Sponsors (2)
This bill restores individual choice and removes federal mask enforcement on public transportation, clarifying federal policy and avoiding federal penalties, but does so at the cost of higher public-health risk for travelers and potential local economic and legal disruptions.
Passengers and transit workers no longer face a federal requirement to wear masks on planes, trains, buses, and in transportation hubs, restoring individual choice about masking.
Passengers and carriers are protected from federal enforcement actions and penalties tied to the rescinded CDC/TSA mask orders, reducing the risk of federal travel sanctions or penalties for noncompliance.
Carriers and local authorities get immediate federal clarification by rescinding the specified orders, reducing short-term regulatory uncertainty about federal mask mandates.
Passengers and transit workers — especially older adults and people with chronic conditions — lose federally mandated mask protections, increasing the risk of respiratory virus transmission in crowded transportation settings.
Local authorities and carriers may face increased COVID‑19/respiratory outbreaks that cause staff shortages, service reductions, and other operational or economic disruptions.
States, localities, and carriers that want to require masks may face legal and operational uncertainty and a patchwork of inconsistent rules because federal preemption of mask policy is removed and the bill broadly prohibits federal requirements.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Bars federal agencies from requiring COVID-19 face masks on conveyances or in transportation hubs and immediately voids the CDC Jan 29, 2021 order and listed TSA directives.
Introduced January 3, 2025 by Andrew S. Biggs · Last progress January 3, 2025
Prohibits federal agencies from requiring people to wear COVID-19 face masks on any conveyance (as defined in federal travel health rules) or while at transportation hubs. It immediately voids the CDC mask order issued January 29, 2021 and specified TSA orders and directives, removing their legal force on enactment.