House GOP Votes to Toss COVID Vaccine Mandate for Foreign Visitors
WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday voted largely along party lines to repeal the vaccine mandate on international visitors flying to the United States.
The final tally was 227 to 201, with six members not voting.
Specifically, the bill introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., prevents enforcement of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention order issued last April that prohibits international travelers from entering the country unless they can first show proof of COVID-19 vaccination.
The bill, H.R. 185, then goes on to block the future issuance of any successor orders imposing the April 2022 requirements on international travelers.
The Biden administration opposes the legislation, even while acknowledging COVID-19 is not the “disruptive threat” it once was to the American people.
“This policy has allowed loved ones across the globe to reunite while reducing the spread of COVID-19 and the burdens it places on the health care system in the United States,” the White House said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
Others, however, contend the time has simply come to lift the requirement.
Tori Emerson Barnes, vice president of the U.S. Travel Association, said in a statement issued last week that her organization and its members see no reason “to wait until the May expiration of the public health emergency” to lift the mandate.
In fact, she said, she feared that leaving it in place would have a detrimental effect on the spring and summer travel seasons.
“Every day this policy remains in place encourages some travelers to avoid the U.S., costing us valuable visitor spending and delaying our efforts to reignite inbound travel,” Barnes said.
“The U.S. is the only country that still has this requirement for international visitors when there is no longer any public health justification. We thank the bill’s sponsors for their efforts to remove this outdated, COVID-era policy and normalize inbound travel operations,” she added.
In addition to Massie, the bill’s early co-sponsors included Reps. Mary Miller, R-Ill., Ralph Norman, R-S.C., Scott Perry, R-Pa., Bill Posey, R-Fla., Greg Steube, R-Fla., Brian Mast, R-Fla., and Michael Cloud, R-Texas.
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