Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), who is running for Sen. Jim Inhofe’s (R-OK) open Senate seat, is set to introduce a bill to rectify the harms inflicted on Americans by the Biden administration’s travel mask mandates while limiting the government’s ability to mandate mask-wearing during air travel.
Rep. Mullin’s “Mask Mandate Prevention and Recovery Act” aims to amend the Public Health Service Act to permanently prevent the federal government from requiring masks or face coverings as a prerequisite for airline travel.
‘‘The authority vested by this subsection to prevent the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable diseases from one State or possession into any other State or possession does not include the authority to require any individual to wear a mask, a face covering, or any other accessory during domestic air travel,” an advance copy of the bill, provided to Breitbart News, reads.
The bill will also require refunds for “any and all” fines previously levied against maskless travelers as well as obligating immediate travel reinstatement for travelers placed on government or private “no-fly” or “do not board” lists due to a refusal or failure to wear a face mask.
In addition, the legislation will allow for anyone who experienced damages or loss of wages due to mask mandates to sue for recovery through a private right of action.
In an exclusive statement to Breitbart News on Tuesday, Rep. Mullin blasted the Biden administration’s “gross government overreach” while asserting that all are aware the mandates were wrong.
“Airline mask mandates were never about common sense, they were about control,” he said. “This bill targets the Biden administration’s gross government overreach into the lives of Americans, and the bureaucrats in Washington who thought they could get away with it.”
“We’ll ensure this mandate can never become law again and recover what was lost to those who refused to idly comply,” he added. “What the Biden administration did was wrong and we all know it.”
Last month, a federal judge in Florida voided the national mask mandate covering airplanes and other public transportation as exceeding the authority of U.S. health officials during the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Tampa, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, also said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) improperly failed to justify its decision and did not follow proper rulemaking procedures.
In March, Rep. Mullin accused President Biden of significantly damaging national security by deliberately creating a border crisis to expand the Democrat voter bloc, and called for an investigation into the president over his actions as well as the “lawless activity” of his son Hunter.
He also slammed the president’s attempts to force an unwelcome nuclear deal with Iran that only benefits Russia.
Follow Joshua Klein on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.