OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Terminating Cdc Requirement for Proof of Covid-19 Vaccination for Foreign Travelers

Floor Speech

Date: Feb. 8, 2023
Location: Washington, DC

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Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Chair, I appreciate the gentleman yielding.

Mr. Chair, I rise in strong support of H.R. 185, which will lift the CDC's burdensome mandates for international travelers into the United States.

Frankly, I can't believe the mandate is still here, but I talk to my constituents who have family that want to come to the United States, international travelers, and they can't come because they don't want to take the vaccine. That is their right.

We need to lift this. I thank my colleague, Mr. Massie, for his leadership on this particular piece of legislation.

This past week, my colleagues and I on the Energy and Commerce Committee have held hearings and markups focused on competitiveness versus China, ensuring American companies lead the globe.

This morning, we also held a long-overdue Oversight Committee hearing with the CDC, and I challenged them to think of the impacts their mandates are having on the travel and tourism section.

The Biden administration's onerous vaccine mandates for workers, citizens, and international travelers have been disastrous for our economy and have done very little to mitigate public health concerns, as my colleague stated.

Republicans have made it clear: We are tired of mandates and overregulation. This legislation will remove these mandates so travel can resume into the country and so we can make our Nation competitive again on the international stage.

We have the Brand USA program that advertises our Nation's hidden treasures. They are everywhere, but the travel sector hasn't been able to be fully unleashed, thanks to the CDC. We know, historically, that the industry in my home State of Florida--but it is not just my home State--has accounted for more than $80 billion in revenue and 1\1/2\ million jobs annually.

Let's get our economy back on track. This makes so much sense, this particular bill. Let's remove this ridiculous mandate.

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