Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said that he will reintroduce legislation that would bar the public transportation mask mandates on airplanes that were implemented earlier this year by the federal government.
His order directed several federal agencies to “immediately take action, to the extent appropriate and consistent with applicable law, to require masks to be worn in compliance with” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on airplanes, trains, buses, ferries, and other forms of public transportation.
That mandate has been left intact even after the CDC issued guidance in April saying that fully vaccinated people don’t have to wear face masks indoors.
“Since Jan. 1, 2021, the FAA has received approximately 3,271 reports of unruly behavior by passengers, including about 2,475 reports of passengers refusing to comply with the federal facemask mandate,” the agency wrote in a statement. “We have identified potential violations in 540 cases and have initiated enforcement action in 83 cases.”
But in recent months, there have been studies suggesting that mask-wearing can be detrimental to one’s health, namely among children.
“Most of the complaints reported by children can be understood as consequences of elevated carbon dioxide levels in inhaled air,” the study reads. “This is because of the dead-space volume of the masks, which collects exhaled carbon dioxide quickly after a short time. This carbon dioxide mixes with fresh air and elevates the carbon dioxide content of inhaled air under the mask, and this was more pronounced in this study for younger children.”
Paul, during a recent interview, argued that mask mandates—namely in schools—aren’t based on scientific data, coming after the CDC issued new guidance saying children who aren’t vaccinated should continue to wear masks when school starts in the fall.
Paul described the CDC’s latest guidance around schools as “basically advertisement and encouragement to get out of the government schools” and send children to private schools or opt to homeschool them.
“But don’t submit to the state, don’t submit to the government,” he said.