WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and 10 of her Republican colleagues released the following joint statement after advocating for provisions in the FY23 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would prevent the termination of servicemembers who did not receive a COVID-19 vaccine under the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate.

“In the United States, the number of new servicemembers joining the military is reaching a near record low. The United States needs a strong military to protect our country against the growing threats facing our nation. We are pleased that the final conferenced bill includes language mirroring our amendments’ efforts to protect troops from being fired due to Biden’s COVID vaccine mandate without fair appeal and to the harm of service readiness,” said Senators Fischer, Blackburn, Marshall, Hyde-Smith, Braun, Ernst, Tuberville, Crapo, Daines, Hoeven, and Risch.

The final text of the FY23 NDAA includes language that requires the Dept. of Defense fully rescind their COVID vaccine mandate 30 days after enactment.