Unabashedly outspoken Senator Marsha Blackburn has proposed a measure that would protect employees from being forced to comply with vaccine mandates.
Blackburn (R-Tenn.) has rolled out a new measure to protect the nation’s essential workers from being penalized or fired if they refuse to get vaccinated. The legislation titled “Keeping Our COVID-19 Heroes Employed Act” was issued earlier this week and is co-sponsored by fellow Republican senators across several states.
Blackburn voiced her support for essential workers who have risked their lives for Americans throughout waves of the pandemic and issued the measure to provide an exemption for dedicated workers who oppose the shot.
“Throughout the pandemic, one group stood above the rest. They walked into work every day to ensure that Americans could survive the COVID-19 pandemic. Their efforts kept America running, kept this country humming. And across the country, these individuals were honored as the heroes of our time. They were deemed the essential workers,” said Blackburn.
This bill comes after Joe Biden issued a nationwide vaccine mandate for essential workers, giving them until Dec. 8 to get inoculated. Blackburn and her fellow constituents believe we should be celebrating and praising the workers for their heroism instead of “punishing them for exercising their individual health freedoms.”
President Biden should be doing everything possible to encourage Americans to show up to work. Instead, Biden’s plan is to implement a vaccine mandate that could force countless Americans to be fired. In a recent survey by the Tennessee Chamber, 76% of Tennessee businesses opposed the federal government dictating vaccination protocols to businesses.
Senators Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Tommy Tuberville (R- Ala.), Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) joined Senator Blackburn in introducing the legislation.
“Essential workers have honorably served in hospitals, public safety, schools, and more throughout the pandemic, but now their livelihoods are threatened because of their vaccination status,” Senator Inhofe said. “I am proud to co-sponsor the Keeping Our COVID-19 Heroes Employed Act so that hardworking men and women can continue serving in Oklahoma and around the nation without the fear of being fired because of the Biden administration’s heavy-handed, out-of-touch national mandate. The decision to get the vaccine should be made individually – not mandated by the federal government.”
Meanwhile, several politicians and business owners are backing the senator and thanking her for fighting against the mandate that could potentially lead to more layoffs amid the current supply chain crisis.