Reps. Mark Messmer (R-IN) and August Pfluger (R-TX) have introduced a bill to block the federal funding of universities requiring students to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Under the No Vaccine Mandates in Higher Education Act, the text of which was obtained by Fox News, federal funds may not be made available to “any institution of higher education that requires its students or staff to receive a COVID–19 vaccine as a condition of enrollment or employment, or receiving any benefit, service, or contract.”
Discussing the bill, Messmer said the idea of universities requiring the vaccine years after the pandemic is “unbelievable.”
“The No Vaccine Mandates in Higher Education Act assures the American people that Congress and President Trump recognize this continued injustice and will work together to restore the civil liberties and freedom from government overreach that all Americans richly deserve,” he told the outlet.
Pfluger explained the pandemic “opened Pandora’s Box to a lengthy list of overreaching policies and mandates from the government, institutions, and companies alike,” adding that the bill seeks to “restore common sense and liberties back to the American people.”
The bill supports President Donald Trump’s February executive order ending COVID-19 vaccine mandates in schools.
“Some school districts and universities continue to coerce children and young adults into taking the COVID-19 vaccine by conditioning their education on it, and others may re-implement such mandates,” the order says. “Parents and young adults should be empowered with accurate data regarding the remote risks of serious illness associated with COVID-19 for children and young adults, as well as how those risks can be mitigated through various measures, and left free to make their own decisions accordingly.”
“It is the policy of my Administration that discretionary Federal funds should not be used to directly or indirectly support or subsidize an educational service agency, State educational agency, local educational agency, elementary school, secondary school, or institution of higher education that requires students to have received a COVID-19 vaccination to attend any in-person education program,” Trump’s order further declares.
