Motion to Discharge

Floor Speech

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Mr. TUBERVILLE. Madam President, during the recent Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, I asked the Secretary of Defense what I thought was a simple question: As the leader of the Department of Defense, was he against dishonorable discharges for members of the military who decided not to get the COVID vaccine. He hemmed and hawed around, but he never answered my question. But, to me, it is simple. The answer should be that we will not dishonorably discharge those who serve honorably.

Our country is defended by the bravest men and women in the world. All raised their hands and pledged their lives to defend our Nation and our way of life. Our servicemembers stand watch while we go to work, while we spend time with our families, and while we enjoy freedoms they vow to protect.

When COVID broke out, our military was there for America. Military members were mobilized in all 50 States to serve as nurses and doctors at hospitals. They drove ambulances and set up food banks. They delivered critical supplies. They worked to keep order. But how does the President thank them for their service? With a dishonorable discharge for deciding not to take the vaccine. That is ridiculous.

Receiving a dishonorable discharge means they will lose all of their veterans' benefits and their pensions. In some States, it is on par with having a felony conviction. That means they lose their ability to vote or to carry a gun, not to mention what it does to their ability to find a new job. A dishonorable discharge is and should continue to be handed down for only the most reprehensible conduct in the military.

Now, I am for the vaccine. I have taken it, and my family has taken it, and I continue to encourage others to talk about it and talk to their doctors about it. I also respect the chain of command. I know how important it is for soldiers to follow orders. But this vaccine is still new, and I am sure the Department of Defense can look at other ways to manage our force rather than to put a stain on the reputations of the men and women who wanted to serve and have served their country, which brings me to another point about the impact of the Biden administration's vaccine mandates.

When President Biden made his sweeping vaccine mandates, he did so with the hubris or excessive confidence that Americans would just support the policy simply because it was his competent administration that implemented them, but the mandates are shortsighted, they are ill- conceived, and they threaten our national security. Here is how.

First, it creates a false choice for our defense contractors. They are forced to choose between coming to their job and working to support our military or taking a new vaccine that they don't want. Their decision should be between their doctor and their patient.

Second, it puts the important and critical performance of our defensive industry in jeopardy. Alabama alone is home to 5,000 defense contractors. When these firms are unable to perform, our country is at risk.

Third, the guidance for compliance is changed with little or no warning. This moving of regulatory goalposts creates uncertainty and drives up compliance costs, especially for smaller firms that lack large HR departments.

So last week, I called on the Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed to schedule a hearing on this issue. I want to hear straight from the small business owners who are struggling to figure out how to comply. We need to know just how disruptions in their ability to complete their work may impact the defense supply chain.

I also want to hear from expert witnesses within the Department of Defense. We need to have a full picture of the current state of vaccine compliance.

If the Senate were to take action on a solution, it is critical that we have all the facts.

I also sent a letter to the President, urging him to reverse course on his Federal contractor mandate.

On Monday, the White House backed down from their arbitrary deadline of December 8, with the announcement of new flexibilities in their guidance. While this step is in the right direction, they haven't gone far enough.

The vaccine mandate is still a compliance burden on small contractors, no matter how flexible the White House tries to make them.

Our workforce still will be unnecessarily impacted and our national security will still be at risk.

So I would encourage the White House to focus on protecting Americans' liberties while pursuing a holistic strategy to combat COVID.

It is time that President Biden recognizes that mandates are not the answer; frank conversations between doctors and patients are the answer.

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