Since President Biden announced his vaccine mandate for all businesses with 100 or more employees, hundreds of people have contacted my office to share their opposition. Governor Ricketts ordered state agencies under his control to not enforce the vaccine mandate, and Attorney General Peterson joined a lawsuit to stop the vaccine mandate for federal contractors and federally contracted employees. These are steps in the right direction, but it is not enough to protect Nebraskans from this federal overreach. 

We need to bring the Legislature together for a special session. Neb. Rev. Stat. 50-125 says that whenever ten or more senators send a request for a special session in writing to the Secretary of State, the Secretary shall notify the rest of the Legislature and ask if they desire to convene for a special session. If 33 senators agree, then the Secretary of State shall relay the information to the Governor, who has agreed to call a special session if 33 senators support it. On October 19th, I joined a bipartisan group of 26 senators in sending a letter to the Nebraska Secretary of State requesting a special session “for the purpose of adopting legislation to prohibit employers from mandating COVID-19 vaccines and legislation to prohibit governmental and/or educational entities from mandating COVID-19 vaccines as a condition of receiving services.” At the close of business on November 1, we will find out if 33 senators support a special session to ban vaccine mandates.

Opposing vaccine mandates is not the same as opposing vaccines. Receiving the COVID-19 vaccine is YOUR choice- it’s not the federal government’s place to decide for you. The federal government, for the first time in history, has created a blanket mandate through an executive order with almost zero exceptions. This sets a precedent that goes far beyond the childhood immunization requirements for school, and opens the door for far more expansive executive orders in the future. Do I believe it is healthy to get the vaccine? Yes. But so is regular exercise, eating vegetables, and drinking eight cups of water per day- yet we don’t pass federal mandates on those behaviors because it clearly infringes on individual freedom.

As always, I welcome your input on issues important to you. Follow along on my Facebook and Twitter pages, both entitled “Senator Julie Slama” for more updates, or contact me directly at Senator Julie Slama, District 1 State Capitol, PO Box 94604, Lincoln NE 68509-4604; telephone: 402-471-2733; email: jslama@leg.ne.gov.