U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan sent a letter to President Joe Biden last week, taking the Administration to task over the Covid-19 vaccine mandates that he has ordered for 80 million or more Americans.
Sullivan, along with Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) wrote that the threats against workers by the president lack precedent and legal and constitutional authority. The executive order imperiling the jobs of millions of workers and economy of America.
Sen. Sullivan also spoke on the Senate floor in opposition to the administration’s vaccine mandates and imploring employers to not fire their workers until inevitable litigation is heard.
Sullivan said he has heard a lot about the issue of Covid-19 vaccines when he travels across Alaska.
“This goes to constitutional authority and it goes to what I believe it means to believe an American,” he said.
“In essence what he has said in this executive order … is that employers need to have all their employees vaccinated by a certain date, or they’re gonna be fired,” Sullivan said. “That’s the president of the United States saying he has that power to force employers to make their employees decide between a vaccination or putting food on the table for their families. Vaccination or you’re fired,” Sullivan said on the Senate floor.
“This is unprecedented. Never before has a president claimed the authority to actually to this.” he said. “Private employers who have some connection to the federal government or otherwise, tell your employees get vaccinate or you’re fired — I don’t even think it’s the close call as to whether the president has the constitutional authority to do this.”
He said it shows contempt for hard-working Americans, typical of leftists, he added.
Sullivan said that the president’s order would have millions of American fired on Dec. 8, just before the holidays.
The senators’ letter also said:
“Firing hardworking Americans who choose not to get vaccinated not only undermines the significant work Congress and the Trump Administration did to save millions of jobs, it also exacerbates the workforce shortages employers are already facing. The disappointing economic data released by your own Administration outlines the serious nature of this issue. The demand for workers is strong, but there are simply not enough workers to fill positions. Forcing employers to terminate loyal employees who are willing to work when businesses are facing significant challenges in hiring—and after Congress has invested trillions to save their jobs—is nonsensical.
“Your actions have put businesses and hardworking Americans in an unnecessary bind. Both your Executive Order and the OSHA rule disregard public input and instead use coercion to force implementation of the vaccine mandate. In particular, Executive Order 14402 side steps the public rulemaking process required under the Administrative Procedures Act in favor of using agency guidance. Similarly, OSHA is releasing an Emergency Temporary Standard, which bypasses the public process. Both mandates are an extreme abuse of power, and those who are most negatively impacted have not even been afforded an opportunity to provide comment.
“Beyond sidestepping public input, the mandate on contractors does not include an option for testing in lieu of a vaccine, making it particularly onerous and discriminatory. Instead, businesses who receive federal contracts will be required to submit to an even higher standard than OSHA is expected to require for other private sector employers. In addition, neither mandate considers natural immunity.
“We all want to put this pandemic behind us for the benefit of our health, our families, and our economy, but we cannot lose sight of the massive, negative impacts that your mandates will have on hardworking Americans and their families. We urge you to change course for the sake of hardworking Americans and their families.“
