REP. LEMAN JOINS AMICUS BRIEF AGAINST FEDERAL VACCINE MANDATE

  

State Representative Ben Leman is among the Texas House Republicans who are objecting to the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for businesses with at least 100 employees.

On Thursday, Leman and 83 other House Republicans signed an amicus brief to the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, filed by the political action committee Texans for Responsible Government.  The brief calls the mandate, issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), “overreaching and unprecedented” and argues it should be overturned.

The mandate would compel private businesses with 100 or more employees to require those employees to be vaccinated by January 4, 2022 or face weekly COVID-19 testing.  A stay on the mandate was issued last month by the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

Leman said the choice to get vaccinated for COVID-19 “should be made by an individual, not the federal government.”  He called the mandate “blatant overreach by the Biden administration” and said he will defend the personal vaccine decisions of citizens.

The only House Republican not to sign the brief is House District 73 Representative Kyle Biedermann, whose district covers Fredericksburg, Boerne and New Braunfels.