A cadre of GOP senators is threatening to delay passage of emergency military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine if it’s paired with a yearlong budget bill that does not defund President Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
In a letter to colleagues, 11 Republicans led by Sen. Mike Lee of Utah said they would object to expediting consideration of the legislation if it allows the vaccine mandate to remain in effect for governmental workers.
“We have consistently opposed President Biden’s federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates, which would force millions of Americans to choose between an unwanted medical procedure and being able to provide for their families,” the lawmakers wrote. “For legal, constitutional, and policy reasons, we remain strongly opposed to the mandates and will continue to work to end their imposition on Americans.”
Mr. Biden’s vaccine mandate has been ruled unconstitutional for private-sector employees. It remains in effect, however, for military personnel and health-care workers at more than 76,000 facilities that accept Medicare and Medicaid.
The 11 lawmakers say those mandates have been a major imposition on average Americans, many of whom have lost their jobs for refusing to be vaccinated.
“President Biden has no business forcing people to make a tragic choice between unemployment and an unwanted vaccination,” they wrote.
Together the senators are promising to use an arsenal of legislative procedures to delay consideration of a short-term funding bill unless it defunds the mandate. The lawmakers know they do not have the votes to kill the spending bill outright in the evenly split Senate.
At the moment, there are easily 10 GOP senators willing to join with all 50 Senate Democrats to break a filibuster and keep the government afloat.
Given that, the GOP holdouts plan to use the Senate’s longstanding rules and precedents to their benefit. Within the chamber, unanimous consent is needed to expedite consideration of a bill, meaning that all 100 senators must agree on moving forward.
Generally, Senate leaders negotiate the number of amendments and time allotted for debate before unanimous consent is offered. If even one lawmaker objects, the process is sidelined and normal order must be followed.
The rebels say they would be willing to relinquish their hold on the bill if given a recorded up or down vote on defunding the mandate. The lawmakers say they want the threshold for approval of the mandate to be a simple majority of 51-votes, rather than the conventional two-thirds usually required.
“All Senate Republicans have voted to defund the vaccine mandates,” they wrote. “This is a GOP conference position. As such, it should be a part of the negotiation for inclusion in any spending bill.”
The threat of slow-rolling is only the latest roadblock to emerge as Democratic leaders are preparing to unveil a $1.5 trillion government funding bill. Officially Congress has until March 11 to pass the legislation or risk a government shutdown.
Given the narrow timeline, Democrats plan to include within the government funding at least $10 billion for aid to Ukraine and billions for coronavirus testing and other mitigation measures.
“The quickest way to secure an emergency aid package for Ukraine is through the [budget], and I believe both sides are close, very close, to arriving at an agreement,” said Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat.
Some Republicans say the emergency aid provisions and more money for coronavirus should be separate, however.
While few Republicans object to aiding Ukraine in its time of need, they worry that Democrats are seizing on the global crisis to push policies that could not pass otherwise.
GOP lawmakers argue that Congress should not approve further coronavirus money without a proper audit of how much has already been spent.
“We must receive a full accounting of how the government has allocated trillions in taxpayer funds to combat the pandemic before we could even consider supporting this request,” said Sen. Mitt Romney, Utah Republican.
For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.
• Haris Alic can be reached at halic@washingtontimes.com.
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