Bills
| 3.23.22

Should Congress Officially Support Vaccinations? (H. Res. 117)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is H. Res. 117?

(Updated November 15, 2020)

This bill seeks to throw Congressional approval behind vaccination.


In its lengthy preamble, this bill lays out the case for the importance of vaccination: It has eradicated smallpox; reduced the prevalence of other deadly diseases like measles and mumps; and reduced the spread of infectious diseases like the flu and shingles. Finally, it offers figures for the number of preventable deaths, and saved lives thanks to vaccines — there are lots of commas and zeroes.


The main part of the bill is a resolution, which, as the title suggests, commends every organization — businesses, healthcare facilities, churches — that have helped with the vaccination effort. It also states that:

  • Vaccines are essential for public health, and that public health crises can occur without widespread vaccination.
  • Congress encourages continued research on vaccines.
  • Parents should have their children vaccinated.

Argument in favor

The anti-vaccination movement is growing increasingly powerful, with increasingly dangerous results. It is critical that Congress shows its disapproval.

Argument opposed

Hey, people should be able to medicate their kids as they see fit. Besides, with Congress’s low approval rating, it’s not like this would do much to help the pro-vaccine argument.

Impact

Parents who are influenced by Congress, their children, pediatricians and other healthcare workers, people that work with children, Jenny McCarthy, and politicians with strong opinions on vaccines.

Cost of H. Res. 117

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In Depth:

This bill has a whopping 100 co-sponsors, ranging from Pacific Northwest bleeding hearts like Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and conservatives Tom Marino (R-PA), who helped Schiff introduce this bill. This could be in part because vaccination/anti-vaccination beliefs don’t fall along traditional partisan lines. The states with the highest vaccination rates are Mississippi, North Carolina and Hawaii, while Colorado, Pennsylvania and Arkansas have the lowest. Go figure.


The politicization of vaccines also has some implications for the 2016 presidential elections, specifically within the Republican party. Libertarian Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), who was an opthamologist, has said that vaccination should be voluntary. Jeb Bush, another White House hopeful supports blanket immunization. In the middle lies New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie who believes that vaccines are important, but some people should be allowed to not get them.


Of Note: 

In January of 2015, an outbreak of measles was reported in Disneyland. Though most of the cases were in California because Disneyland is, well, Disneyland, it spread to other states. Measles had been thought to be eradicated fifteen years ago.


The Disneyland outbreak is considered by many to be symptomatic of a growing movement of people who do not vaccinate their children out of a belief that vaccines cause autism or will give them diseases. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), there is no link between vaccines and autism.



Media:

Sponsoring Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) Press Release
Countable YouTube

The Hill


(Summary by James Helmsworth)
(Photo Credit: Flickr user Teddy Kwok)