Senate vaccine mandate vote shows Congressional weakness on regulations

December 14, 2021

Last week, the Senate voted 52-48 to use the Congressional Review Act to repeal the regulations issued by OSHA to mandate vaccines or COVID-19 testing in workplaces with more than 100 employees.  The vote generated headlines but the impact of the vote on actual COVID-19 vaccine policy is zero.

The Congressional Review Act allows Congress to pass resolutions of disapproval of executive branch regulations without having to worry about the filibuster in the Senate (yes, the same people who zealously defend the filibuster are happy to see it waived in policy areas where they would like quick Congressional action). It has generally only been successfully used at the beginning of a presidential administration to repeal regulations from the previous president. 

Opinion by Stuart Shapiro, The Hill, December 13, 2021

Recent Posts

Wolff and Lewis Pen Chapter on PSD and Trauma-Informed Care

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Trauma-Informed Care Introduction Prison and jail populations have dense and patterned concentrations of childhood and adult trauma (Wolff, 2022). The maturing effects of childhood trauma have been extensively studied for decades,...

EJB Talks: Alumnus Helps Rethink Jersey City’s Public Spaces

Alumnus Helps Rethink Jersey City's Public Spaces: A Conversation with Barkha Patel MCRP '15 Dean Stuart Shapiro talks to alumnus Barkha Patel, MCRP '15 this week on EJB Talks. Initially a sociology undergraduate at Rutgers, Barkha discusses how a chance visit by Dean...

NJSPL Report: Equity Initiatives in the United States

Report Release: Equity Initiatives in the United States Read Report The New Jersey State government proactively advances equity through its Office of Equity in the Office of the Governor, and through budget initiatives such as the “Cover all Kids” program ensuring...

Adrian Ponichtera is recipient of Ververides Scholarship

Adrian Ponichtera (MCRP '26) is the recipient of the New Jersey County Planners Association's George Ververides Honorary Scholarship. The scholarship is open to New Jersey residents entering their third or fourth year of undergraduate study or advanced degrees at a...

Bhuyan & Broom Publish New Healthcare Management Textbook

  Soumitra Bhuyan, Executive Director of Health Administration Programs and Associate Professor at Rutgers University-New Brunswick’s Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, is the co-editor of a new textbook Fundamentals of Healthcare...