Biden Vaccine Mandate is Government Overreach

September 13th, 2021

The U.S. president announced this week a vaccine mandate for health care workers and federal workers. He has also stated that he plans to pursue avenues to require private businesses to issue vaccine mandates for their employees if the business employs more than 100 people.

I firmly believe that it is not the government’s role to mandate to private businesses that their employees must receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

I believe that every Oklahoman, including first responders, healthcare workers, federal employees and contractors, and anyone working in private business, should have the freedom to make a personal choice whether to receive the vaccine or not. This should remain a personal decision for each individual person in consultation with their doctor or other health care provider.

Our country was built on individual freedoms and personal responsibility. I’m proud that in Oklahoma, we still believe in these values despite the overreaching actions of the federal government.

This is why it was extremely critical that we passed House Bill 1236 this session. The bill established an intrabranch process for legal challenges of federal rules, executive orders or Congressional actions harmful to the rights of Oklahomans and the state of Oklahoma. It passed the Legislature and was signed into law in May, and went into effect immediately. I was proud to coauthor this bill, along with many of my Republican colleagues, to ensure Oklahoma has a chance to fight back against what we believe are unconstitutional federal mandates.

Additionally, I would like to commend Governor Stitt, Attorney General O’Connor, House Speaker McCall and Senate Pro Tempore Treat who have all publicly stated that they oppose the Biden administration’s new mandate. The Attorney General has already announced he plans to lead efforts to protect our state rights and fight back against this federal government overreach.

The government should not be in charge of your health decisions. That responsibility should rest with citizens alone.

Those who do wish to schedule a COVID-19 vaccination may do so at vaccinate.oklahoma.gov or find other vaccination opportunities at vaccinefinder.org.

Again, whether or not you choose to receive the vaccine, your health decisions should be made by you personally and not be mandated by the government.

I will provide updates on this issue as the litigation moves forward. As always, please reach out to me with any questions or concerns regarding vaccine mandates or any other topic. God bless!