NEWS FROM CONGRESSMAN DARRELL ISSA
Issa Leads Congressional Colleagues Calling on Pelosi to
Stop Blocking Vote Nullifying Biden Vaccine Mandate
On December 14, Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-50) along with Congressman Fred Keller (PA-12) and 107 of their colleagues, wrote a letter to Speaker Pelosi urging her to bring Senate Joint Resolution 29, which previously passed in the Senate, to the House Floor. The legislation would nullify President Biden’s destructive vaccine mandate for private businesses.
“The reckless and unconstitutional vaccine mandate that President Biden wants to force upon the nation threatens the jobs of millions of workers and the future of thousands of businesses in every corner of the country – and we won’t rest until they are free from it for good,” said Rep. Issa. “Speaker Pelosi is blocking a vote on this mainstream measure because she wants to shield Democrats from casting a vote of conscience. She has no interest in shielding the American people from this irresponsible mandate.”
“President Biden’s vaccine mandate violates the individual liberties of over 80 million American workers. These are the men and women who kept our economy going throughout the pandemic – now this administration wants to stop them from being able to provide for their families unless they submit to the president’s unconstitutional mandate, said Rep. Keller. “With the support of every House Republican and a bipartisan majority of Senators for our resolution to eliminate this mandate, I call on Speaker Pelosi to schedule an immediate vote on this Congressional Review Act.”
The letter to the speaker can be found HERE.
ICYMI: Rep. Issa Fox News Op-Ed – Biden’s vaccine mandate will decimate our military
“It’s time to fight for those who always fight for us”
On December 15, Congressman Issa published an op-ed in Fox News outlining how President Biden’s vaccine mandate threatens to throw tens of thousands of U.S. active-duty service members out of the military.
The full op-ed can be viewed HERE or below:
Biden’s vaccine mandate will decimate our military
by Congressman Darrell Issa
December 15, 2021, is the deadline for every active-duty member of the Army to comply with President Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. This follows earlier deadlines for the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.
It is also the day that may set into motion one of the most grievous injuries ever perpetrated upon our military by its Commander in Chief.
Why? Because President Biden is threatening to discharge every member of the military who expresses a religious exemption or nothing more than a cautionary reluctance to immediately obey his sweeping vaccine mandate. This would be as unnecessary as it is unjustified.
According to recent data from the Department of Defense, well more than 90 percent of every military branch has received a vaccination – with Navy and Air Force personnel surpassing a vaccination rate of 95 percent. That is a vaccination rate far greater than not only the nation at large (72 percent), but also any state in the nation (Vermont has the nation’s highest vaccination rate at 75 percent.)
But that’s not good enough for President Biden. He is declaring an unacceptable failure perhaps the most successful health utilization program in our nation’s history.
That’s why my colleagues and I also wrote to President Biden today and called on him not to be careless with the clear Constitutional powers of his office and abuse his authority as the Commander in Chief. It is well past time for this Administration – which has already profoundly let down our men and women in uniform with its disastrous and deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan – to turn back from its reckless campaign of brinksmanship that he and his Administration have undertaken against our best and brightest.
Every day, another member of our military contacts my office seeking a way to ward off President Biden ending their career. They’re at a loss to understand the extent to which they’re being targeted by this White House.
They’re not dissidents in our ranks. They’re warfighters and battle strategists, engineers and linguists, and soldiers and scholars. But they’re also fathers and mothers to children who need them and daughters and sons to parents who burst with pride at their service to our country.
They are acting on the principles drilled into them throughout their career, and they don’t deserve to immediately lose their commissions or careers because of it.
But that’s what is about to happen.
As of today, however, as many as 50,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are on the brink of being dismissed from service for disagreeing with the Biden mandate or seeking a religious exemption. Some have informed me that instead of being thrown out, they will quit the duty they love, give up the mission they have trained for, and separate from their brothers in arms whose lives they swore to protect – and who swore to protect theirs.
A final point about why this is so important.
Think about the myriad Biden vaccine mandates on private sector employees, health care professionals, the federal workforce, and its contractors.
All were challenged successfully by a union, a lobby, a business interest, even attorneys general from more than a dozen states. All were stayed, delayed, or halted.
Only the military vaccine mandate remains unchanged, barreling towards its devastating toll.
Every one of those service members stepped forward in the prime of their lives, volunteered to defend this country, and fight for all of us when we need it. Now, when they need it, who will fight for them?
Military personnel have no lobby. No union rep. No chamber of commerce. There is no court and no cover for them.
They only have their honor. And they only have us.
Mr. President: That ought to be enough. End this mandate.
Congressman Issa Joins Suit in Support of Navy Service Members Seeking Exemption from Vaccine Mandate
On December 20, Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-50) joined Congressman Mike Johnson (LA-04) and 36 additional House Republican colleagues in filing an amicus brief in U.S. District Court. The filing is in support of 35 Navy service members seeking a religious exemption from the Biden Administration’s reckless military vaccine mandate. Eight U.S. Senators also joined the filing.
“We will fight every day for the men and women who fight for us – even if it is one service member at a time,” said Rep. Issa. “I am proud to join my colleagues in directly communicating to this court that these members of the Navy have constitutional rights that no one – not even President Biden – can take away.”
This action follows Congressman Issa’s recent advocacy to bring new attention to this issue, including a letter to President Biden urging a pause of the military vaccine mandate and a national op-ed detailing the mandate’s threat to force readiness and national security.
Click HERE to view the brief in full.
On December 21, Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-50) issued the following statement:
“With the encouragement and support of family, friends and especially constituents throughout the region I have represented since 2001, I am announcing that next year I will seek election in California’s new 48th Congressional District. It is a community I know very well, have represented in Congress before, and hope to continue to serve for years to come.”
January 6th Statement by Congressman Darrell Issa
On January 6, Congressman Issa issued the following statement:
“Much has happened in the last year, and almost all of it since January 6th.
“That was a difficult day to be in the Capitol. But the weeks and months that followed have been devastating for the nation. Today is an ideal occasion to reflect on that fact.
“In 2021, America clearly lost control of its southern borders after the Biden Administration opened them to more than a million migrants, including terrorists and violent criminals. The Biden policies also caused tens of thousands of children to be sent or smuggled. Many of them were injured, abused and trafficked. Some died along the way. An unprecedented supply of fentanyl has also poured in, destroying numerous lives. No significant action was taken by this Administration to stop any of this this.
“In 2021, our economy suffered from historic joblessness, supply chain disruptions, business closures and the cruelest tax of all: rapid and rising inflation. This White House has no plan to make the economy better and many that will make it worse.
“In 2021, the White House badly mishandled its COVID-19 policy. It neither shut down the virus as the President promised, nor carried out the testing system that it demanded be done. On an almost daily basis, the President misleads the nation through masking practices that contradict science, stands by while more and more schools are shut down and repeats clear falsehoods about the vaccines and variants. His demand for destructive vaccine mandates is outrageous – a clear contradiction of our Constitution, federal statute, and common sense.
“In 2021, America suffered a deadly and humiliating exit from Afghanistan, which was the product of this President alone. He sent our service members into a confusing mission that cost them their lives, then compounded his betrayal by abandoning hundreds of American citizens in one of the most dangerous places on earth, which he pledged never to do. The months since then have been a continued failure to bring our people home. Many are still there.
“These are only some of the difficult challenges that America encountered last year and continues to endure today. My colleagues and I are united and determined that America’s priorities – for our economy, public health and national security – need new ideas and a new direction.
“It’s time for America to look forward and move ahead.”
Democrats Block Issa Amendment Defunding Military Vaccine Mandates
“President Biden’s war on our nation’s bravest continues.”
On January 10, Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-50) introduced an amendment to H.R. 1836, the Guard and Reserve GI Bill Parity Act, to prevent federal funds mandating the National Guard and Reserve receive COVID-19 vaccines under President Biden’s Department of Defense mandate.
“As tens of thousands of our best and bravest face career-ending discharges, President Biden and House Democrats continue to side with the mandates that will destroy countless careers of honor,” said Rep. Issa. “Every day, more members of our military reach out to my office. They need us more than ever.”
Rep. Issa published an op-ed in Fox News outlining the full scope of his opposition to the Biden mandate for all of our active-duty military, in addition to the National Guard and Reserve forces.
He also created a portal on his website for service men and women being threatened with discharge from the military. Hundreds of military personnel have been in contact with Rep. Issa’s office seeking assistance.
“Military personnel have no lobby. No union rep. No chamber of commerce. There is no cover from the Biden Administration’s determination to rid them from the ranks. It’s up to us to stop this,” said Rep. Issa.
Issa Votes Against Democrat Attempt to Take Over Elections
On January 13, Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-50) issued the following statement after voting against H.R. 5746, a Democrat bill that would federalize the nation’s election system.
“Having broken every promise to grow the economy, shut down the virus, secure the homeland, and unite our country, this White House and Democrat majority reveal what they want most: To take over America’s elections and give themselves a permanent advantage,” said Rep. Issa. “That it will ultimately fail is only part of the story. The nation should understand that Biden and the Democrats are trying to stop the voters from having their rightful say because they know a fair election will be a disaster for them in November.”
Darrell Issa is the Representative of California’s 50th Congressional District. The District encompasses the central and northeastern parts of San Diego County and a portion of Riverside County, including the communities of Fallbrook, San Marcos, Valley Center, Ramona, Escondido, Santee, Lakeside, El Cajon, Temecula, and the mountain and desert areas of the San Diego-Imperial County line. Issa served as the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform from 2011-2015.
