By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Northern Missouri Congressman Sam Graves wants the Biden Administration to end the transportation mask mandate.
Graves, the ranking Republican on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, leads 129 House Republicans in asking the administration to rescind its extension of the mask mandate on airplanes and public transportation.
“The rules simply don’t make sense anymore,” Graves tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “Why should folks have to wear a mask on public transportation or in an airport or on an airplane when they are not required to wear one at say, a concert, or even President Biden’s own State of the Union address?”
Graves charges the mandate has nothing to do with public health.
“This isn’t about controlling the COVID virus,” Graves says. “It’s about controlling people and it needs to stop.”
And Graves charges the administration is engaging in a double standard.
“It’s a double standard and people are sick of the double standard where they follow the rules and politicians and celebrities seem to get a free pass,” according to Graves. “This has simply gotten out of hand and we need to end these ridiculous mandates.”
Graves, who is a pilot, says masks should never have been require during flights.
“Aircraft is also one of the safest in terms of air filtration places that you can be,” Graves says, “because the air is turned over so quickly, so much, while you are in the air and filtered, it’s just not a problem.”
In addition, 21 Republican-led states have filed suit against the administration in an effort to end the mandate.