Washington D.C. –U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) this week joined Republican colleagues on the Senate floor to vote in favor of legislation proposed by senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) which will ban any the future federal mandates for masks.
Senator Vance’s Freedom to Breathe Act which is which is cosponsored by senator Britt and Senator Britt, would bar any official from the federal government, not just the president, from imposing mask orders for national air travel or public transit systems or primary, secondary and post-secondary school. The bill would also ban airlines, transit agencies as well as educational institutions from denying service for those who prefer not to wear the mask.
The Senate was able to consider the legislation today, with unanimous consent which allows a bill to be deemed passed and forwarded back to the House of Representatives unless another senator objects. When the Senate was considering the Freedom to Breathe Act, Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.) protested against the the bill’s passage.
“During the COVID-19 epidemic, brutal shutdowns and mask orders caused a lot of damage to the nation. Look at the impact that our children suffered including devastating loss of learning that left students behind by years to declining mental health of teens and children. It’s enough. After more than three years it is clear that we have to accept individual liberty and facts, rather than a nation engulfed by fear. Democrats have declared that the lockdowns and mandates to mask will not be coming back, but their opposition to this bill exposes their true motives,” Senator Britt declared.
This week one of the elementary schools situated in Montgomery County, Maryland reimposed the requirement of wearing masks for students.
Alongside the senators Britt and Vance the bill is also co-sponsored by Senate Republican Conference Chair John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) along with Senate Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo. ), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo. ), Mike Braun (R-Ind. ), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo. ), Roger Marshall (R-Kans. ), Ted Budd (R-N.C.) as well as Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).
