Texas Rep. Brian Babin and a group of House Republicans introduced legislation that would ensure that no service member loses his or her Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits for choosing not to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
The legislation, which was first obtained by the Daily Caller, picked up the support of ten other House Republicans and was officially introduced Friday. Babin called the mandate “totalitarian overreach” and said the bill would kill the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for service members from moving forward.
“I will not stand by and watch while Biden steals from our veterans what they’ve bravely earned. My bill will stop this president’s disgusting and totalitarian overreach in its tracks. Our service members didn’t fight to protect our freedom just to have their own freedom taken away,” Babin told the Daily Caller.
The cosponsors include Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs, West Virginia Rep. David McKinley, Texas Rep. Pete Sessions, Colorado Rep. Doug Lamborn, Texas Rep. Randy Weber, Michigan Rep. Lisa McClain, Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson, Ohio Rep. Bob Gibbs, Florida Rep. Bill Posey and Virginia Rep. Ben Cline.
READ THE LEGISLATION HERE:
(DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) — … by Henry Rodgers
Last week, Republican Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson and a group of House Republicans sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, calling on him to prove that a vaccine mandate does not negatively impact readiness or negatively impact the DOD’s ability to conduct operations globally despite a possible loss of personnel. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans Urge Secretary Of Defense To Reconsider Vaccine Mandates In Military)
Biden urged more private sector companies to impose vaccine requirements in August after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Pfizer vaccine. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Scott Perry Demands Attorney General Open Fraud Investigation Into Secretary Of Defense Lloyd Austin)
The Pentagon is requiring all military service members to get vaccinated against COVID-19.