Motion to Discharge
Floor Speech
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Mrs. BLACKBURN. I thank the Senator from Florida.
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Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, it is no secret that President Biden's COVID-19 vaccine mandates have drawn major opposition here in the Senate. My Republican colleagues and I have introduced multiple pieces of legislation that chip away at the various impractical, unethical, and downright unconstitutional aspects of this latest power grab.
Last week, I introduced the Keeping our COVID-19 Heroes Employed Act, which would pull essential workers out from under these mandates and stop the White House from unilaterally firing them for refusing to submit to a shot. Think about how ludicrous that is. This, of course, is the heart of the issue.
These pieces of legislation are not anti-vaccine. In fact, our opposition isn't about vaccines at all. I have been vaccinated, and I encourage people to talk to their physicians. This is all about the precedent the Biden administration is trying to set; namely, that it is acceptable for the Federal Government to stand between a patient and their doctor and to overrule science and personal choice in the name of their personal political agenda.
I think my colleague Senator Marshall knows a thing or two about preserving the importance of that doctor-patient relationship.
Is that correct, Senator?
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Mrs. BLACKBURN. Yes, indeed. You are correct, Senator Marshall.
As I have said before, Tennessee is a supply chain and logistic State: shipping, transportation, manufacturing. These are things that help form the backbone of our economy, and those industries employ thousands upon thousands of people in our State.
I will tell you, these thousands of people are speaking up, just as you have said they are speaking up in Kansas. Every day, I hear from people who see what is happening on the ground, from small business owners to truckdrivers, and they are sounding the alarm bells. They know that Joe Biden's mandate will destroy their industries. They are just not asking for carve-outs; what they are saying is, give us a plan A, a plan B, a plan C; give us options.
Senator Marshall, I believe you have taken a different approach to pushing back on some of these mandates.
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Mrs. BLACKBURN. Yes, indeed, Senator. I am very concerned.
The Biden administration has, indeed, weaponized the U.S. Government against workers who love their jobs, against workers who are trying to earn a living and support their families. We have to stand up and defend them. Think about it. The Biden administration is using taxpayer dollars to implement a program designed to fire the very people we need to repair our supply chains, to bring manufacturing plants back online, and to keep the public safe.
Yes, our law enforcement officers are very concerned about this, but don't take my word for it. Ask some of these law enforcement unions. Ask the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Sheriffs' Association, and the National Border Patrol Council what will happen if these mandates force them to fire their unvaccinated agents and officers. They are waving red flags right now because these mandates aren't just impractical and unethical; they are dangerous. They will take these men and women off the frontlines and send them to the unemployment line and make us vulnerable.
Am I correct on this point, Senator Marshall?
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Mrs. BLACKBURN. Thank you, Senator.
I am appreciative to the Senator from Kansas and to all of my colleagues who have joined me on the floor today to fight this dangerous precedent set by these mandates.
I think it is so vitally important for my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to understand that the American people are not interested in playing chicken with Joe Biden--not at all. This isn't contrarian politics to them; this is a line in the sand between a power-hungry President who wants to strip them of their fundamental rights and get them fired from their jobs.
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