The Freedom to Breathe Act, introduced by Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, aimed to prohibit any federal mask mandate on airplanes, public transit systems, or educational institutions in the United States until the end of 2024.
However, the bill was blocked by Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts Thursday.
Markey argued that the bill would undermine the ability of states and local authorities to make decisions about mask mandates in their communities. He also criticized the bill for silencing public health experts who had played a crucial role in guiding the nation through the pandemic.
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Markey said that COVID-19 cases were still a concern and accused Vance of hypocrisy, as the bill contradicted the Republican Party’s long-standing belief in states’ rights.
“Doctors and experts are saying that Covid is coming back,” Markey said.
“This bill would violate a long-held belief in the Republican Party that states and localities should not be told what to do by a federal government removed from the realities that they’re seeing on the ground in their neighborhoods,” he said.
Vance’s bill did not seek to ban state-imposed mask mandates but would have prohibited federal funding from being used to enforce such mandates. It also aimed to prevent airlines, transit operators, and educational institutions from excluding individuals who refused to wear masks.
In response to Markey’s objections, Vance argued that the aggressive masking policies in place had not prevented the loss of American lives.
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“A generation of schoolchildren have suffered speech and developmental disabilities because this country panicked instead of using its brain and forced toddlers and small children to wear masks,” Vance said.
Vance said he believed that if mandatory masking were effective, it would have already produced results. Vance emphasized that his legislation did not ban individuals from wearing masks voluntarily and called for an end to government mandates, urging a return to common sense.
“Freedom is fundamentally respecting that you might have a different view than I do … not using government mandates to force our citizens,” Vance noted. “Our kids need us to not be chicken little about every respiratory illness.”
“End the mandates. End the panic. Let’s get back to common sense,” Vance concluded.
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