What This Bill Does
This bill stops the federal government from issuing vaccine passports (a standardized document showing someone's COVID-19 vaccination status to others). It also prohibits businesses from requiring customers to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or recovery before providing products or services. The bill places restrictions on federal workers and schools that receive federal money.
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Who It Affects
- The federal government and its employees
- State, tribal and local governments that receive federal funding
- Businesses and other entities that provide products or services
- Schools (kindergarten through college) that receive federal education funding
- Students and their parents
- Customers and patrons of businesses
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Key Provisions
- The federal government cannot issue vaccine passports or require vaccination documentation from people seeking federal services or benefits (Sec. 2(a)(1))
- Federal employees cannot be required to receive a COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of employment, except for Department of Defense employees (Sec. 3)
- Businesses providing products or services cannot require customers to show COVID-19 vaccination or recovery documentation, with exceptions for schools and health care providers (Sec. 2(b)(1))
- Schools receiving federal education money that mandate COVID-19 vaccines must offer four types of exemptions: religious, medical, conscience-based and natural immunity exemptions (Sec. 4(a))
- People denied service or discriminated against can sue in federal court and may recover attorney's fees if they win (Sec. 2(b)(4))
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What Changes
If this becomes law, the federal government stops issuing vaccine passports. Businesses must stop asking customers for vaccine or recovery documentation. Schools receiving federal funds that require COVID-19 vaccines must allow students to opt out through religious, medical, conscience or natural immunity exemptions. Federal workers (except Department of Defense) cannot be required to get a COVID-19 vaccine to keep their jobs.
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Important Definitions
- **Vaccine passport:** any standardized documentation created to prove someone's COVID-19 vaccination status to another person. This excludes health care records (Sec. 2(a)(3))
- **School:** kindergarten, elementary school, secondary school or college/university that is public or private (Sec. 4(c)(3))
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 772
To prohibit the Federal Government from issuing vaccine passports, to pro-
hibit businesses from discriminating against patrons and customers by
requiring documentation certifying COVID–19 vaccination, or post-trans-
mission recovery, as a condition on the provision of products or services,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 2, 2023
Mr. DAVIDSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Oversight and Accountability, and in addition to the Commit-
tees on Energy and Commerce, and Education and the Workforce, for a
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned
A BILL
To prohibit the Federal Government from issuing vaccine
passports, to prohibit businesses from discriminating
against patrons and customers by requiring documenta-
tion certifying COVID–19 vaccination, or post-trans-
mission recovery, as a condition on the provision of prod-
ucts or services, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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•HR 772 IH
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
1
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Vaccine Passport Pre-
2
vention Act of 2023’’.
3
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION AGAINST VACCINE PASSPORTS.
4
(a) NO
GOVERNMENT-ISSUED
VACCINE
PASS-
5
PORTS.—
6
(1) FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT.—The Federal
7
Government shall not—
8
(A) issue any vaccine passport; or
9
(B) discriminate against any person by re-
10
quiring documentation certifying COVID–19
11
vaccination, or post-transmission recovery, as a
12
condition on the provision of any service or ben-
13
efit.
14
(2) STATE,
TRIBAL,
AND
LOCAL
GOVERN-
15
MENTS.—
16
(A) PROHIBITION.—As a condition on re-
17
ceipt of any Federal funds made available by or
18
under any of the Acts listed in subparagraph
19
(B), no State, Tribal, or local government
20
shall—
21
(i) issue any vaccine passport; or
22
(ii) discriminate against person by re-
23
quiring documentation certifying COVID–
24
19 vaccination, or post-transmission recov-
25
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•HR 772 IH
ery, as a condition on the provision of any
1
service or benefit.
2
(B) SPECIFIED ACTS.—The Acts listed in
3
this subparagraph are the following:
4
(i) The Coronavirus Preparedness and
5
Response
Supplemental
Appropriations
6
Act, 2020 (Public Law 116–123).
7
(ii) The Families First Coronavirus
8
Response Act (Public Law 116–127).
9
(iii) The CARES Act (Public Law
10
116–136).
11
(iv) The Paycheck Protection Pro-
12
gram and Health Care Enhancement Act
13
(Public Law 116–139).
14
(v) The American Rescue Plan Act of
15
2021 (Public Law 117–2).
16
(C) EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph (A) does
17
not apply with respect to a school, including
18
any kindergarten, elementary school, secondary
19
school, and institution of higher education.
20
(3) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term
21
‘‘vaccine passport’’—
22
(A) means any standardized documenta-
23
tion for the purpose of certifying an individual’s
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•HR 772 IH
COVID–19 vaccination status to a third party;
1
and
2
(B) excludes any documentation to the ex-
3
tent it is issued for the purpose of health care
4
records.
5
(b) NO DISCRIMINATION IN PROVISION OF PROD-
6
UCTS AND SERVICES.—
7
(1) PROHIBITION.—No entity providing any
8
product or service in or affecting interstate com-
9
merce shall require any patron or customer to pro-
10
vide any documentation certifying COVID–19 vac-
11
cination, or post-transmission recovery, as a condi-
12
tion on the provision of such product or service.
13
(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) does not apply
14
with respect to the provision of—
15
(A) education by any school, including any
16
kindergarten,
elementary
school,
secondary
17
school, and institution of higher education; or
18
(B) health care products and services.
19
(3) PENALTY.—Whoever is found in a civil ac-
20
tion to enforce this subsection to be in violation of
21
paragraph (1) shall be ineligible to be awarded, dur-
22
ing the 2-year period beginning on the date on which
23
such finding becomes final, any Federal grant or
24
contract.
25
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•HR 772 IH
(4) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—
1
(A) IN GENERAL.—Any person who is de-
2
nied a provision or service, or who is discrimi-
3
nated against in the provision of a product or
4
service, in violation of paragraph (1), may com-
5
mence a civil action in an appropriate district
6
court of the United States to seek injunctive re-
7
lief with respect to such violation.
8
(B) REASONABLE COSTS.—In a civil action
9
under subparagraph (A), the court may allow
10
the prevailing party reasonable costs, including
11
attorney’s fees.
12
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON VACCINATION AS A CONDITION
13
OF FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT.
14
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Government shall
15
not require that a Federal employee receive a COVID–
16
19 vaccine as a condition of employment.
17
(b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) does not apply with
18
respect to employees of the Department of Defense.
19
SEC. 4. REQUIRED EXEMPTIONS FOR CERTAIN SCHOOLS
20
MANDATING COVID–19 VACCINE.
21
(a) IN GENERAL.—If a school requires a student to
22
receive a COVID–19 vaccine as a condition on enrollment
23
or continued enrollment, the Secretary of Education may
24
not award any financial assistance to such school, directly
25
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•HR 772 IH
or indirectly through a State educational agency or local
1
educational agency, unless the school provides the fol-
2
lowing exemptions from such requirement:
3
(1) RELIGIOUS EXEMPTION.—Based on an ob-
4
jection in good faith that immunization would violate
5
the student’s religious beliefs.
6
(2) MEDICAL EXEMPTION.—Based on a certifi-
7
cation—
8
(A) by a physician that immunization of
9
the student is medically inadvisable; or
10
(B) by a public health authority of the rel-
11
evant State or locality that immunization for
12
students in a category in which such student
13
belongs is medically inadvisable.
14
(3) REASONS
OF
CONSCIENCE
EXEMPTION.—
15
Based on an objection in good faith that immuniza-
16
tion would violate reasons of conscience.
17
(4) NATURAL
IMMUNITY
EXEMPTION.—Based
18
on the student having had COVID–19 and acquired
19
natural immunity.
20
(b) FORM.—An objection or certification described in
21
paragraph (1), (2), (3), or (4) of subsection (a) shall be
22
submitted in writing to the chief official of the school by,
23
as applicable, the student or the student’s parent or legal
24
guardian.
25
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•HR 772 IH
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
1
(1) The terms ‘‘elementary school’’ and ‘‘sec-
2
ondary school’’ have the meanings given to such
3
terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec-
4
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
5
(2) The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’
6
has the meaning given to such term in section 101
7
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
8
1001).
9
(3) The term ‘‘school’’ means a public or pri-
10
vate kindergarten, a public or private elementary
11
school or secondary school, or an institution of high-
12
er education.
13
Æ
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