Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank my friend and colleague from Kentucky for his leadership on this bill. I just want to remind everyone here today that the year is 2023, it is not 2020, and yet, many of our COVID policies are still based on numbers from almost 3 years ago. This vaccine requirement for international travelers is a prime example. Countries all around the world realize this and are rolling back their own border restrictions. I also point out that this vaccine requirement is not part of the emergency declarations that are scheduled to end in May. This means that vaccine requirements could still stay in effect for an indefinite period of time. Come May, it is possible we won't even have a public health emergency at all. We won't have a national emergency, but our friends and family from, say, for example, Canada would still have to show proof of vaccination when flying in to visit their relatives. We don't even require our own citizens to be vaccinated or show a negative test, so why would we do that and create a different standard for folks that are visiting? This only causes confusion for Americans who are told one minute they are safe and don't have to fear COVID-19, and yet, we continue these pandemic requirements. I am here today to tell the American people that despite the mixed messages emanating from the White House, I believe we are safe, and in the words of President Biden, the pandemic is, in fact, over.…”