Congresswoman Tenney Leads Charge to End COVID Vaccine Mandates for Colleges and Universities

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24) today introduced the Ending COVID Vaccine Mandates for Colleges and Universities Act. This legislation would prevent colleges and universities from continuing to impose unconstitutional and overreaching COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Specifically, it restricts access to federal higher education funds for institutions that continue to impose vaccine mandates on student populations.

Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) co-led this bill alongside Rep. Tenney. Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) was also an original cosponsor.

Multiple major higher education systems, such as the State Universities of New York (SUNY) system and the University of California (UC) system, have enacted overreaching COVID-19 vaccine mandates on their students. Although younger people are generally at less risk of serious illness, and the vaccine has been proven in multiple studies to not prevent transmission or illness, these institutions have kept these restrictions in place even as many others have lifted the requirements, including the Department of Defense.

Congresswoman Tenney has been fighting against draconian lockdowns and anti-scientific mandates in Washington. Earlier this Congress, Tenney introduced the Health Freedom for All Act to prevent the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) from overstepping its congressional authority by enacting a COVID-19 vaccine mandate on businesses with 100 or more employees.

 “The decision to receive the COVID vaccine is between a student and their doctor, not their university or the government,” said Congresswoman Tenney. “President Biden has said it himself: the pandemic is over. Now it is time for colleges and universities to lift the mandates, as other institutions have done. Whether a young adult receives the vaccine should not impact their ability to access educational opportunities. It is time to end all unscientific and unconstitutional vaccine mandates, including those that remain in effect on our college and university students.”

Read the full text of the bill here.

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