[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5092 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5092
To prohibit the Federal Government from requiring any citizen to be
vaccinated, including Federal agencies from requiring its employees to
take any vaccination, without the citizen being fully advised in
writing of all known potential risks from the vaccine and consultation
with a physician followed by the voluntary informed consent of the
citizen, and for other purposes.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 24, 2021
Mr. Gohmert (for himself, Mr. Weber of Texas, Mr. Duncan, and Mrs.
Miller of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the
Committees on the Judiciary, and Oversight and Reform, for a period to
be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
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A BILL
To prohibit the Federal Government from requiring any citizen to be
vaccinated, including Federal agencies from requiring its employees to
take any vaccination, without the citizen being fully advised in
writing of all known potential risks from the vaccine and consultation
with a physician followed by the voluntary informed consent of the
citizen, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that:
(1) The Constitution does not permit a vaccine mandate,
including a mandate by the executive branch imposed on Federal
employees as a condition to maintain the employment they need
to feed their families.
(2) It is unconscionable for any entity to use force or
coercion to compel individuals to take a vaccine, and even more
egregiously unconscionable for a vaccine to be administered
under emergency use authorization (EUA) without adequate
warnings of known potential risks.
(3) Mandating vaccines, including experimental vaccines,
does not fall within any of the executive authorities,
according to article II, section 2 of the United States
Constitution.
(4) The Constitution reserves ``police power'', for the
protection of health, safety, and morals, to the States.
(5) Even though a State has police power, strict scrutiny
is still applied when laws infringe on fundamental liberties,
and in such instance, government action is only constitutional
when it both achieves a compelling goal and is narrowly
tailored or the least restrictive alternative to achieve that
goal.
(6) Over the last year, the Federal agencies have not only
encouraged telework, but have even mandated it, regardless of
whether an individual employee assessed the office environment
to present an unreasonable known risk to his or her health, and
regardless of whether the conditions at home were suitable for
productivity or work. In certain cases, States have done the
same with their government workforces. Arbitrarily requiring an
individual to get vaccinated or lose his or her employment
cannot possibly be the least restrictive alternative to a
public health goal at the Federal or State level. Individuals
who object to taking a vaccine or an experimental vaccine, for
any reason, do not impose an inordinate known risk to the
workplace, when every individual has the liberty to make health
decisions for themselves, including vaccination, masking,
social distancing, or other possibly preventive measures.
(7) In our constitutional republic, the Federal Government
must exercise power only in keeping with the strict limits as
enumerated in the Constitution.
(8) The Government is never in a better position to assess
the wisdom and necessity of a particular medical intervention
than the individual and his or her own physician; failing to
acknowledge this most self-evident of truths is anathema to the
principle of self-governance on which our Nation was founded.
(9) This individual right has been steadfastly upheld by
human rights advocates not only in our own Nation, but also
around the world.
(10) Even the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights (CESCR) states in no uncertain terms that
health freedoms include the right to control one's health and
body and ``. . . the right to be free from interference, such
as the right to be free from torture, non-consensual medical
treatment and experimentation.''.
(11) Article 21 ``Health-Informed Consent'' prepared by the
International Disability Caucus affirms this ancient truth
based in the natural law as follows: ``Thus, health is not a
public good to be pursued independent of the will of each
individual, but requires respect for the will of the individual
person with respect to his or her own well-being.''.
(12) Should the Biden administration, any agency of the
Federal Government, or any State or locality of this union
pursue the path of forced vaccination, they are choosing to
intentionally disregard the U.S. Constitution, natural law,
human rights norms, and the will of the individual in making a
decision that most directly affects his or her own health and
bodily integrity.
(13) This discussion, necessitated by the dangerous actions
and rhetoric of the left in America, further compromises the
long-enshrined legal requirement of informed consent.
(14) There is currently no Federal law requiring informed
consent because the decisions that would implicate it have
correctly been understood as matters to be determined at the
State and local level.
(15) Left-wing extremists in the United States have
threatened individuals in such a way that it is now necessary
to pursue a Federal informed consent law to protect our
citizens.
(16) Informed consent must be voluntary.
SEC. 2. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS PROHIBITED FROM REQUIRING ANY
CITIZENS TO BE VACCINATED.
(a) In General.--The Federal Government, including Federal
agencies, are prohibited from requiring any citizen or employee to be
vaccinated, without the citizen being fully advised in writing of all
known potential risks from the vaccine and consultation with a
physician followed by the voluntary informed consent of the citizen.
SEC. 3. INFORMED CONSENT REQUIRED FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF EVERY
DOSING OF A VACCINE IN THE UNITED STATES.
(a) In General.--Informed consent shall be required from every
individual who receives any dose of any vaccine administered in the
United States. This requirement applies to FDA-approved vaccines and
also vaccines authorized for emergency use.
(b) Definitions.--
(1) Informed consent is defined as the voluntary, explicit
written agreement to proceed with vaccination, made by the
individual receiving vaccination and with complete knowledge of
all relevant facts, including known risks involved or any
available alternatives. All known potential risks involved in
accepting or rejecting such vaccination must be disclosed.
Informed consent is based on the moral and legal premise of
individual autonomy: The individual has the right to make
decisions about the individual's own health and medical
conditions and treatment.
(c) Exceptions.--
(1) In the case of those who are under 18:
(A) State law should apply regarding the necessity
of informed consent in the case of FDA-approved
vaccines.
(B) There is no exception to the requirement
provided in subsection (a) for vaccines authorized for
emergency use. Each individual must be able to give
informed consent according the laws of the applicable
State.
(d) Any offense of this section shall be fined under title 18,
United States Code.
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