End COVID Travel Restrictions

This week, major airlines including Alaska Air, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines sent a letter to President Joe Biden opposing the extension of COVID-19 travel restrictions as cases, hospitalizations, and deaths caused by the Coronavirus continue to plummet and Americans across the country go about their daily lives. 

The Biden Administration recently extended the federal mask mandate and testing requirements until April 18 based on the “risk of new variants, national data, and the latest science.” This comes when President Biden himself has said it is safe to take off the masks and go to work. Both red and blue states have recognized the need to move past these mandates, and have rapidly loosened restrictions, allowing communities to get back to normal.

We now understand COVID-19, how it spreads, and who is most at risk. Moreover, thanks to Operation Warp Speed, we now have multiple vaccines that are proven to be safe and effective at preventing hospitalization. I have heard from many doctors and hospitals in the Fourth District who have said that their ICUs are comprised almost exclusively of the unvaccinated. If one is vaccinated, he or she can be confident in the vaccine’s protection. Ultimately, Americans should be in charge of their own health and folks have all the information and resources they need to choose for themselves and their families whether or not to take the vaccine or continue to wear a mask. 

I was proud to lend my voice to the effort to end TSA’s travel restrictions by sending a letter with my colleagues expressing our frustration with the extension when, according to the CDC, “more than 98% of the U.S. population is in a location with a low or medium COVID-19 Community Level.” This means the CDC does not advise indoor or outdoor masking requirements, but the administration does not seem to follow the advice of our own public health experts. 

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki defended the extension by saying folks are moving in between communities with different infection rates, but we know wearing a mask on a plane and instantly taking it off at the destination to go to dinner and events does nothing to stop the spread of any illness. Regardless, we know the vaccine has ensured that those who choose to take it are safe from serious infection and hospitalization.

I commend these airlines for taking a stand in favor of reason and science instead of fear, and I call on the Administration to do the same. The government no longer needs to dictate the lives of Americans and how they approach COVID-19. I will always fight for the freedom of our communities from government overreach, and I look forward to our communities healing from the effects of this pandemic.