Last week, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., introduced a bill which “will prevent the federal government from funding and enforcing any program that uses digital health passes, which are used to verify an individual’s COVID-19 vaccination status unrelated to official health care records.”
Gaetz brought out the “Digital Health Pass Prevention Act (DHPPA).” His office noted that Texas Republicans U.S. Reps. Louie Gohmert and Lance Gooden are backing the proposal.
“We will not allow the public health bureaucracy to be a new entity to drain our liberty away in the United States of America. The federal government has no business asking Americans for their vaccination status, and they should not have the ability to use taxpayer funds to support third parties who do. Americans will not trade mask mandates for vaccine mandates. I urge every freedom fighter in the Congress to join my efforts to ban federal support for vaccine passports,” said Gaetz on Wednesday.
The bill was sent to the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee last week. So far, there is no companion measure over in the U.S. Senate.
Gaetz will have a hard time getting his bill through Capitol Hill where the Democrats control both chambers.
Last week, Politico reported that federal prospectors are examining whether Gaetz obstructed justice in a sex-crimes investigation. Gaetz has garnered national attention as a top ally of former President Donald Trump.
Reach Kevin Derby at [email protected].
