Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who has been among the defense industry’s most vocal proponents in Congress on the vaccine mandate, told CQ Roll Call the White House’s new approach to enforcement does not go far enough. The more relaxed approach to enforcement has not been sufficient for Republicans who oppose the mandates. With the servicemembers, DOD additionally faces the bad optics of disciplining personnel with exemplary service records, including combat tours.” “The number of employees refusing vaccination is small, but in a tight labor market with fragile supply chains, losing even a handful of skilled workers can cause serious disruption.
“The administration’s more flexible approach is sensible,” said Mark Cancian, a defense expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. They still insist on mandating vaccines but are now planning to enforce the edicts gradually and incrementally, if only because doing otherwise could set in motion adverse fallout - for national security and for the president’s political fortunes. With unease about the mandates rising and Republicans making political hay out of the concerns, administration officials have now been forced to straddle a line. The armed services, too, which are struggling to recruit and retain personnel, could lose thousands of servicemembers - a blow that in some services could be equivalent to losing a major base. That prospect is nowhere more daunting than in the defense sector, especially for small to midsize Pentagon contractors for which the departure of even a small percentage of skilled workers could have damaging effects on their business and on America’s arsenal. If so, thousands of federal civilians, contractors and uniformed personnel might be forced out of work. That has begged the question of whether firing those who do not comply will be effectively mandatory.
government contractors receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The administration is requiring that not just military personnel but also federal civilians and the employees of U.S. As the first deadline under federal vaccination orders hit Tuesday, for active-duty Air Force personnel, the Biden administration said firing those who refuse jabs should not be the first enforcement option.
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