People who are calling for renewed mask mandates, even for those who have had their COVID-19 vaccines, "obviously are not following the science and they do not believe in the efficacy of the vaccines," Sen. Marsha Blackburn said Friday on Newsmax.
"I think it's a bit of an overreach," the Tennessee Republican said on Newsmax's "National Report." "You are seeing (Speaker) Nancy Pelosi try to pull another power play. Bear in mind, since last March of 2020, what have we heard from these guys. They want lockdowns. They want you to wear gloves, to mask up, to socially distance."
Further, much of the renewed talk about masks is happening as the teachers unions hesitate about children going back to school, said Blackburn, who stressed she has been vaccinated and that she credits former President Donald Trump's Operation Warp Speed for getting the vaccines moving.
Blackburn also discussed the vote on the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, saying there are many concerns about the measure and how it will be funded.
"What you're seeing is $575 billion in new spending, above the baseline," said Blackburn. "You're at $1.2 trillion in spending and not sure you're going to be able to pay for it. This is a bill that the cost is going to land on our children and grandchildren to pay for it."
Meanwhile, the infrastructure bill is likely to be a big issue with the upcoming midterm elections, as people are pulling back their support when it's learned the cost for the measure will come back to future generations and will cause tax increases.
"That is where people begin to say, 'Oh no, wait a minute, we've got too much debt,'" said Blackburn. "We need to stop some of this federal spending and get the spending under control.
"So we know that that is where the American people are. They want us to be fiscally responsible. They're very concerned about the way the Biden administration has forced this spending since they took office. I mean, they're 190 days into this term, and they're already pushing us up to $30 trillion in debt."
Also on Friday, Blackburn was asked if she believes the Biden administration is working with Border Patrol agents concerning migrants coming into the United States and the dangers of further COVID infections.
"What we do know is this there are people from about 160 different countries that crossed the southern border ... the vaccination rates are very low from some of these countries from where people are coming," said Blackburn. "We know that many of the people who are crossing are very sick. Some of them do have COVID.
"They are being sent by air and bus travel to come to cities around the country and we are quite concerned when you see this combination of occurrences, the low vaccine rates, the sickness of people that are coming. They're being sent around the country to different areas. We are very concerned with what this is doing to or adding to the uptick of the delta variant."
Note: See Newsmax TV now carried in more than 100 million U.S. homes, on DirecTV Ch. 349, Dish Network Ch. 216, Xfinity Ch. 1115, Spectrum, U-verse Ch. 1220, FiOS Ch. 615, Frontier Ch. 115, Optimum Ch. 102, Cox cable, Suddenlink Ch. 102, Mediacom Ch. 277, AT&T TV Ch 349, FUBO and major OTT platforms like Roku, YouTube, Xumo, Pluto and most smart TV’s including Samsung+, Sony, LG, Vizio and more – Find All Systems that Carry Newsmax – Click Here
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.