What the US Senate Should Say

 The Brownstone Institute discusses the need for a resolution from the US Senate to address the consequences of COVID-19 response measures. There is a push from various groups for a formal acknowledgment of the missteps taken during the pandemic.

1. Need for Accountability: There is a call for an official voice to articulate the societal distress caused by pandemic policies.

2. Senate Resolution Proposal: A potential Senate resolution aims to repudiate harmful emergency measures taken during the pandemic and lay down principles for future public-health emergencies.

3. Mistakes Identified: The resolution drafts a list of mistaken actions during the pandemic, such as:

• School closures that harmed educational and mental health outcomes for children.

• Restrictions on non-essential businesses without proper justification.

• Forceful mask mandates lacking respect for bodily autonomy.

• Stay-at-home orders that restricted healthy individuals unduly.

• Restrictions affecting access to medical services beyond emergency needs.

• Dismissal of therapeutics and policies that disrupted property rights and contractual agreements.

4. Protection of Rights: The resolution emphasizes that constitutional rights should remain intact during emergencies, arguing against vaccine mandates and censorship.

5. Future Guidelines: It proposes principles for managing future public-health emergencies, such as:

• Emergency declarations should be time-limited and require congressional reauthorization beyond 30 days.

• No penalties or mandates should impact the public without legislative approval.

• Schools and places of worship should maintain operational status unless strict criteria are met.

• Transparency in data and modeling used for public health decisions.

• Compensation for businesses impacted by government orders.

6. Call for State Cooperation: The Senate urges states to adopt similar principles to ensure consistent policies across the country.

7. Acknowledgment of Suffering: The resolution conveys regret for the hardships faced by Americans during the pandemic due to misguided policies.

The proposed resolution serves both as a cautionary tale and a guiding document for future pandemic responses, aiming to avoid repeating past mistakes and protect individual freedoms. The Senate is being urged to formally recognize the lessons learned and ensure such incidents do not repeat to the detriment of civil liberties.

https://brownstone.org/articles/what-the-us-senate-should-say/