Capitol FINALLY Gets Rid Of Silly Mask Rule

Written By BlabberBuzz | Sunday, 13 June 2021 11:30 AM
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Capitol FINALLY Gets Rid Of Silly Mask Rule

The Office of the Attending Physician released updated guidelines on Friday, making masks no longer a requirement on the House floor for fully vaccinated individuals.

Fox News reports that the decrease in community transmission and the increase in the rate of vaccination triggered this decision.

The overall rate of vaccination for the Capitol complex is 85%, higher than that of the general public. Members who are not fully vaccinated must continue to wear a mask. An individual is considered fully vaccinated once they have surpassed the two-week mark from their second dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Members will also no longer vote in groups, and each vote will only last 20 minutes.

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Republicans had previously staged protests over the continued mask requirement, despite a change in Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidance on May 13 that said vaccinated individuals did not need to wear masks in most public settings.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi resisted calls from Republicans in May to lift the rule until all members were vaccinated even as the guidance was updated to no longer require them in other parts of the Capitol complex.

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When previously criticized by GOP members over the issue, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi doubled down on the mask mandate.

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"It's not a, shall we say, subjective decision," the top Democrat said last month. "This is about science and governance."

Four GOP members were fined $500 each for refusing to wear a mask on the floor. Seven other fellow Republican members of Congress were issued warnings: Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Chip Roy of Texas, Bob Good of Virginia, Mary Miller of Illinois and Louie Gohmert of Texas. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the next fine could be $2,500.

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Meanwhile, GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., authored a resolution demanding the House comply with CDC guidelines and allow members to be unmasked on the floor and in committee hearings. The GOP-backed effort says the House "mask mandate sends the erroneous message that the efficacy of the vaccines cannot be trusted."

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Meanwhile, there never was a mask rule in the Senate chamber.

Monahan had stood by the House floor mask mandate as entirely consistent with CDC guidelines and "endorsed by an expert CDC panel," Monahan wrote in a statement at the time. The House chamber mask requirement will remain unchanged "until all Members and floor staff are fully vaccinated," he stated.

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Pelosi indicated in April the House Physician keeps track of which members are vaccinated – though cannot disclose the information publicly – meaning unvaccinated lawmakers will likely continue to be subject to the mask rule and face fines. A CNN report in May found that while 100% of House Democrats publicly reported being vaccinated, less than half of House Republicans did the same.

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