7 Things: Alabama lawmakers want employers requiring vaccination held responsible, UAB part of vaccine testing on kids, Ivey wants to face Biden on immigration and more …

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September 21, 2021

7. AOC says “no” to infrastructure bill unless $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill is ready

U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is making it clear that she and other Democrats (about 45 members) will not vote for the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill unless the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill is “ready to go.” She called her fellow Democrats who oppose the bill a “small destructive group of members.”
U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) is watching the Democrats’ plan and sounding the alarm about what it would do to the country. Tuberville warned of a “big government socialism state” and suggested that “if Joe Biden would just listen instead of listening to all his buddies about giving everything away, turning it into big government socialism state, then we’d be much, much better off.”

6. Biden supports a drone strike investigation

In the August drone strike in Kabul, there were 10 civilians killed and up to seven children, and now President Joe Biden has indicated support for an investigation into the failed strike.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that “the loss of any civilian life is a tragedy,” adding that that the drone strike was “done in error.” There were no details given on who, or if anyone, would be held accountable.

5. Progressives demand U.S. Senate ignore its rules

Despite insisting for years that President Donald Trump was destroying the norms of American politics and polite society, the more progressive members of the U.S. House of Representatives are demanding they get their way, norms be damned. The far-left House members want their Democratic allies in the U.S. Senate to ignore the Senate parliamentarian’s ruling the amnesty is not a budget issue.
Citing her own promises to illegal aliens, U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) stated that her word is more important than the rules. She declared, “It’s time to stop honoring archaic procedures and honor the promises we made to immigrant families.” U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) believes that the parliamentarian’s decision was “only a recommendation” and that Democrats “can and should ignore it.”

4. Mayorkas issues warning to migrants

As there’s been a flood of migrants at the southern border, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has issued a warning to people looking to enter illegally, saying, “[Y]ou will be returned. Your journey will not succeed and you will be endangering your life and your family’s lives.”
He went on to add that the Biden administration “is committed to developing safe, orderly and humane pathways for migration. This is not the way to do it.” Mayorkas also said that some migrants may have poor information and that’s why they’re coming, possibly seeking Temporary Protected Status, but this isn’t available to anyone who arrived after July 29.

3. Ivey and governors want to meet with Biden over the border crisis

Twenty-six governors, including Governor Kay Ivey, have sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking for a meeting to address the crisis at the southern border as thousands continue to gather under the international bridge in Del Rio, Texas.
Ivey released a statement on the letter addressing how Biden has done little to solve the immigration crisis, and added, “[E]ight months of unenforced borders places us all at risk. It is past time we address the border crisis.” The letter requests that there be a meeting held so that a reasonable solution can be found.

2. UAB is hoping for vaccines for kids

Pfizer has been testing a potential coronavirus vaccine for children five to 11-years-old, and now some from the University of Alabama at Birmingham are pushing for the vaccine for the younger ages.
Co-director of the division of pediatric infectious disease at UAB Dr. David Kimberlin has said he’s “delighted” by the protection that the vaccine could be available to younger children by sometime in October. If approved for the five to 11 age group, the vaccine would be a 1/3 dose of what adults receive.

1. Alabama lawmaker looking to push back on vaccine requirements

A bill sponsored by State Representative Tommy Hanes (R-Bryant) would assist people in Alabama in claiming damages if they’re negatively affected by the coronavirus vaccine if the employers mandate it. This would allow people to sue their employer if there are “certain injuries or death.”
The bill specifically states that employees can seek damages for “adverse reaction, injury, or temporary or permanent disability arising from an employer mandate that he or she receive a vaccination for COVID-19,” as well as death. Hanes spoke in favor of the bill, saying, “I thought slavery ended in 1865. Mandating a vaccine is an invasion of personal privacy. Vaccines only provide protection to the recipient – it is a proven fact that [those] vaccinated [against] COVID-19 can still get the virus and can still spread it.” Hanes also argued that this could lead to more control in the future.