Last week, State Representative Cody Harris joined Texans for Responsible Government (TRG) in an amicus brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Court objecting to the Biden Administration’s overreaching and unprecedented vaccine mandate. The mandate that would affect 84 million workers was developed and is being enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The amicus brief filed by TRG and various Republican members of the Texas House of Representatives challenges the constitutionality of the mandate and calls for it to be overturned.
The vaccine mandate issued by OSHA would compel private businesses with 100 employees or more to require all employees to be vaccinated by January 4, 2022 or face weekly COVID-19 testing. More than half the states, including Texas, have filed lawsuits challenging President Biden’s vaccine mandate. These states are joined by pro-business, educational, manufacturing, faith, labor, staffing, and medical interests and advocates challenging the order.
“If you want to vaccinate yourself, your family, or your golden retriever, I am all for it. But when the government encroaches on our rights, insists on these vaccinations, that’s where we should draw the line,” Rep. Harris said. “State actions can send a clear signal but because of the federal supremacy clause, court challenges are what will finally strike a deathblow to these unconstitutional mandates and Biden’s overreach. This is one of the reasons I am pro-states’ rights and will always seek to affirm the power of Article X of the Constitution.”
“The cases now pending with the federal court of appeals are the ballgame,” said Chris Britton, executive director of Texans for Responsible Government. “TRG, along with Representative Harris stands solidly with the numerous businesses, teacher groups, states, and nonprofits fighting this federal overreach and assault on individual liberty.”
Last month, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans issued a ruling for a stay on the OSHA mandate. With heightened legal advocacy in Texas and other U.S. states, TRG and Texas House Leadership hope to see the mandate overturned permanently.
Harris represents Texas House District 8, which will soon include Anderson, Cherokee, Navarro and part of Henderson counties. Only in his 2nd terms, Harris serves as Vice-Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee and is a member of the House Transportation and Calendars Committees. He was appointed by Speaker Phelan to serve as Chair of the SWIFT Advisory Board and by Governor Abbott as the Chair of the Southwest States Water Commission. Harris is a 2006 graduate of Texas A&M University and lives with his wife, Taylor, and their four children in Palestine.
