Last Tuesday, the United States Senate passed a resolution repealing the federal travel mask mandate for public transportation, which requires the use of a face mask when flying in the United States. Senator Rand Paul, a controversial Republican, used the Congressional Review Act to demand a vote on the resolution, which he won by a margin of 57 to 40.
Anti-mask mandate resolution passes US Senate
Despite the Senate’s approval, the resolution is unlikely to pass the Democratic-controlled House. President Joe Biden is personally opposed to the resolution and has promised to use his veto authority if it passes. President Biden extended the public transportation mask mandate until April 18 on the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The public transportation mask mandate, which took effect shortly after President Biden took office, has caused division among the public, the aviation sector, and the government. Despite the presence of highly powerful HEPA filters in modern jets’ air conditioning equipment, airlines have erred on the side of caution and backed the mask regulation. Some airline CEOs, though, have questioned the rule’s efficacy.
Mask mandate has received considerable backing from the airline trade group Airlines For America. It has, however, recently began pressuring legislators to begin planning for a relaxation of the rules. The majority of travelers follow the mask rules. At the same time, airlines have recorded an increase in inflight issues since the law went into effect, with the majority of the occurrences involving customers refusing to wear or incorrectly donning masks.
As the resolution’s success indicates, there are many people in Washington who believe the mask ban should be abolished. According to CNN, the resolution was passed with the help of eight Democrats. Jacky Rosen, Catherine Cortez Masto, Mark Kelly, Kyrsten Sinema, Michael Bennet, Joe Manchin, Maggie Hassan, and Jon Tester were among the eight Democrats. Mitt Romney was the sole Republican senator to vote against the measure.
Senator Roger Wicker, a Republican, indicated before the vote that the resolution had bipartisan support. “would go a long way toward convincing the administration that the public is on our side.”
Senator Rand Paul, the resolution’s sponsor, has been a vocal opponent of the mask mandate for years. As vaccination rates climb in the United States and COVID cases decline, his long-running campaign may finally be resonating with decision-makers.
Last week, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said the CDC would begin working with other government agencies to examine revising the public transportation mask mandate.
White House promises to veto the resolution
An abolition to the mask mandate would assist airline flight attendants and airport staff. Airline staff on the front lines, who have had to police the regulations, have taken the brunt of any passenger dissatisfaction with masks. The FAA reported 814 incidences of turbulence between the beginning of the year and March 7th unruly passenger behavior.
The use of face masks was involved in 535 of those occurrences. Although airlines have recently become more eager to record issues as a zero-tolerance policy to disruptive passenger behavior takes hold, the FAA’s data only includes reported events.
In the meanwhile, Rand Paul’s victory on Tuesday may be largely symbolic in the short run. The White House stated on Tuesday that it would reject the resolution. According to a White House statement,
“Requiring a face covering on public transportation and in transportation hubs has been a critical public health tool to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
“Public transportation and transportation hubs are places where people across communities congregate, often for extended periods and in close quarters. The determination of the timeline and circumstances under which masks should be required in these settings should be guided by science, not politics. If Congress were to pass this resolution, the President would veto it.”
