Mask Mandate

Floor Speech

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Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, if you have flown in the past year, you have heard the announcement at the beginning of every flight that says Federal law requires that passengers wear a mask. Well, the last I checked, we have a constitutional system, and Congress makes laws. Something is not required by Federal law unless Congress passes such a law and the President signs it. That is the only way something becomes a federal law in this country.

We are coming through a pandemic, and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Over 150 million people in the United States are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Any American adult who wants to be vaccinated against COVID-19 can get vaccinated at this point, and the science should drive our decisions on how to open up. That is why today I introduced a resolution to encourage the CDC to review and update its guidance on wearing masks in confined spaces to clarify that people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 no longer need to wear a mask on public transportation in the United States, including at airports, on commercial flights, and on buses and rail systems, and for the Transportation Security Administration to update its travel guidance to track with the latest science. I was joined in this effort by Senators Collins, Lummis, Wicker, Moran and Blackburn, and I appreciate their support.

The CDC has been quite clear that masks are not needed for people who are fully vaccinated. Science matters, and vaccines work. The mandate to wear masks on planes and on other modes of transportation--when they are no longer required in many businesses and restaurants for vaccinated people--is hurting the aviation industry.

If the objective is to encourage people to be vaccinated, one way to do that is for there to be a real difference in what you can do after being vaccinated. Repealing this requirement to wear masks on airplanes, at airports, and on public transportation would increase demand, increase travel, and would tie the policy to science. It is a commonsense step to take, and I hope more of my Senate colleagues will join us in encouraging the CDC to follow the science.

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