Terminating Cdc Requirement for Proof of Covid-19 Vaccination for Foreign Travelers

Floor Speech

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Mr. ROSE. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in support of my amendment to H.R. 185, and I thank my friend from Kentucky, Mr. Massie, for introducing this important piece of legislation.

We all know that the People's Republic of China has not been transparent regarding its handling of the COVID crisis.

My amendment is simple. This amendment will add language to the underlying bill to clarify that no provisions in the bill shall affect the order issued by the CDC requiring negative COVID-19 tests or proof of recovery from COVID-19 for travelers coming from the People's Republic of China.

A Bloomberg news article from last month said that: ``After years of meticulously testing to find every last case of COVID-19, Chinese President Xi Jinping is now effectively looking the other way as the virus ravages the nation's 1.4 billion people.''

Mr. Chair, we cannot fall asleep at the wheel when it comes to protecting our Nation, its people, and our safety with respect to the adversarial and all-too-often nefarious actions and intentions of the People's Republic of China.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the amendment, although I may not necessarily be opposed to the amendment.

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Mr. ROSE. Mr. Chair, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, just a few days ago, we saw the People's Republic of China send a high-altitude surveillance balloon over our airspace spanning almost the entire continental United States. No one believes the government of China's ludicrous explanation that this was simply a weather balloon that inadvertently went off course. If the Chinese Government is willing to make such a bald-faced lie to the world, then how can we possibly trust the information they are releasing regarding the current COVID crisis in China?

The easy answer is: We can't. Because we can't trust the Chinese Government to be transparent and honest about the scope of their current COVID crisis, we must take appropriate precautions. Continuing to test travelers from China is essential to our national safety. A vote for this amendment is a vote in favor of holding China accountable and ensuring the safety of our Nation and its people.

In closing, I urge Members to vote ``yes'' on my amendment and the underlying bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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