WASHINGTON — Today, Representative Ronny Jackson, M.D. (TX-13) introduced the Forbidding Repressive Executive Efforts and Denouncing Overreaching Mandates (FREEDOM) Act, which opposes Joe Biden’s authoritarian vaccine mandate. It also requires all federal agencies and departments to issue a report on the number of employees who have quit or will quit because of the mandate, and to estimate the cost and time associated with filling those positions.

Jackson told Henry Rodgers of The Daily Caller: “I got the COVID-19 vaccine and I continue to encourage my constituents to ask their doctor if the vaccine is right for them. The bottom line is this: your health decisions are between you and your doctor, NOT between you and Joe Biden. I am disgusted by Biden’s brazen decision to ignore the law, embrace authoritarianism, and show a total disregard for our freedoms with his proposed vaccine mandate. 

To make matters worse, the economy is failing, and Biden’s only proposed solution is to fire hardworking people should they refuse to listen to politicians over a doctor who knows them and their medical history. Besides the fact that it’s likely unconstitutional, the proposed vaccine mandate will continue to crush the economy. These aren’t just low-skilled jobs that will go unfilled. I have heard from constituents who work at Pantex in my district who would rather lose their job than be forced to get the vaccine. Pantex is where all U.S. nuclear weapons are assembled and disassembled, so we are talking about classified, high-skilled roles that cannot be filled overnight. In addition, I have heard from numerous nurses who refuse to be forced into getting the vaccine. We cannot afford to lose our nursing staff during a pandemic. Many employees around the country are in similar situations, and our national security and public health will suffer as a result. The cure cannot be worse than the disease.

I urge my colleagues to join in support of the FREEDOM Act. We must show the Biden Administration, and the American people, how this disastrous forced vaccination policy will impact the workforce and waste taxpayer dollars.”

Rep. Babin Babin (TX-36) said: “President Biden’s vaccine mandates are un-American and unacceptable. Federal workers, soldiers, and nurses being fired or forced to quit because they value their medical freedom is pushing our nation toward an unnecessary, but permanent, state of crisis. While the FREEDOM Act condemns these unlawful and senseless mandates, it also demands transparency from the Biden administration – something that U.S. taxpayers deserve.”

Rep. Michael Burgess (TX-26) said: "I have said all along that mandates drive unnecessary opposition. Politicizing this virus is preventing us from being able to cross the finish line of returning to normalcy. We must all have an understanding of the stress this virus has placed on every American. While I trust the science and know that the vaccines are safe and effective, pushing this mandate will continue divide the country in a time that we need to be coming together. Instead of demanding that Americans receive a vaccine outside their comfort zone, Congress and the President should be encouraging Americans to speak with their trusted doctor to determine what is best for them.”

Jackson is a member of the GOP Doctors Caucus. Bill text can be found here, and additional background from The Daily Caller can be found here.

Original co-sponsors of the FREEDOM Act include Representatives Michael Burgess (TX-26), Brian Babin (TX-36), and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-02), all fellow members of the Doctors Caucus.

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