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EXCLUSIVE — Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced legislation Monday that would repeal a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for eligible K-12 students in Washington, D.C.
Earlier this year, government officials in Washington, D.C., enacted a citywide vaccine mandate for all eligible K-12 students for the 2022-23 school year but delayed its implementation last month until January 2023 amid substantial noncompliance, particularly among the city’s black community.
DC DELAYS ENFORCEMENT OF ‘INSANE’ SCHOOL VACCINE MANDATE FOR STUDENTS 12 AND OVER
The newly introduced federal legislation would cancel the district’s mandate and bar federal funds from being used to implement it. Cruz had pledged in January to introduce legislation to repeal vaccine requirements.
In a statement to the Washington Examiner, Cruz blasted the mandate as a “racist policy” and accused the district’s public schools of “blatantly discriminating against black students.”
“The rate of vaccination for black students between the ages of 12 and 15 in Washington, D.C. is 60 percent — far lower than the city average. D.C. schools has already postponed enforcement of this racist policy until 2023 and they should simply scrap it,” Cruz said. “Until they do, I will fight for the students of D.C. and work to end this mandate.”
While Washington, D.C., has its own city government, the ultimate authority for its governance lies with the federal government, thus empowering Congress to repeal any resolution or ordinance passed by the city government. The city government itself was set up by the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, passed by Congress in 1973.
Cruz and Blackburn were joined by several co-sponsors, including Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), James Lankford (R-OK), and Roger Marshall (R-KS).
“Right now, any news organization worth its subscription fee is running story after story with evidence that the Left’s forever pandemic is destroying the mental and emotional well-being of children. Yet somehow, right here in our nation’s capital, leaders are depriving students of a basic education if they don’t comply with the district’s highly politicized vaccine mandate,” Blackburn said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
“Getting vaccinated should be a decision between a patient, parent, and doctor — not politicians pressured by big teachers unions and radical activists,” she added.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Despite the delayed enforcement, the mandate is among the strictest COVID-related restrictions still in place for schools around the country. Most other districts and localities that announced student vaccine mandates have delayed them until at least the 2023-24 school year, including the state of California.
The office of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser did not respond to a request for comment.
