GOP House Lawmakers to Introduce Bill Ending Federal COVID-19 Restrictions

A group of House Republicans is set to introduce legislation on Thursday that would end federal enforcement and funding of COVID-19 restrictions. 

The America Reopens Act, introduced by Florida Rep. Carlos Giménez and three other House Republicans, targets transportation services and agencies, ports of entry, and colleges and universities that still have mask or vaccine mandates. 

The legislation also bans federal funding for a vaccine passport system. 

“If we don’t push this, then we’ll never get out of the COVID-19 pandemic in our minds,” Giménez told the Daily Caller. “Once you have a vaccine that’s proven to be effective, and everybody has either been vaccinated or has had the opportunity to be vaccinated, then we should open up.” 

In terms of colleges and universities, the legislation prevents federal funding from “be[ing] made available under any applicable program to a public institution of higher education unless in-person instruction is available to all students at such institution; and a student may opt-out of any requirement of the institution to wear a face covering, to be vaccinated against COVID-19, or to take a COVID-19 test.” 

“There’s been evidence now that the Biden administration is not following the science, they’re following the teachers’ unions. The CDC asked the teachers’ unions for comment before they issued guidance, and the teachers’ unions are telling them that they don’t want to open up. The science has shown that kids are not really affected by the virus,” Giménez said.

“It should be up to the parents to decide whether they want to send their kids to school or not for in-person learning,” he added.

The bill’s three co-sponsors are Florida Reps. Kat Cammack, Byron Donalds and Maria Elvira Salazar.