The President of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) called President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate “demoralizing and demeaning” to essential workers during a virtual press conference on Thursday about the Keeping Our COVID-19 Heroes Employed Act, which Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced this week.

“The essential workers … were making spilt second decisions to maximize the public health and safety throughout the pandemic,” President of FLEOA Larry Cosme said, noting that he has always been a proponent of making vaccinations voluntary. “And now to villainize these essential workers and telling them you have to have a mandated vaccine and you can’t make decisions about your own health — that’s sort of demoralizing and demeaning to the men and women that are essential workers and the people we represent in the federal law enforcement community.”

Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) speaks during a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on September 21, 2021. (Photo by TING SHEN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden signed an executive order in September requiring all employees working for a federal contractor or subcontractor to get vaccinated against the Chinese coronavirus by November 24 to be considered “fully vaccinated” by a December 8, 2021, deadline. The mandate will also order private companies with over 100 employees to implement required vaccinations or weekly testing for employees.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) held the press conference to discuss the proposed legislation, which would protect essential workers from being fired for rejecting the Biden administration’s coronavirus vaccine mandates. Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Mike Braun (R-IN), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Ron Johnson (R-WI), and Roger Marshall (R-KS) joined Blackburn in introducing the legislation, and Reps. Tim Burchett (R-TN) and Kat Cammack (R-FL) are pushing the legislation on the House side.

Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara spoke in support of Blackburn’s proposed bill, saying law enforcement agencies around the country cannot afford to lose any more employees. Catanzara has notably been leading the charge against Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s (D) vaccine reporting requirement, which a third of the department is reportedly defying.

“Police officers in Chicago, Illinois, and country-wide have been at the forefront of this fight and still doing their jobs. This is a profession that has been under attack for various reasons for quite a long time,” Catanzara said.

Municipal workers hold placards and shout slogans outside city hall during a protest against the covid-19 vaccine mandate, in New York on October 25, 2021. (Photo by ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images)

“This legislation will put a stop to actually lessening the ranks across this country because retention and recruitment is an issue. The last thing we can afford to do is have more officers off the street protecting American cities in this situation right now because they’re making decisions whether it’s religious-based, morally-based, or decisions with their families,” he continued.

Many lawmakers and politicians have expressed outrage and have engaged in and proposed countermeasures to stop what Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN), who was also in attendance, called federal government “overdrive.”

On Wednesday, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeffrey Zients claimed the “deadline will not require immediate action on the part of employers against unvaccinated employees when it comes into force on Dec. 8,” Reuters reported.

“The White House comments suggest federal contractors employing millions of U.S. workers have significant flexibility in enforcing COVID-19 rules and will not be required to immediate lay-off workers, but will have time for education, counseling and other measures before potentially ending employment,” according to the report.