ATLANTA – Georgia filed another lawsuit Tuesday over President Joe Biden’s controversial COVID vaccine mandates, this time for healthcare workers.
Governor Brian Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr are trying to prevent the US Department of Health and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) from enforcing the mandate against employees in Medicare- and Medicaid-certified facilities.
More: Lawsuit argues that the AU would lose significant revenue to employees from the federal vaccine mandate
As with previous Kemp and Camp legal challenges, the new lawsuit alleges that the vaccine mandate is unlawful and unconstitutional.
According to the lawsuit, the order is:
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Exceeds the legal powers of CMS under the Social Insurance Act.
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Includes an unlawful attempt to oversee or control the practice of medicine in violation of federal law.
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Posted without statutory notice and commentary, violates the Congressional Review Act and is arbitrary and capricious.
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Issued in violation of federal law without consulting appropriate state and local authorities.
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Issued without public notice or comment for any new rules that will have a significant impact on rural hospitals.
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Violates the spending clause in that receiving federal funding is unconstitutional.
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Violates anti-commandering doctrine by instructing state officials to apply federal law.
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Violates the 10th Amendment because the federal government is not empowered to prescribe vaccines.
“After health care heroes went above and beyond to keep Americans safe and healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic, Joe Biden will now threaten their very existence if they refuse the COVID-19 vaccination,” Kemp became in one Quote from press release. “Another illegal mandate from this government will only exacerbate labor shortages in a critical needs area as we continue to balance the daily health needs of hardworking Georgians with the fight against COVID-19.”
The story goes on
Georgia has joined eleven other Republican-run states to file the lawsuit in the US District Court for the western district of Louisiana.
Last month, Kemp and Carr filed a lawsuit against the federal contractor’s vaccine mandate in the Southern District of Georgia. A hearing on plaintiffs’ motion for an injunction is scheduled for December 7th.
Earlier this month, Kemp and Carr also filed a lawsuit in the US 11th Court of Appeals to challenge a vaccine mandate for employers with 100 or more employees.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a Georgia Press Educational Foundation project.
This article originally appeared in the Augusta Chronicle: Georgia Joins Biden’s second COVID vaccine mandate lawsuit
