Conservative Warrior Chip Roy Introduces Bill To Protect Service Members From Biden’s Vaccine Mandate

Chip Roy, Congressman for Texas’s 21st District, along with Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, Florida Congressman Bill Posey, Montana Congressman Matt Rosendale, Virginia Congressman Bob Good, and fellow Texas Congressmen Van Taylor, Louie Gohmert, and Michael Cloud have introduced the “Service Restoration Act.” The “Service Restoration Act” seeks to protect American servicemen and women from being fired for refusing to take the COVID-19 Vaccine.

Chip Roy, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, tweeted that “we must fight the vax mandates & stand with those who resisted.” The “Service Restoration Act” also seeks to protect service members who refused the vaccine and were subsequently fired. This legislation comes as the US military ramps up its discharge of US service members. For example, the US Navy recently discharged 240 service members for refusing to get the vaccination. 

A press release from Chip Roy’s office stated that “because of President Biden’s power-hungry, anti-science COVID-19 vaccine mandate, hundreds of valuable American service members are being forced out of our military, taking with them years of subject-matter expertise, careers of selfless sacrifice, and lifelong dreams of military service. This is strategically foolish, profoundly unamerican, and completely unacceptable.”

In the same press release, Roy presents other goals of the legislation. The legislation seeks to prohibit federal funds from being used to require a member of the Armed Forces to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, require the Secretary to reinstate members of the Armed Force who wish to return to duty at the same rank, require the Secretary to still count the service members’ time separated from the military towards their retirements benefits and require the Secretary to expunge from the service members’ record any adverse action due to refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine.

Congressman Roy’s legislation is the latest attempt by Republicans to combat vaccine mandates. In fact, Roy (joined with 48 other Republicans) is leading an effort to withhold funding and shut down the government if taxpayer dollars continue to be used to fund mandates. The congressman has stated that with this move, he and his colleagues “will find out whether Republicans will unite and pledge to not fund these mandates.” Hopefully, Representatives like Chip Roy will continually hold our elected officials’ feet to the fire in regard to conservative legislation.

Vaccine mandates, along with COVID lockdowns and mask mandates, are at the forefront of many races across the country. Many Republicans are planning to use them against Democrats hoping for reelection. However, we must also make sure that our Republican elected officials are upholding conservative priorities. In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott has refused to call a 4th special session–despite calls from state lawmakers and Abbott’s primary opponents. It is vital that we not only elect Republicans this November, but we must also make sure that those Republicans are conservatives and patriots.