Republican efforts to ban mask mandates amid a revival of what some call COVID-19 hysteria were dealt a blow in the Senate on Thursday as Democrats blocked a request by Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) for floor consideration of a bill that would have prohibited federal masking requirements.
Called the Freedom to Breathe Act (pdf), the bill introduced by Mr. Vance would stop any federal official, including the U.S. President, from implementing mask mandates through the end of next year.
The measure would also prevent airlines, schools and colleges, and public transit systems from refusing services to anyone not wearing a mask.
His proposal comes as COVID-19 cases are on the rise, leading some institutions to reimpose mask mandates and sparking concerns of another tidal wave of COVID-19 restrictions.
Mr. Vance said earlier that he would try to force floor consideration of his bill and, speaking on the Senate floor on Sept. 7, made a case for its passage.
“All of us have lived through the failed experiment of mandatory masking,” Mr. Vance said.
“Today, I want to ensure that we do not subject the American people to this tyranny again for the sake of nothing,” Mr. Vance continued, adding that seasonal upticks in endemic respiratory viruses like COVID-19 are normal and no cause for alarm. remove
“They shouldn’t cause panic from our leadership or our country, and they shouldn’t cause us to reimpose a policy that has failed time and time again,” he added.
Calling previous policies of mandatory masking a “failure” that had very few benefits compared to the costs, Mr. Vance called for expedited consideration and unanimous passage of his bill under a process known as unanimous consent.
‘Democrats Have Sent a Clear Signal’
Under the unanimous consent process, the usual lengthy debate and formal vote process on a bill is avoided by obtaining agreement from all senators, meaning a single objection can sink the effort.
Mr. Vance’s proposal for his bill to be passed by unanimous consent failed as Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) objected, blocking the measure.
Speaking on the Senate floor, Mr. Markey claimed the bill would hamper pandemic response efforts and would “hamstring public health experts who guided our nation out of the pandemic.”
By Tom Ozimek
