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(LifeSiteNews) — The United States House of Representatives has passed a bill that would put an end to the nation’s COVID jab mandate for foreign air travelers.
On Wednesday the chamber agreed to pass H.R. 185, spearheaded by Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, by a 227-201 vote. Seven Democrats crossed party lines to vote in favor of the bill. No Republicans voted against the bill.
H.R. 185 states that the U.S. government would no longer be able to enforce a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) order requiring foreign air travelers to demonstrate proof of COVID vaccination. The CDC’s order is an implementation of President Joe Biden’s “proclamation advancing the safe resumption of global travel during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The bill also blocks the CDC from implementing a “successor order” that would establish a similar proof of vaccination requirement.
In a Wednesday statement, Massie praised his fellow House members for supporting an end to the CDC’s “unscientific mandate.”
“No free country, other than the United States, requires international visitors to prove they’ve taken the COVID-19 vaccine,” he said. “This vaccine mandate is keeping families separated, hurting our economy, and preventing some of the best athletes in the world from competing here. We need to join the rest of the free world in returning to normal.”
The American travel industry has been advocating for an end to the proof of vaccination requirement. According to government data, the level of international travel to the United States is still far below what it was prior to the pandemic.
Tori Emerson Barnes, the U.S. Travel Association’s executive vice president of public affairs and policy, penned a statement last week supporting the introduction of H.R. 185.
“We have long supported the removal of this requirement and see no reason to wait until the May expiration of the public health emergency — particularly as potential visitors are planning spring and summer travel,” she said. “Every day this policy remains in place encourages some travelers to avoid the U.S., costing us valuable visitor spending and delaying our efforts to reignite inbound travel.”
Although the White House has announced the upcoming end of the nation’s twin COVID emergencies in May, it nevertheless opposes the passage of H.R. 185 because “science” needs to first establish the right time for a “termination or modification” of the foreign vaccination requirement.
“As we approach the end of the public health emergency, the Administration will review all relevant policies, including this one,” the White House said, according to The Hill. “Just as the establishment of this public health policy was guided by science, any termination or modification of this policy should be as well. A vote for this bill undercuts that critical principle.”
The bill now heads to the Democratic-controlled Senate.