The Commerce department is looking to expand the list of COVID vaccine objectors to include those who seek medical exemptions.
A notice coming from the U.S. Commerce Department published on January 25, 2022 is seeking review and approval, as well as public comment on a proposed "medical exemption request form."
According to the summary of the notice, it announced "an opportunity for public comment on a full clearance of a previous emergency approval that allowed the Department of Commerce (DOC) to collect information from individuals applying for medical exemption" to the COVID vaccines as mandated by the Biden administration.
The notice published on the Federal Register this week cited Executive Order (E.O.) 14043 or "Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees," which requires all federal employees to get the COVID vaccines. This measure allows "exceptions only as required by law." The notice also said it would treat medical exemption requests as "a disability accommodation." Those who seek to apply for a medical exception to the COVID vaccine must submit their request using the form, which according to the notice said the agency must "keep confidential," as well as any medical information provided.
Concerningly, the notice said that the "Department of Commerce may also utilize observational techniques to collect this information." According to the NOQ Report, the public comment for this proposed rule is on March 28. It comes after the Biden administration sought to establish and maintain a database of federal employees who sought religious exemptions to the COVID vaccine mandate.
According to the report, the Commerce Department has more than 47,000 employees and runs on an $11.4 billion annual budget. Republican Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who is a critic of federal COVID vaccine mandates, argued that the new rule from the Commerce Department would undermine the personal freedom of federal workers.
"As I have said repeatedly, these pointless vaccine mandates are a direct violation of the personal freedom of Americans," Sen. Johnson said in a written statement to the Daily Signal. "Treating COVID-19 medical exemptions as 'disability accommodations' shows how little the Biden administration and the COVID gods value liberty and informed consent."
Arguing that no one must be forced to take the COVID vaccine or any medical treatment for that matter, Sen. Johnson said that "putting federal employees who seek medical exemptions from the COVID-19 vaccine on a list and labeling their private medical decisions degrades the health autonomy of all federal employees."
But Sen. Johnson isn't the only opponent to the new Commerce Department proposed rule. Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas argued that the Biden administration began with tracking religious dissenters and is now cracking down on those claiming medical exemptions to the unconstitutional COVID vaccine mandate. He argued that these people are seeking medical exemptions "for the best interest of their health."
The Republican representative from Texas added that this new move by the Commerce Department is another one of the many "abuses from an administration hellbent on imposing medical tyranny on the American people." Rep. Roy also warned his fellow Republicans that no one in their party must vote to fund it.
