Press Releases

On Friday, Congressman Huizenga released the following statement on regarding H.R. 550. 

There has been a lot of misinformation about a vote on HR 550 that I took earlier this week and I wanted to clarify what the bill does and does not do. 

The Immunization Infrastructure Modernization Act, HR 550, is in no way, shape, or form related to a federal vaccine database or vaccine passport. In fact, the data contained in these state run systems has had all personally identifiable information removed from it. 

I have consistently opposed federal vaccine mandates and vaccine passports. In fact, I am an original cosponsor of H.J. Res 65, which would overturn OSHA’s vaccine mandate. I have also help lead efforts to overturn the CMS vaccine mandate as well as support legislation blocking mandates for federal employees and contractors.

This legislation is necessary because when President Biden’s first multi-trillion dollar proposal called the American Rescue Plan, which I voted against, was enacted it included funding to modernize IIS databases. However that bill lacked explicit legal definitions for what “modernization” meant. The Immunization Infrastructure Modernization Act actually limits what the Biden Administration can do using American Rescue Plan funding.

The state-level IIS databases have been in use for decades. This legislation actually bolsters their cyber defense, enhances the privacy of Americans, and prevents the Biden Administration from repurposing the IIS and using it to enforce vaccine mandates.

Protecting personal liberties and stopping an overbearing government are two of the main reasons I ran for Congress in the first place. I will continue to stand up for West Michigan workers, families, small business owners, and healthcare providers by fighting against these coercive mandates.

This statement was made available on Facebook on Friday and in a Twitter Thread on Saturday.