process is effective at 
efficiently reviewing and producing generally safe drugs and devices 
for Americans' use.
  Additionally, I believe the emergency use authorization can make 
drugs available to Americans more quickly, which, in some cases, can 
mean the difference between life and death.
  So even with the speed by which COVID-19 vaccines were developed and 
made available, I very much believe that they are generally safe. 
However, receiving the vaccine is a decision that Americans should make 
with all the facts in front of them, in consultation with their 
doctors, and with full consideration of their own current health 
circumstances.
  However, President Biden made his intentions clear when announcing 
his Federal mandate saying: ``This is not about freedom or personal 
choice.''
  Look, we have got to remember that anytime someone, someone who is 
serving as the President of the United States, while issuing a sweeping 
Federal mandate, insists that this is not about freedom or personal 
choice, it is. It necessarily is. It unavoidably is.
  The fact that he made this statement is troubling. The statement 
highlights the fact that the President does not understand the key 
relationship between citizens and government under our Constitution.
  Every mandate, regulation, tax, or any other government imposition 
comes necessarily at the cost of freedom and personal choice of 
Americans. It is a tradeoff we make with government. Use of 
overwhelming government power, without even considering the 
implications on freedom, is precisely why our Founders thought the 
Declaration of Independence, a revolution, and our Constitution were 
necessary.
  I have heard from many Utahans who are at risk of being unemployed if 
they choose not to get the vaccine. In fact, within the last week 
alone, my office has heard from no fewer than 144 Utahns in distress 
for this very reason.
  Allow me to share just a few of their stories:
  A young woman in Utah has two autoimmune diseases. She was told by 
her doctor that she should not get vaccinated because of her existing 
health conditions. Yet her employer has informed her that, contrary to 
her doctor's recommendations, she must get the vaccine or be fired. Get 
the vaccine or be fired, those are the only two options she is left 
with.
  A soon-to-be-mother, who has been advised not to get the vaccine 
because of her pregnancy, has been told by her employer that she must 
choose between receiving the vaccine and receiving a paycheck. Without 
her job, she will not have the means to care for her child.
  A disabled veteran, who now spends his time working for the VA 
because he loves helping his fellow veterans, has been informed that he 
must be fully vaccinated within the next 75 days or lose his 
employment. This ultimatum imposed by President Biden is making him 
choose between receiving an unwanted medical procedure, on the one 
hand, while, on the other hand, being unable to provide for his 
pregnant wife and their child.
  After businesses have weathered the economic impacts of COVID-19 and 
the corresponding shutdowns that have led to so many closures and 
bankruptcies, President Biden now wants to force employers to act as a 
sort of medical police force. They must impose a vaccine mandate on 
their workforce or be forced to pay a heavy fine.
  This mandate is constitutionally dubious--and that is putting it 
mildly--and it is not reasonable and it neglects the interests of 
business owners, families, and individuals alike.
  Look, threatening the employment of millions of Americans and making 
employers become enforcers is not how our country will return to 
normal. It is not even how you will make more people decide to get the 
vaccine. These steps will only erode meaningful relationships that 
Americans have with one another.
  The utility of such a sweeping mandate is also in question. In fact, 
a recent study from three hospitals in Israel shows that natural 
immunity was ``27 times more effective than vaccinated immunity in 
preventing symptomatic infections.''
  This mandate completely ignores existing evidence-based data lending 
credibility to the reality that millions of Americans may not need to 
be vaccinated because they have acquired natural immunity from previous 
COVID-19 illness. Further, the mandate dismisses the reality that there 
are outstanding questions regarding the COVID-19 vaccine's safe 
administration to those who are immunocompromised or have certain other 
health-related concerns or how to accommodate any who may have 
objections rooted in religious or other sincerely held beliefs.
  The decision to engage in a medical procedure, you see, is personal. 
It is

[[Page S6727]]

deeply personal, and even the idea that it can be forced upon citizens 
by the Federal Government is offensive. If particular American citizens 
do not feel that the receipt of the COVID-19 vaccine is the right 
decision for them or their children, then they are entitled to that 
belief.
  A mandate by the Biden administration to be vaccinated against COVID-
19 under threat of unemployment will not quell Americans' concerns; 
instead, it will likely further erode the little trust that may 
currently exist.
  Now, I don't believe that the Federal Government has been as 
transparent as it must. In its effort to get as many people vaccinated 
as possible, it has neglected the responsibility to inform Americans of 
any adverse effects that some may have experienced. These unfortunate 
instances of harm following the administration of COVID-19 vaccines 
must be acknowledged even if they are rare.
  The fact that instances of adverse reactions to the COVID-19 vaccines 
are not being shared with the public or even, in many cases, the 
medical community, causes me grave, grave concern. It has left those 
who have been adversely harmed with almost nowhere to turn. It has 
caused distrust in the unvaccinated that the government may have 
something to hide.
  When openly and transparently informed, I believe that each and every 
American is able to handle the responsibility of weighing the risks of 
getting vaccinated or not getting vaccinated. I honestly believe that 
most Americans, after speaking to their doctors, will make the decision 
that is best for themselves, for their families, and for our country.
  Finally, while I have not seen the final regulation for President 
Biden's COVID-19 vaccine mandate, nor do I know definitively even what 
statute he is claiming provides him with this sweeping authority, I 
highly doubt that this unilateral action is constitutional. But, 
frankly, I don't think the President cares. President Biden knows the 
effects his announcement and even a temporary regulation will have, 
even if it is later ruled unconstitutional. Even if the mandate is 
never fully or ever implemented, it still could get him what he wants.
  Businesses across the Nation are yielding before the awesome might of 
the Federal Government in complying with this Executive mandate before 
it has even legally been drafted, let alone enforced.
  According to the vague outline that President Biden's speech 
provided, a business would risk going under if even a small percentage 
of its workforce were unvaccinated at the time enforcement begins. This 
is a scare tactic--a scare tactic of the absolute worst sort--and it is 
working. People are scared, and I am here to defend them.
  Today, in this bill, the Senate has the opportunity to protect those 
in the minority, those Americans who sincerely believe, due to 
religious conviction or otherwise, that they should not receive the 
COVID-19 vaccine.
  This bill would not prevent businesses from imposing their own 
mandates or establishing rules for their own workplaces. All this bill 
would do is to ensure that the Federal vaccine mandate provides an 
exemption for Americans whose sincere beliefs prevent them from 
receiving the vaccine.
  Furthermore, nothing in Federal law provides President Biden the 
authority to institute the vaccine mandate on private-sector employers 
or on the public at large, and today Congress has the opportunity to 
rectify this situation for the American people.
  Now, I want to be clear. This is not the end of my discussion here. I 
have 12 of these bills. I will be back tomorrow and the next day, for 
as long as it takes to win the fight against this sweeping mandate.
  So, Mr. President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous 
consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be 
discharged from further consideration of S. 2850 and the Senate proceed 
to its immediate consideration; I ask unanimous consent that the bill 
be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to 
reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Markey). Is there objection?
  The Senator from Washington.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, this 
unnecessary bill will undermine our efforts to end a pandemic that has 
killed over 685,000 people and counting.
  We are fighting a highly contagious virus. If people don't get 
vaccinated, variants like Delta will continue to spread, undermine our 
economy, and take lives. Getting people vaccinated is one of the most 
important things we can do to stop COVID-19.
  And let's be clear. Immunization requirements are nothing new in this 
country. State and local governments and school districts have required 
vaccination against diseases like polio and measles for over a century. 
Taking similar steps against COVID is just commonsense.
  Tailored exemptions for legitimate religious and medical 
considerations already exist in current law and are included in 
President Biden's policy.
  This bill could undermine existing protections and create a massive 
loophole that would lead to more unnecessary and preventable deaths.
  It is so frustrating to know how scared people are of this virus, to 
know how many people it has killed, to know how hard people are trying 
to do the right thing and how eager they are for this to end, only to 
have Republicans offer ideas that would create political division, 
prolong this crisis, and cost more lives, so I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The Senator from Utah.
  Mr. LEE. Mr. President, I want to be very clear about something. 
There are no exemptions built into the mandate because the mandate 
doesn't yet exist.
  As far as I can tell, this may be a feature and not a bug, you see, 
because he gave a speech--he gave a speech--talking about the fact that 
he was going to issue the mandate. He didn't release any legally 
operative documents, didn't even disclose his precise source of 
authority to do this--authority which I highly doubt even exists. So 
there is no document to challenge. No one can sue to challenge the 
document because the document doesn't exist.
  But businesses everywhere fear and, indeed, know that it is coming, 
and so their general counsel's offices, their human resources 
departments for employers with more than 99 employees in this country 
are scrambling to get ahead of it. Many are even adopting and some, I 
am told, are moving forward with enforcing or preparing to enforce 
those same policies. So what will happen is that those employees who 
have these sincerely held objections will be without recourse.
  Now, my friend and colleague from Washington makes the point that 
these exemptions are already there. That is a legal and factual 
impossibility because the mandate does not yet exist. The document 
isn't in there, which begs the question: If it already exists, then 
what would be her objection or anyone's objection to merely adopting a 
measure that says any such mandate, if and when it is issued, must 
contain such an exemption--an objection that my friend and colleague 
from Washington assures us already exists. It is difficult for me to 
understand how this would be objectionable.
  Without these protections, you see, President Biden is telling many 
religious minorities in the country that they need not apply for a job, 
and if they have got a job already, that that job is in jeopardy.
  Freedom to make one's own medical decisions is fundamental to our 
system of liberty. The economic impact of the mandate is going to 
hamper our economic recovery as workers are forced to make hard 
decisions.
  Here we are talking specifically about objections rooted in religious 
or other sincerely held personal beliefs. If, in fact, that exemption 
already exists, that protection is already there, which it isn't 
because it can't be because the document itself doesn't exist, then why 
not embrace it? Why not accept it? Why not acknowledge it in law?
  I struggle to imagine what harm could come from protecting religious 
minorities in this country, and I find it very discouraging and very 
distressing that this body, the U.S. Senate, wouldn't want to do 
everything we possibly could to make that happen.
  Another word about the fact that it doesn't yet exist; the mandate 
isn't there. Because it is not there, employers with more than 99 
employees around the country are being forced to

[[Page S6728]]

guess as to what it might mean, and a whole lot of them are already 
preparing their own policies--in some cases, already adopting them and 
enforcing them based on their own anticipation of what the mandate may 
be. What it means as a practical matter is, you can't sue anyone. You 
can't sue any administrator in the Biden administration or elsewhere in 
the Federal Government who is going to be enforcing this because you 
don't know what they are going to be enforcing. There isn't a dispute 
ripe for adjudication in any court anywhere because we don't know what 
that is.
  For many people, this entire exercise could be rendered moot in the 
meantime, not just moot in the sense that the court would lack article 
III jurisdiction to entertain the dispute in question, but moot in the 
sense that they might lose their job, moot in the sense that they are 
going to have to face this awful Hobson's choice between maintaining 
their ability to provide for their family, on the one hand, and, on the 
other hand, receiving a medical procedure that they would deem harmful 
and objectionable based on their religious or other sincerely held 
beliefs. This is not America; this is not acceptable; and this is not 
and cannot possibly be constitutional.
  We should be able to do this.
  I am going to be back tomorrow, the next day, and as long as it takes 
to keep addressing this issue. Freedom matters, and the Constitution 
matters. President Biden has ignored them both. Thank you.