Today Rep. Ron Estes announces his guest for this year's State of the Union address to Congress, retired Col. Kevin Rainey, U.S. Air Force.
Col. Rainey served in the United States Air Force for nearly 29 years, including at McConnell Air Force Base. He now trains pilots for the KC-46 as a simulator contractor. During the pandemic, Col. Rainey voluntarily received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine but strongly disagreed with the Biden administration's vaccine mandate for service members and federal contractors. As a result of the mandate, Col. Rainey witnessed service members or potential service members violate their own conscience, choose early retirement or simply not join the armed forces, negatively affecting the readiness of the armed forces. As a simulator trainer for an integral tanker aircraft in the Air Force, this concerned Col. Rainey.
In response to stories like Col. Rainey's, Rep. Estes introduced the Restoring Normalcy in America Act. The legislation has five objectives: research, accountability, process, access and restoration.
"Good men and women like Col. Rainey have seen the unintended consequences of failed COVID-19 policies like the vaccine mandate, and while the policy has been rescinded, we still need to restore the service members whose mission was cut short by President Biden, and eliminate the mandate for other federal workers," said Rep. Estes. "I'm grateful for the service of Col. Rainey and appreciate him being in our nation's capital to highlight the need to restore normalcy in America."
"I'm not against vaccines, but I'm totally against vaccine mandates," said Col. Rainey. "We've lost men and women who were ready to serve our country because of President Biden's policies, and that's inhibited our ability to keep aircrews mission-ready, which in turn causes serious damage to America's national security. The service members who rejected Biden's mandate should be fully restored, and I'm glad Congressman Estes is working on getting them back."
The following are the five objectives of the Restoring Normalcy in America Act:
Research
Requires research into the effectiveness and lifespan of vaccines. Establishes criteria to determine how the transmission rate has varied over time. Compels the Department of Health and Human Services to determine America's level of preparedness for future pandemics. Seeks to discover the true origin of COVID-19.
Accountability
Audits HHS, FDA, and CDC regarding COVID funds allocated to determine what funds were expended, what funds remain, and what funds can be returned to Treasury.
Process
Ends the use of Emergency Use Authorizations for any COVID vaccine or treatment and forces any without full FDA approval to go through the process like any other medication or vaccination.
Access
Prevents any business from prohibiting entry or refusing service based solely on COVID vaccination status.
Restoration
Reinstates any service member or federal employee that was fired or discharged due to failure to comply with the mandate and requires that their records be expunged.
Rep. Estes also spoke on the House floor in January when introducing the Restoring Normalcy in America Act.
