EXCLUSIVE — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is set to introduce legislation that would ban the federal government from reimplementing mask mandates in response to a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, particularly for students and travelers.
Under the Freedom to Breathe Act, federal officials would be blocked from issuing orders that would require mask-wearing on airplanes, public transit, or in educational settings, according to the bill that was first shared with the Washington Examiner. That ban would extend to President Joe Biden and would also prevent officials from denying services to travelers or students if they refuse to wear a face covering.
PANDEMIC POLITICS RETURNS TO THE SENATE AS COVID-19 CASES RISE
“Dr. [Anthony] Fauci privately recommended not wearing a mask to his close friends, admitting they weren’t effective, yet he provided nationwide public health guidance stating Americans be required to mask in nearly all social settings, including while on public transit and in schools,” Greene said in a statement. “Even Joe Biden himself declared the pandemic is over. We cannot allow our country to be sucked back into the COVID hysteria that ushered in unscientific and nonsensical health mandates like blanket masking policies.”
The bill would restrict federal funding from going toward proposing or enforcing mask requirements for travelers and students as well as ensure agencies issue revised guidance for mask-wearing that adheres to Greene’s legislation. That new guidance would be required 90 days after enactment.
Greene’s proposal is being introduced as the companion bill to similar legislation that Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) sought to force a vote in the upper chamber earlier this week. That bid failed after the Ohio Republican failed to garner unanimous support to vote on the legislation, leaving the bill stalled in the upper chamber.
The House version has already attracted 13 co-sponsors, including Reps. Jeffrey Duncan (R-SC), Mike Collins (R-GA), Mary Miller (R-IL), Ryan Zinke (R-MT), Matt Rosendale (R-MT), Andy Ogles (R-TN), George Santos (R-NY), Tom Tiffany (R-WI), Bill Posey (R-FL), Ralph Norman (R-SC), Lance Gooden (R-TX), Dan Bishop (R-NC), and Michael Guest (R-MS).
Even if the bill manages to pass both the House and Senate, it’s unclear whether Biden would sign the legislation effectively abdicating his ability to enforce the public health measure in the future. The White House has sought to remove itself from conversations on whether such mandates should be reimplemented, especially as Republicans seize the issue ahead of the 2024 election.
"It is up to the schools," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Wednesday. "It is the decisions of the districts to decide what they want to do with the guidelines that they’ve been provided by CDC."
Even Biden has become more lax with COVID-19 protocols after opting not to wear a mask to a White House event earlier this week despite his wife, first lady Jill Biden, testing positive for the virus on Monday.
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"Don't tell them I didn't have it on when I walked in," Biden joked.
The renewed conversations on public health mandates come as COVID-19 cases have been on the rise nationwide, raising concerns about a possible resurgence in the fall and winter. However, numbers remain relatively low compared to this time last year and the year before.