{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://clayhiggins.house.gov/2021/08/09/higgins-urges-dod-halt-covid-vaccine-mandate-us-armed-forces/", "Higgins Urges DOD to Halt COVID Vaccine Mandate for U.S. Armed Forces", "2021-08-09", "2021", "2021-08", "Republican", "House", "LA", "Clay Higgins", "H001077", "clayhiggins.house.gov", "clayhiggins", "https://clayhiggins.house.gov/category/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) delivered a letter to U.S. Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin today urging him not to institute COVID vaccine mandates for active-duty military personnel in the U.S. Armed Forces.\n\n\u201cAs you know, the current vaccines being utilized in the U.S. and internationally lack full Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approval, with their use only being authorized under an Emergency Use Authorization,\u201d wrote Congressman Higgins. \u201cCurrent federal law prohibits mandatory vaccinations for military personnel without full FDA approval.\u201d\n\n\u201cProtecting Constitutional freedoms and preventing oppression of American rights is our glorious duty. Be advised\u2026 any failure of administration officials to follow federal law will warrant a full Congressional response,\u201d Congressman Higgins continued. \u201cFurther, the current reported plan to force vaccinations on military personnel prior to full FDA approval will rightfully bring forth a strong Article III challenge on many fronts. This is still America, good Sir. Freedom matters.\u201d\n\nThe full text of the letter is available below or as a pdf here.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:11:17Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://clayhiggins.house.gov/2021/08/09/higgins-urges-dod-halt-covid-vaccine-mandate-us-armed-forces/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8542020805180073, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}