Press Releases
Pfluger to Supreme Court: “Follow the Constitution. Strike down vaccine mandates.”
Washington, DC,
January 7, 2022
U.S. Congressman August Pfluger joined over 130 of his U.S. House of Representatives colleagues and over 40 Senate Republicans in filing an amicus brief to the Supreme Court of the United States in the case considering the Biden Administration’s Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requirement. This brief argues that Congress does not grant OSHA the authority to administer a top-down mandate requiring private employers to dictate obligatory COVID-19 vaccines or submission to weekly testing. SCOTUS began hearing oral arguments on January 7, 2022 on whether to issue an emergency stay of the ETS after several parties filed petitions for review. In the brief, the Members write: “Congressional members have an interest in the powers they delegate to agencies not being abused—the legislative authority vested in the federal government belongs to Congress, not the Executive branch. In this case, the promulgation by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) of a sweeping, nationwide vaccine mandate on businesses intrudes into an area of legislative concern far beyond the authority of the agency. And it does so with a Mandate enacted through OSHA’s seldom-used ‘emergency temporary standard’ (ETS) provision that allows for bypass of notice and comment rulemaking under certain circumstances. That OSHA exceeded its authority in enacting the ETS Mandate is not a ‘particularly hard’ question.” Rep. August Pfluger: “President Biden’s vaccine mandate is unconstitutional and the Supreme Court should strike it down immediately. Congress did not provide OSHA with the authority to force employers to mandate COVID-19 vaccines or testing. No worker should be forced to lose their job if they refuse to comply with President Biden’s tyrannical commands.” Full text of the amicus brief is available here. Background:
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