Senate Resolution 7 - Introduced SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 7 BY SALMON , ZAUN , WESTRICH , McCLINTOCK , LOFGREN , GUTH , J. TAYLOR , KRAAYENBRINK , GREEN , and ALONS A Resolution condemning the federal vaccination mandate 1 for members of the military and urging state and 2 federal authorities to take remedial actions for 3 negatively impacted service members. 4 WHEREAS, the Iowa Army and Air National Guard 5 provide vital services and keep the citizens of Iowa 6 and the United States secure in times of emergency; and 7 WHEREAS, the Biden Administration and U.S. Secretary 8 of Defense Lloyd Austin previously issued an arbitrary 9 order that Iowa Army and Air National Guard service 10 members must be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus 11 as a condition of their service to the state and 12 nation; and 13 WHEREAS, said vaccination mandates made recruiting 14 efforts difficult, compromising the readiness of the 15 Iowa Army and Air National Guard, and violating the 16 personal freedoms of our guardsmen to make their own 17 medical decisions; and 18 WHEREAS, while the U.S. Department of Defense has 19 been authorized approximately 2.1 million uniformed 20 personnel, according to December 20, 2022, Department 21 of Defense data, the department has fallen short by 22 99,805 fully vaccinated members; of that number, 26,145 23 personnel are partially vaccinated and 73,660 positions 24 have no possible vaccinated person to take the position 25 at all; and 26 WHEREAS, the congressionally required total armed 27 -1- LSB 2435XS (6) 90 dg/rn 1/ 5

S.R. 7 forces to protect national security interests could 28 not be met while the vaccination mandate was in place 1 without adding ranks of those who are being denied 2 religious exemptions or compromising the principles of 3 an all-volunteer force at its core; and 4 WHEREAS, thousands of service members in all 5 branches of the United States military who chose not 6 to receive the COVID-19 vaccinations were being denied 7 medical and religious exemptions on the grounds of 8 readiness, however, unvaccinated members who are 9 otherwise healthy were often forced to separate 10 from service, which was a greater threat to military 11 readiness; and 12 WHEREAS, beyond their years of experience, the 13 military stands to lose members with costly specialized 14 training; in the case of Wilson v. Austin alone, 15 250 pilots at an average cost of $5.4 million in 16 training may be purged, causing catastrophic financial 17 losses; and 18 WHEREAS, according to federal law, and subsequently 19 published in Department of Defense policy, it is 20 an unlawful order to require a service member to be 21 vaccinated with emergency use authorization-labeled 22 vaccines; and 23 WHEREAS, all COVID-19 vaccines are labeled Emergency 24 Use Authorization and required by federal law to 25 be made optional, and not required, for all service 26 members; and 27 WHEREAS, various other treatment options for 28 COVID-19 exist and have been acknowledged by government 29 -2- LSB 2435XS (6) 90 dg/rn 2/ 5

S.R. 7 agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration and 30 the Centers for Disease Control; and 1 WHEREAS, numerous harmful effects of the vaccine 2 have been acknowledged as evident in adverse event 3 tracking databases, and known as side effects by the 4 Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of 5 Health, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 6 who subsequently enlisted assistance from various 7 social media outlets to subdue the truth and cover it 8 up; and 9 WHEREAS, service members waiting for or being denied 10 exemptions have faced discrimination, court martial, 11 and forced separation, while others have determined 12 they can no longer renew their contract to serve, 13 further exacerbating the already declining military 14 numbers; and 15 WHEREAS, military medical whistle-blowers attempting 16 to give truthful facts regarding COVID-19 and the 17 vaccine have suffered adverse discriminatory acts 18 and been subjected to various career-threatening 19 punishments including private medical data being 20 made public, withholding promotions or assignments, 21 involuntary separation, court martials, career-ruining 22 assignments, administrative reprimands, and 23 non-judicial punishment; and 24 WHEREAS, those with medical exemptions or seeking 25 religious exemptions were temporarily exempt, but 26 barred from deployment as the COVID-19 vaccine was 27 a “nonwaiverable” requirement for each geographic 28 combatant command, and their freedoms and careers 29 -3- LSB 2435XS (6) 90 dg/rn 3/ 5

S.R. 7 continue to be impacted; and 30 WHEREAS, the majority of Federal District Court 1 and U.S. Court of Appeals rulings have upheld the 2 complaints of service members against the Department of 3 Defense, alleging a violation of the Constitution and 4 federal statutes in processing and denying religious 5 accommodation requests; and 6 WHEREAS, all service members took an oath to support 7 and defend the Constitution and are not required 8 to obey unlawful orders, but have had their own 9 constitutional rights and freedoms violated by their 10 superiors; NOW THEREFORE, 11 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, That the Senate 12 urges the governor to act as follows to mitigate 13 the arbitrary and unjustified action of the Biden 14 Administration in requiring COVID-19 vaccinations of 15 Iowa Guardsmen as a condition of service to our great 16 state and to our nation: 17 a. Reinstate the Iowa Army and Air National Guard 18 members with back pay and full benefits who have 19 refused the COVID-19 vaccine. 20 b. Publicly condemn any firings and nonpay status 21 of Iowa Army and Air National Guard members. 22 c. Issue salary payments to the Iowa Army and Air 23 National Guard members who are on a no-pay status 24 relative to state active duty orders for refusing the 25 COVID-19 vaccination. 26 d. Request the Iowa Adjutant General, Major General 27 Benjamin Corell, to halt any further firings of Iowa 28 Army and Air National Guard members who have refused 29 -4- LSB 2435XS (6) 90 dg/rn 4/ 5

S.R. 7 the COVID-19 vaccine, including those with medical or 30 religious exemptions; and 1 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Senate commends the 2 various advocacy groups such as the Liberty Counsel, 3 First Liberty, Alliance for Free Citizens, Thomas More 4 Society, and others who selflessly provided legal 5 representation in federal district and appellate 6 court to those seeking exemptions from the COVID-19 7 mandate; and 8 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Senate commends the 9 Governor for requesting that the federal government 10 withdraw vaccine mandates for National Guard 11 members; and 12 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Senate commends 13 members of the U.S. Congress for rescinding the mandate 14 in the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization 15 Act, and urges them to take further action to make 16 whole those military members who were negatively 17 affected by the COVID-19 vaccine mandate through 18 compensatory measures such as noncompetitive promotion, 19 back pay, full benefits, and a change allowing the 20 COVID-19 vaccine to be a waiverable requirement for 21 deployment. 22 -5- LSB 2435XS (6) 90 dg/rn 5/ 5