Daines Pushes To Reverse Vaccine Mandate For Truckers

U.S. Sens. Steve Daines (Mont.), John Thune (S.D.), Kevin Cramer (N.D.), John Hoeven (N.D.), Mike Crapo (Idaho), Jim Risch (Idaho), Cynthia Lummis (Wyo.), Mike Braun (Ind.), Roger Wicker (Miss.), Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.), Susan Collins (Maine), Roger Marshall (Kan.), Jerry Moran (Kan.) and Pat Toomey (Penn.) are pushing back against President Biden’s vaccine mandate that will impact truckers and other essential travelers trying to cross the U.S.-Canada border. The senators stressed the impact of the vaccine mandate in further exacerbating the ongoing supply chain crisis and forcing American workers out of their jobs.

“Trucking is the largest mode of surface trade with Canada; every day, there are approximately 14,000 total truck entries along the U.S.-Canada border hauling more than $846 million of goods. Any disruptions to the continuity of U.S.-Canada trade would likely have far-reaching consequences that extend beyond our shared border,” the senators write.

“…we fear that the imposition of vaccination mandates as a requirement to cross the land border will exacerbate the existing challenges facing our freight networks and supply chain, and could further fuel inflation and rising prices on top of what Americans are already seeing. Our nation’s truck drivers worked diligently during the pandemic to facilitate critical cross-border freight movements that helped to feed and clothe American communities. Now, implementing these policies could cost them their jobs,” the senators continue.

Daines also issued this separate statement after sending the letter: “President Biden imposing a vaccine mandate for essential American workers trying to cross the northern border for their job, while not imposing any sort of mandate for the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants coming across the southern border is beyond hypocritical. The president needs to stop putting illegal immigrants over American workers.”