Follow the science.
That’s what a some Senate Republicans are asking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to do by urging the agency to lift mask mandates for Americans on public transportation.
The Senators, led by Texas’ Ted Cruz, introduced a resolution Friday which called on the agency to lift its mask mandate on vaccinated Americans who travel on planes, trains and other forms of mass transit, The Hill reported.
“It’s long past time for President Biden and the CDC to follow the science and end this mask mandate for fully vaccinated individuals,” Cruz said in a statement announcing the resolution. “Americans should be able to travel to celebrate Independence Day with their friends and loved ones without having to follow an outdated and unnecessary mandate.”
Cruz was joined by Maine’s Susan Collins, Tennessee’s Marsha Blackburn, Kansas’ Jerry Moran, Mississippi’s Roger Wicker and Wyoming’s Cynthia Lummis.
“It makes no sense that someone can go to a restaurant without wearing a mask, but they cannot fly on an airplane without one even though it has a far better ventilation system,” Collins added saying that flight attendants told her they were afraid that continuing to enforce the mask mandate could lead to violence on flights.
On his first day in office, President Biden signed an executive order mandating mask wearing on all public transportation. A planned expiration date of May 11 was pushed back until Sept. 13.