{UAH} WHY IS CONGRESS EXEMPT FROM THE VACCINE MANDATE

Why is Congress exempt from the Biden COVID vaccine mandate?

Plus, you can now get a flu and COVID shot at the same time, cases rise in the UK, the stigma of dying with COVID, and more.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., puts her mask back on after a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, May 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

By: Al Tompkins

September 14, 2021

Covering COVID-19 is a daily Poynter briefing of story ideas about the coronavirus and other timely topics for journalists, written by senior faculty Al Tompkins. Sign up here to have it delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.

President Joe Biden says all federal employees will have to be vaccinated and weekly tests are not an option to get out of taking the shot. But one big group of people who get paid out of the federal treasury won’t have to get vaccinated: Congress.

The thing to remember is that the president controls the executive branch of government but can’t tell the legislative branch what to do, so Congress can make its own rules about vaccine requirements.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said back in April there would not be a vaccine requirement for members of Congress and their staff.

USA Today says that while the number is not certain, the best estimate is that about one in five members of Congress is not vaccinated. But the figure could be different from that:

Disclosure of member’s vaccination status has relied solely on an honor system, so an exact vaccination rate is hard to pin down. CNN reported 97 House Republicans refused to disclose their vaccination status, indicating the number is likely higher than 81%.

The Associated Press says some big employers who clearly will be covered by the mandate have some decisions to make about whether they will require vaccinations. For example, Google says it is undecided about whether it will allow employees to work remotely and be unvaccinated. An AP story says some businesses are happy that Biden issued the mandate because it takes the heat off the employer:

“The business community is really going to appreciate this,” said Angela B. Cornell, a clinical professor at Cornell Law School, who focuses on labor law. “This shift will make it a lot easier for employers to push those individuals who have been on the fence or who have been opposed.”

Companies won’t have to worry about being sued, since it’s a government mandate and not one from the employer, she said. It could also help level the playing field for employers of hourly workers, many of which didn’t mandate vaccinations for fear that they could lose employees during a tight job market.

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