President Biden has extended the Transportation Mask Mandate – which covers air, rail, and bus travel – into early May.
Under the Centers for Disease Control’s guidelines almost the entire country doesn’t need to wear masks indoors. The only real remaining mask mandates are in public transportation and reactionary places where preschoolers must wear masks.
The current B.A.2 COVID-19 variant spreads so quickly that masks that meet the regulatory requirement (like cloth masks) are useless. Vulnerable populations are free to wear masks, but universal mandates aren’t necessary in the absence of a deadly new variant.
Now is the time for House members to sign a discharge petition that will put Senator Rand Paul’s repeal of the mask mandate on the floor for a vote – despite Speaker Pelosi’s resistance.
Paul’s bill won the support of eight Senate Democrats when it was put to a vote last month. There’s no doubt the House would also pass it if given a chance to vote.
Whatever happened to democracy, Nancy?