WASHINGTON — Utah Sen. Mike Lee is leading a group of 10 Republican senators threatening to uphold a government funding bill if federal vaccine mandates are allowed to continue.
In a letter Friday, the senators ask for the chance to vote on an amendment to "defund the enforcement of remaining federal vaccine mandates on government contractors, members of the military, all other federal employees, and medical care providers."
The senators want the vote to occur before a March 11 deadline to pass the funding bill, according to Yahoo! News.
“These COVID-19 vaccine mandates amount to a serious abuse of both federal power and executive authority. They also further strain the economic and social pressures our society currently faces, while completely ignoring existing evidence-based data on natural immunity from previous COVID-19 infection," the letter reads.
While the letter claims vaccines do not stop the spread of COVID-19, it makes no mention of vaccines lessening the effects of the coronavrius.
Along with Lee, the other senators included in the letter are Ted Cruz (Texas), Steve Daines (Mont.), Rick Scott (Fla.), James Lankford (Okla.), Roger Marshall (Kan.) Ron Johnson (Wisc.), Mike Braun (Ind.), Cynthia Lummis (Wyo.) and Rand Paul (Kent.)
The group claims the Biden administration is making people to make a "tragic choice" between being employed and getting an unwanted vaccination.
"History will bear record of whether we chose to endure tyranny, or oppose it, in this pivotal moment," the senators wrote. "We invite you to stand with us and oppose the continued funding of these mandates."
