Congressman Keller Statemet on OSHA Withdrawal of Biden Vaccine Mandate

Today, Congressman Fred Keller (PA-12) released the following statement in response to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announcing its plan to withdraw President Biden's vaccine mandate for private employers with more than 100 employees:

"While the Supreme Court's decision to halt President Biden's vaccine mandate in mid-January delayed its implementation, OSHA's announcement today is an acknowledgement that this unconstitutional mandate is finished.

"Today's news is the result of months of bipartisan pressure in both the House and Senate, during which time Senator Mike Braun and I built a strong coalition behind our Congressional Review Act resolution to formally nullify and eliminate this mandate.

"While I am confident this mandate has no path forward, I stand ready to implement our Congressional Review Act if the Biden administration attempts to revive this effort."

Background:

November 5, 2021: OSHA issued the Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring private employers with 100 or more employers to mandate vaccination among their workforce or require employees to submit to weekly testing.

November 17, 2021: Congressman Keller and Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) jointly introduced resolutions to formally disapprove of and nullify the rule under the Congressional Review Act. The legislation invokes the Congressional Review Act, an official process for Congress to eliminate an executive branch rule.

December 7, 2021: Congressman Keller announced that all 213 members of the House Republican Conference had cosponsored his Congressional Review Act resolution.

December 8, 2021: Senator Braun secured bipartisan passage of the Senate resolution to nullify the rule.

December 14, 2021: Congressmen Keller and Darrell Issa (CA-50) led a letter with 107 House Republicans to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging her to schedule an immediate vote on the Congressional Review Act resolution.

January 3, 2022: Congressman Keller introduced the procedural rule which enables the House resolution to be discharged from committee and sent to the Floor for immediate consideration after 30 legislative days have elapsed, consistent with House Rules governing the use of a discharge petition.

January 13, 2022: The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that OSHA could not enforce its ETS while the lower courts continued to examine its legality.

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