{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://clayhiggins.house.gov/2022/10/19/higgins-fighting-lsu-rotc-cadet-injured-bidens-covid-mandate/", "Higgins Fighting for LSU ROTC Cadet Injured by Biden\u2019s COVID Mandate", "2022-10-19", "2022", "2022-10", "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 today to President Biden and top Department of Defense (DOD) officials, demanding they preserve all documents related to the denial of LSU Reserve Officers\u2019 Training Corps (ROTC) Cadet Madison Burdett\u2019s request for a religious exemption to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.\n\n\u201cCadet Burdett\u2019s willingness to serve our nation makes her a true American patriot. She is unjustly being denied the opportunity to serve our nation based on a personal, religious decision,\u201d Congressman Higgins wrote. \u201cThe denial of her appeal just weeks ahead of her graduation will disenroll her from the ROTC program and prevent her from becoming eligible for commissioning as an officer in the future.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe United States Army\u2019s policy is clearly politically driven. You are all responsible for callously derailing the military careers of American servicemen by mandating COVID vaccinations that have proven to be not only ineffective, but dangerous to healthy individuals under 30, and medically quite controversial, based upon over 2 years of unbiased scientific research worldwide,\u201d continued Congressman Higgins. \u201cYour administration has persecuted Cadet Burdett and every other American Soldier, Sailor, Airman and Marine who has fallen to this unconscionable policy. It is shamefully abhorrent, and goes against the core principles that our nation represents. You should all resign, every one of you. As a senior member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, I promise a congressional inquiry into this disgraceful practice.\u201d\n\nTo aid with oversight investigations, Congressman Higgins directed that all e-mails, electronic documents, phone calls, handwritten documents, and other records of the decision be preserved.\n\nRead the full letter here", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T03:20:33Z"]], "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/2022/10/19/higgins-fighting-lsu-rotc-cadet-injured-bidens-covid-mandate/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6581509951502085, "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"}