Senate votes to repeal travel mask mandates in bipartisan rebuke of Biden administration policy

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Source: CNN

The Senate on Tuesday passed a resolution from Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky to repeal the federal travel mask mandates on public transportation, in a bipartisan rebuke to the Biden administration's policy.

Despite the resolution succeeding in the Senate, it is unlikely to move in the Democratic-led House and would likely be opposed by President Joe Biden. The White House had issued a veto threat against the proposal earlier Tuesday.

The final vote was 57-40, with eight Democrats joining Republicans in favor of the resolution. One GOP senator voted against the measure: Mitt Romney of Utah.

The Democrats who voted to rid of the mask mandate are: the senators from Nevada, Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto; the senators from Arizona, Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema; Michael Bennet of Colorado, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Jon Tester of Montana.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/senate-votes-to-repeal-travel-mask-mandates-in-bipartisan-rebuke-of-biden-administration-policy/ar-AAV6utq

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I don't know if there's enough Democrats to call it bipartisan but that's the headline.

[MOMFUDSKI]

1. I know what let's do:

kill the travel mask mandate at exactly the same time the Covid numbers are on the rise again. WOW

[iluvtennis]

16. I know - just brilliant

[ColinC]

2. Doubt the house will go for it.

[bucolic_frolic]

3. Basically any state where anti-maskers/vaxxers can sway an election

Suddenly Senators of both parties are focused on this year's elections

[AZLD4Candidate]

10. Aren't election year politics wonderful?

[captain queeg]

4. No way to stop the direction it's going.

Vaccines are more important. Looking at Hong Kong and China we are probably in for another surge in the not distant future. All you can do is protect yourself. I’m still wearing a mask indoors in public places, and my doc said I should get a 4th booster shot. Haven’t done so yet but I will.

[wnylib]

19. I don't think that 4th boosters are approved yet.

Pfizer has just requested approval for this fall for people 65 and older.

[RockCreek]

5. Biden has said he will veto it if passed.

Biden has said he will veto it if passed.
There seems to be a mass delusional disorder in this country regarding COVID. Among other things.
I will happily attend pro-mask demonstrations outdoors in my N95.

[yaesu]

6. none starter, fascist pigs are still playing games with peoples lives. nt

[BlueIdaho]

7. It's ever person for themself.

This is not how you work your way out of a pandemic, but it is a way to stay in office. One question - will the Senate uphold its mask mandate?

[Ford_Prefect]

8. Their next move will be to lift the smoking ban, because Freedumb...

[bluestarone]

9. Not understanding this.

If we control the senate, why would we even bring this to a vote?

[BumRushDaShow]

12. Ron Paul's SPAWN

invoked a procedural tool to force it for consideration - the Congressional Review Act (made part of the Newt Gingrich hit job "Contract with America" ) - which allows for a vote to repeal regulations enacted by E.O.s by a simple majority and without need for cloture. Of course as also noted in this thread, even if it did pass the House, Biden can veto it and they don't have enough to override.

Excerpt from the OP link -

(snip)

Paul forced a vote on his resolution using the Congressional Review Act. The act allows senators to overturn federal agencies' regulations within a certain time frame and can do it by a majority threshold without having to clear the typical 60 votes to overcome a legislative filibuster.

(snip)

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/senate-votes-to-repeal-travel-mask-mandates-in-bipartisan-rebuke-of-biden-administration-policy/ar-AAV6utq

The below explains what this is -

Report
How powerful is the Congressional Review Act?
Philip A. Wallach and Nicholas W. Zeppos Tuesday, April 4, 2017

(snip)

Background: What is the CRA?

Passed as part of the Contract with America Advancement Act of 1996, the Congressional Review Act creates a streamlined procedure by which Congress can disapprove and thereby nullify regulations promulgated by various federal government agencies. The CRA requires that all rules be reported to Congress. Upon receiving that report, Congress then has 60 legislative working days (which is generally a much longer period than 60 calendar days) to introduce a special joint resolution of disapproval of the rule (see 5. U.S.C. § 802(a)).

That resolution can be discharged from committee and can avoid the Senate’s filibuster, thereby empowering Congress to contend with the administrative state’s vast rulemaking powers on something closer to an equal footing.

That, at least, was the theory behind the CRA, which was meant to replicate the power of the legislative veto that Congress had often depended on until the Supreme Court struck it down as impermissible in INS v. Chadha (1983). But whereas the old legislative veto allowed Congress to act independently of the executive branch, joint resolutions of disapproval passed under the CRA still must get the president’s signature to become law. If the president thinks that the regulation in question was a sound one—which will nearly always be the case, given the president’s ability to bottle up or alter any uncongenial rule—then he can simply veto the resolution, and Congress’s efforts will have accomplished nothing other than perhaps garnering some publicity.

(snip)

https://www.brookings.edu/research/how-powerful-is-the-congressional-review-act/

[bluestarone]

13. TY for this info!!

[BumRushDaShow]

15. You are welcome!

And as a note, Democrats invoked it multiple times the past year to get rid of some of tfg's ridiculous regulations, and of course in that case, Biden signed them - https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/06/30/remarks-by-president-biden-signing-three-congressional-review-act-bills-into-law-s-j-res-13-s-j-res-14-and-s-j-res-15/

These regulations had been done at the end of the last administration's couple months in office.

[BumRushDaShow]

11. This is stupid because so far, the mandate has only been extended for about a month until April 18

Some more from the OP link -

(snip)

Earlier this month, the Biden administration announced it would extend the federal public transportation mask mandate through April 18. The extension comes while many mask mandates have been rescinded in states and schools across the nation as coronavirus cases have plummeted since the Omicron surge earlier this year. The move also comes as Republicans have kept pressure on the White House and congressional Democrats to ease various federal requirements designed to combat Covid-19.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/senate-votes-to-repeal-travel-mask-mandates-in-bipartisan-rebuke-of-biden-administration-policy/ar-AAV6utq

It will probably be DOA in the House.

I think the point of the extension was that Easter Sunday is April 17 and the idea is to see where we are post-Mardi Gras (currently about 2 weeks since and so far no big spikes detected yet in NOL), and then post-spring break, and if there were any surges, extend it past Easter (which usually corresponds closely with Passover and this year starts a couple days before Easter Sunday on April 15) given that is also a time with you have many get-togethers for those holidays.

[BigmanPigman]

14. Oh goodie, just as another new wave is starting around the world.

Ba2 is the next one...

Globally Covid is rising again.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

After the Omicron variant's peak it declined and reached its new plateau, which is high compared to the low plateaus of past waves. Countries like S Korea, Germany, etc are seeing new highs this week.

[ancianita]

17. 11 out of 227 countries have new cases, and no news yet about Ba2, but it's a global rise?

Only three major countries, with one of them, China, shutting down hot spots; Australia has a 109% of its population vaccinated, and probably S. Korea, too. Your link doesn't show increases for Germany.

Not an epidemiologist, and not arguing the facts here, but it's too soon to talk waves, or we'd be hearing from Fauci. Also because the infrastructure and speed exists to now map the virus variants' dna material, quarantine and contact trace, then develop and distribute a vaccine so that it stays as hot spot or small epidemic, and with airlines current vigilance, keep it from traveling.

[BigmanPigman]

18. When you go to the Worldometer link you can click on different countries...

Here is the one for Germany...it's been increasing despite having high vax rates.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/germany/

There was a good thread on DU at the link below. Reply #6 is good to track the US.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142887576

[ancianita]

25. Okay, thanks.

[Farmer-Rick]

22. Crap......Another deadly variant of COVID coming to a place near you

Crap, I really thought we were done with it this time.

[BigmanPigman]

26. I know, I know.

I have to make plans around the waves, like seeing my dentist. Since we are at the beginning of another wave, we don't know how contagious or serious it is at this times, I am setting doctor appointments now (I try to avoid germ filled areas). It seems like they come in waves about 3-4 months apart...

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

[Greybnk48]

20. Rand Paul, holding a picture of Ayn Rand and masturbating in public again.

What a mook.

[llashram]

21. I will wear my KN95

Last edited Wed Mar 16, 2022, 11:47 AM - Edit history (1)

wherever I go in public. The disease will just get worse IF we get a mutant strain starting here or an especially lethal strain from elsewhere sneaks in and ravages until people gain a fear of COVID again. I think. No scientist here. Just common sense to wear a mask. I could be wrong.

The upside? At least we have a competent, rational administration dealing with our and the world's events

[VarryOn]

23. I'm in favor of repeal...

I traveled this past weekend, and it was miserable going hours in a mask. Half the people or more, wore pointless cloth masks. Let people who want to wear masks, do so.

Adherence is much lower now than it was. I saw many people with their noses above their masks. Flight attendants were much less fanatical about reminding passengers to keep their masks on. Many, me included, took their mask off at the airport.

The remaining mask wearing at the airport and on planes is nearly pointless.

[notinkansas]

24. Really disappointed with the Kelly and Tester votes.