Members of the U.S. military deserve “healthcare freedom,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said on Thursday following the Senate approving the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which repeals the military vaccine mandate enforced under the Biden administration.
The Senate on Thursday passed the NDAA — it saw overwhelming bipartisan support with a 83-11 vote — which repeals the military vaccine mandate.
“Even though the Senate blocked Sen. Cruz’s and my amendment that would have reinstated service members discharged for refusing a vaccine with back pay, I supported passage of the NDAA that rescinds the Biden Administration’s harmful and pointless COVID-19 vaccine policy,” Sen. Ron Johnson said in a statement, noting that thousands of service members had been terminated due to the jab.
“Over 8,000 service members have been terminated for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Our men and women of the U.S. military are the finest among us and deserve members of Congress fighting for their health autonomy and healthcare freedom,” he added:
Johnson is not alone in implying that it does not go far enough, however. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), for instance, said that the men and women who were kicked out of the military for refusing to get the jab should be reinstated and receive back pay.
“The NDAA that passed the Senate today is a huge improvement over President Biden’s woefully inadequate defense budget proposal and a great win for Florida, America’s national security and our military community, but there is still work to do,” he said in a statement.
“While I’m glad this NDAA rescinds the Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, I will continue to fight so that every service member who was wrongfully discharged has the opportunity to be reinstated with backpay,” Scott added as other Republicans acknowledged the victory:
Lawmakers on the House side, while celebrating the end of the vaccine mandate on members of the military, are also warning that it does not go far enough.
“While I applaud the end of this onerous mandate — the Biden administration must go further,” GOP leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said earlier this month, highlighting the “negative consequences” the mandate has had and demanding the Biden administration to “correct service records and not stand in the way of reenlisting any service member discharged simply for not taking the COVID vaccine”:
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has also called for further action, demanding the end of “all COVID vax mandates” remaining across the board, as well as the reinstatement of service members:
After passing both the House and Senate, the NDAA now heads to President Biden’s desk.
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