{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://palmer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/palmer-sends-letter-assistant-secretary-labor-oppose-federal-vaccine", "Palmer Sends Letter to Assistant Secretary of Labor to Oppose Federal Vaccine Mandate", "2021-11-01", "2021", "2021-11", "Republican", "House", "AL", "Gary J. Palmer", "P000609", "palmer.house.gov", "palmer", "https://palmer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "For Immediate Release\n\nMedia Contact: Elizabeth Hance (202) 225-4921\n\nPalmer Sends Letter to Assistant Secretary of Labor to Oppose Federal Vaccine Mandate\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2013 Congressman Gary Palmer (AL-06) and several other congressional colleagues have sent a letter to Secretary Doug Parker, the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, to oppose a federal vaccine mandate on businesses across the country. On sending the letter, Congressman Palmer released the following statement:\n\n\u201cUnfortunately, this Administration must be reminded that religious rights and other freedoms are not forfeited during a pandemic,\u201d Palmer said. \u201cThe employer-employee relationship does not need intervention from a third federal party. Employees need their individual rights to be protected, not trampled upon by the government. I firmly believe this mandate is unconstitutional, and at the very least, we need to defend the rights of individuals who, for whatever deeply held beliefs, decide to refuse it. No one should be forced to choose between providing for their families and violating their conscience. Religious and other conscience exemptions are at the heart of the Constitution, which this Administration and every Member of Congress swore an oath to uphold and defend. This letter from my colleagues and me insists that at the least, individuals\u2019 freedoms must be respected and maintained when regulations on the mandate are finalized and published.\u201d\n\nThe full text of Congressman Palmer\u2019s letter to Secretary Parker can be viewed here.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:30:49Z"]], "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://palmer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/palmer-sends-letter-assistant-secretary-labor-oppose-federal-vaccine"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.895756995305419, "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"}