Congressman David G. Valadao Expresses Concern Regarding President Biden’s Vaccine Mandate Executive Orders

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman David G. Valadao sent a letter to President Joe Biden regarding his recent Executive Orders related to the COVID-19 vaccine mandates. These Executive Orders federally mandate vaccinations for a variety of employees, whether their place of work has more than 100 employees, they work as federal contractors, or are federal employees.

“I believe in vaccines, I believe in science, and I believe that the COVID-19 vaccine significantly reduces chances of hospitalization for COVID-positive patients. I have and will continue to advocate for everyone to consult with their physician about receiving the vaccine. Ultimately, this is a personal health care decision, not something the federal government should force people to do. We are all too aware that the U.S. economy is experiencing harmful inflation while continuing to try to recover from the economic fallout from the pandemic. President Biden’s vaccine mandates will be financially and administratively burdensome for the companies and organizations that are subject to the Executive Orders. This will also be incredibly challenging, costly, and inconvenient for employees who will be required to receive weekly COVID-19 tests, particularly in low-income and rural areas, like much of my district. Many of these individuals already have difficultly accessing transportation to get to and from work and do not all have the ability to take time off without losing pay.

“I believe the existing labor shortages will only be exacerbated with the implementation of the Executive Orders as well. At a time when industries all across the U.S. are desperately looking to hire additional employees, we cannot afford to be deterring people from pursuing new jobs and looking for work. Also, we should not be punishing those who are currently working, especially since many Americans subject to the mandate are some of our most essential and critical workers we rely on, including nurses and other health care professionals, truck drivers, teachers, law enforcement officers, first responders, and many more,” said Congressman Valadao.

The letter can be found here.

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