Republicans are officially challenged President Biden's executive order mandating that all companies above a certain size, which includes many media operations, must either require that their employees be fully vaccinated or submit to weekly testing by the beginning of next year.
That's according to Sen. Mike Braun, the junior senator from Indiana and ranking member of the Senate Health Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety, who said all 49 Republicans will be filing a formal resolution of disapproval to the President's vaccine/test mandate under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which allows Congress to overturn some agency decisions or actions--as the Republicans did with the FCC's online privacy decision, which it was able to overturn when they had a majority. It will be tougher this time since they need some Democratic or independent help.
Media companies with more than 100 employees (along with other companies of that size) must ensure that all their employees have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 or submit to weekly testing by Jan. 4, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) said earlier this month, making clear that mandate pre-empts any state laws that say differently.
Braun said the CRA challenge is guaranteed a vote in the Senate as early as early December.
"Republicans are united against President Biden’s vaccine-or-test mandate for businesses, but this federal overreach is not a partisan issue, and the consequences of this mandate are affecting Americans in all 50 states," said Braun.
Media companies have already been starting to prepare their employees for the vaccine or test mandate. ■
