More than 70 congressional Republicans are urging President Joe Biden to wave the white flag on COVID-19 and move the country along an azimuth toward pre-pandemic times.
Led by GOP Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, Brett Guthrie of Kentucky, and Morgan Griffith of Virginia, the lawmakers want Biden to end the public health emergency declaration that former President Donald Trump created at the beginning of the pandemic.
The lawmakers say in the letter, which was released Thursday and first reported by NPR, that the nation has amassed sufficient reservoirs of vaccines and treatment, and can no longer afford the adverse psychological effects of social isolation, or the educational setbacks related to closed, or at least inconsistently opened schools.
“Today we call on your administration to do what so many states and other countries already have: accept that COVID-19 is endemic, recognize that current heavy-handed government interventions are doing more harm than good, and immediately begin the process by which we unwind the PHE so our country can get back to normal,” the
Republicans wrote in the letter, which was sent to Biden and Health and Human Services Department Secretary Xavier Becerra.
They encouraged Biden to submit a plan to Congress on how to move toward normal by March 15, according to NPR.
Becerra renewed the PHE declaration just a month ago. It expires on April 15.
But the letter hits Biden’s desk as many in his own party, with at least one eye cast toward the latest public opinion polls that show Republicans gaining strength ahead of the 2022 elections, are following the path blazed by GOP leaders such as Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, Brian Kemp of Georgia and Greg Abbott of Texas.
Several blue states – New York, New Jersey, California, Delaware, Connecticut, Oregon – have all declared an end to indoor masking in some capacity in the next few weeks.
But in some cases, their constituents are ignoring the mandates anyway. At Sunday’s Super Bowl, for example, photos of the crowd showed few fans wore masks, even though Los Angeles County mandated that they were to be worn at indoor events without exception.
In their letter, according to NPR, the Republicans acknowledged the PHE declaration was necessary, ripped the Chinese Communist Party for it having “covered up the beginnings of a pandemic,” and lauded Trump for launching Operation Warp Speed to get the vaccines to market.
But, they added, “The PHE … was always meant to be temporary. Our country is now in a much different situation than we were when the PHE was originally enacted.”
“We call on you to take swift action to lift all vaccine mandates, which have not stopped the spread of COVID-19, but have alienated many Americans and have caused staff shortages at hospitals and other health care facilities,” the lawmakers continued.
“Lift all mask mandates and the federal guidance that forces children to wear masks in schools and daycare facilities (these are based on faulty data and are used in many Democratic-led jurisdictions to justify such mandates),” they added. “And insist that schools fully open so children can learn in person.”
“Americans, especially children, are in crisis. Instead of keeping us in a permanent state of emergency, it is time for this administration [to] put people first and stop clinging to powers you currently enjoy under the PHE,” they concluded.
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What do you ostriches mean by “granted” with respect to Potato’s COVID powers ? It seems to me he just wrested it from another bunch of teat-willies.
FJB is the worst disaster ever. Impeach, remove, prosecute, and jail Fake President FJB.
FJB