WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton voted Wednesday to nullify a federal covid vaccination rule directed at larger companies, helping the Senate pass a formal objection to a high-profile vaccination requirement from the Biden administration.
The push-back to the requirement comes as Arkansas' coronavirus vaccination levels continue to lag behind dozens of states nationwide.
Half of Arkansas' total population is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus – the eighth-lowest state-level rate in the nation, according to Wednesday data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In a 52-48 vote, Senate Republicans were joined by two Democrats as they passed a resolution to negate a rule from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The rule would require employees at companies with 100 or more employees to get the coronavirus vaccine by early next year or receive weekly testing for the virus.
Large companies, under the rule, would also be required to give their workers paid time off to get the vaccine, according to the White House.
OSHA has announced it suspended its implementation of the rule as litigation against the requirement plays out.
Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin from West Virginia and Jon Tester from Montana joined Republicans in backing the resolution.
Republicans say the rule is a government overreach and would push workers out of their jobs. Doctors and medical associations have come out in support of the requirement, saying vaccine mandates are effective and the nation needs to increase its vaccination rate significantly.
If it goes forward, the requirement would be expected to cover an estimated 84 million workers.
The disapproval resolution is being brought under the Congressional Review Act, which allows lawmakers to overturn a rule issued by a federal government agency, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Some Republicans have suggested that employees would have to be let go if they do not get the vaccine.
The OSHA rule would not force workers to get vaccinated. Instead, under the rule, unvaccinated employees would have to receive regular testing for the virus.
Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, said the OSHA rule is counterproductive and beyond the authority of the constitution.
"My conversations with normal Arkansans, as well as polling data and focus group data that I've seen, suggests the last thing most Arkansans want is another politician suggesting what they should do with their personal health," he said in an interview Wednesday.
Cotton recommended that Arkansas residents get themselves informed about the vaccines, get the latest news on the coronavirus and speak with their doctors. Cotton declined to offer an opinion on the state's vaccination rate.
Boozman said the state's vaccination rate is not good enough, but he's opposed to the rule in part because he says it puts larger companies at a disadvantage. In an interview Wednesday, the senator said he would rather see an incentive approach.
"I think we have a lot better probability of getting people through education, through various incentives," he said.
"I am very much in favor of vaccination. Not mandated, but in favor of vaccination," he said.
Meanwhile, doctors and dozens of medical associations are backing the OSHA rule, describing the requirement as reasonable.
In a statement last month, they noted that vaccines are effective at stopping coronavirus deaths and hospitalizations.
"From the first day of this pandemic, businesses have wanted to vanquish this virus. Now is their chance to step up and show they are serious," the organizations said in the statement. "Implementing these commonsense OSHA standards is an important step for our workers, businesses, and the nation as a whole."
The American Medical Association and the American Public Health Association were among the organizations who signed onto the statement.
Some of the nation's most well-known companies have also embraced vaccine mandates, too.
In August, Tyson Foods told its 120,000 U.S. workers that they must be vaccinated by Nov. 1 and a month ago said more than 96% of its workforce was vaccinated.
Walmart, the nation's largest private employer, required vaccinations of employees in its Bentonville headquarters and also of managers who travel in the United States.