Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio is filing legislation Tuesday that bars the federal government from imposing mask mandates on transit systems or in schools.
Mr. Vance, a Republican, is introducing the Freedom to Breathe Act as a handful of businesses and schools reimpose mask rules because of a surge in COVID-19 cases.
The senator said Democrats have signaled they’re not interested in bringing back mask rules, so “we’re going to hold them to their word.”
“We tried mask mandates once in this country. They failed to control the spread of respiratory viruses, violated basic bodily freedom and set our fellow citizens against one another,” Mr. Vance, a Republican, said. “This legislation will ensure that no federal bureaucracy, no commercial airline and no public school can impose the misguided policies of the past.”
The bill would prohibit the president or any federal official from issuing a mask requirement on domestic air travel, public transit systems, or primary, secondary and postsecondary schools.
The legislation also prohibits air carriers, transit authorities and educational institutions from refusing service to people who don’t want to wear masks.
The U.S. is seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases, prompting some businesses and universities to return to mask policies. However, society largely has moved on from the coronavirus panic and is treating the illness like a cold or common illness.
Mask rules were ubiquitous during the height of the pandemic but divisive, with fights breaking out in shops and businesses.
The masks fueled the political divide in the country, with Republicans generally rejecting mandates and questioning whether the face coverings prevented transmission.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who led infectious disease research at the National Institutes of Health during the pandemic, recently defended the use of masks as a form of protection on the individual level, prompting a rebuke from GOP lawmakers.
For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.