End the COVID vaccine mandates and reinstate those who lost their positions

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, as Congress considers the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Senators Rick Scott and Rand Paul wrote an op-ed in Fox News sharing they will not vote to move forward with the NDAA until the Senate votes on their amendment to prohibit discharges from the Armed Forces based on a servicemember’s COVID-19 vaccination status, but also reinstate those who may have already been separated with back pay.

In the op-ed, the senators wrote, “Halfway across the world, we watch as protestors take to the streets in China, rebelling against the draconian mandates and lockdowns that are sweeping their country once again. We cheer and hope they will prevail, but we also know our so-called leaders did a lot of damage here with their abuse of power.

In very few places was the contrast over freedom as clear as it was in the military, where the very men and women we count on to protect our freedom were stripped of theirs. 

Without question, the Department of Defense COVID-19 vaccine mandate has ruined the livelihoods of men and women who have honorably served our country.

As of April 2022, approximately 3,400 troops have been discharged from the military for refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19… the effects of the mandate are antithetical to readiness of our force, and the policy must be revoked.

The Senate will soon be asked to take up and consider the National Defense Authorization Act.

…

However, before we move forward with the bill, we must take a stand for the brave men and women of our military.

…

We will not vote to move forward with the NDAA bill until the Senate votes on our amendment to not only prohibit discharges from the Armed Forces based solely on a service member’s COVID-19 vaccination status, but also reinstate those who may have already been separated, with back pay.

It is outrageous that the U.S. military is firing young service members who choose not to get vaccinated…

…

The military also faces challenges with recruitment… down 23 percent from annual targets.

…[L]osing thousands of troops due to their vaccination status is a readiness issue that the Department should take extraordinarily seriously.
…

There is no justification. The pandemic has been declared over for months.  Schools, businesses and local governments have belatedly and finally opened.

…

The CDC acknowledges the COVID vaccine does not stop transmission, so the argument that the mandate will stop incapacitating spread in the close quarters of military barracks is not applicable.

…

Whether the argument is science, military readiness, or freedom, the answer is the same — end the mandates and reinstate those who lost their positions taking this stand.”

Read the full op-ed in Fox News HERE.

###