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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 899 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 899

 To prohibit the Federal Government from mandating vaccination against 
                    COVID-19 for interstate travel.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 21, 2023

   Mr. Lee (for himself, Mr. Braun, and Mr. Sullivan) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To prohibit the Federal Government from mandating vaccination against 
                    COVID-19 for interstate travel.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Let Me Travel America Act''.

SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY OF SURGEON GENERAL.

    Section 361 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 264) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to provide the 
Surgeon General, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, or any 
Federal agency with the authority to mandate vaccination against 
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a prerequisite for interstate 
travel, transportation, or movement.''.

SEC. 3. INTERSTATE COMMON CARRIERS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 805 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 80505. COVID-19 vaccination status
    ``(a) In General.--An entity described in subsection (b) may not 
deny service to any individual solely based on the vaccination status 
of the individual with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-
19).
    ``(b) Entity Described.--An entity referred to in subsection (a) is 
a common carrier or any other entity, including a rail carrier (as 
defined in section 10102, including Amtrak), a motor carrier (as 
defined in section 13102), a water carrier (as defined in that 
section), and an air carrier (as defined in section 40102), that--
            ``(1) provides interstate transportation of passengers; and
            ``(2) is subject to the jurisdiction of the Department of 
        Transportation or the Surface Transportation Board under this 
        title.
    ``(c) Savings Provision.--Nothing in this section applies to the 
regulation of intrastate travel, transportation, or movement, including 
the intrastate transportation of passengers.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 805 of title 49, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 80504 the following:

``80505. COVID-19 vaccination status.''.

SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act, or an amendment made by this Act, shall be 
construed to permit or otherwise authorize Congress or an executive 
agency to enact or otherwise impose a COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
                                 <all>
```