Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 497, the Freedom for Health Care Workers Act. The people of north Texas have expressed their opposition to President Biden's authoritarian COVID-19 vaccine mandate for a variety of reasons. Today, I would like to highlight the concerns that I have heard from firefighters and EMTs back home. The Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccine mandate is not only an overreach of government power, it has also become a public safety threat. Since the vaccine mandate took effect, fire and EMT departments in north Texas have struggled to fully staff their departments. This administration claims the vaccine requirement is in place to ensure patients have access to safe and essential care, but what about the people who experience a medical emergency, dial 911, and must wait longer for care due to staffing shortages? Our local firefighters, paramedics, and EMTs provide lifesaving care. A fast response time can quite literally make the difference between life and death. It is already difficult to recruit and retain people to work in these stressful roles. The Federal Government shouldn't make it any harder. The healthcare system is being overburdened by this unnecessary mandate, which has only worsened the EMS staffing shortage. Mr. Speaker, I was proud to cosponsor this bill. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for H.R. 497 today. The SPEAKER pro tempore.…”