Two Republican members of Congress are paying a hefty price for refusing to wear a mask on the House floor.
Rep.Marjorie Taylor Greeneand Rep.Andrew Clyde— who both represent districts in Georgia — have been fined more than a whopping $100,000 for breaking the rule,according toThe New York Times.
A congressional mask mandate was implemented in January to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 among members and staff. The penalty for not masking up on the floor of the House is $500 for the first offense after a warning, and $2,500 for each subsequent offense.
Greene, 47, received a warning on May 18. On May 19, she was caught without a mask in the first of many violations that followed. By November, she’d racked up $48,000 in fines for ignoring the policy.
Now, theTimesreports that she’s been fined more than 30 times, while Clyde, 58, has been fined at least 14 times at a cost of at least $30,000.
She added that she will continue not wearing a mask, despite the fines, which will come out of her taxpayer-funded salary.
“I will continue my stand on the House floor against authoritarian Democrat mandates, because I don’t want the American people to stand alone,” the statement continued.
Clydecontested his finesin an October letter to Rep. Ted Deutch, a Florida Democrat who chairs the House Ethics Committee. “I respectfully request that my appeal be granted, and any citation related to a violation … be permanently voided,” he wrote, taking issue with how the rule is enforced and citing President Biden’s mask-free address to the House chamber in April.
A rep for Clyde did not respond to an email requesting comment.
The Georgia lawmakers aren’t the only ones who’ve been fined for violating the mask rule. Republicans Bob Good of Virginia, Brian Mast of Florida, Mary Miller of Illinois, Beth Van Duyne of Texas, Chip Roy of Texas, Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa have all faced at least one financial penalty, according to theTimes.
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was critical of the House’s renewed mask mandate during the summer, saying it was not based on science, despite the reinstatement coming from Capitol physician Brian Monahan.
Texas Rep.Ron Wright diedat 67 in February while hospitalized with a COVID-19 infection after previously being treated for lung cancer. In Dec. 2020, Louisiana Congressman-electLuke Letlow diedin an intensive care unit two weeks after testing positive for COVID and just days before he would have been sworn in. Letlow was 41.
source: people.com
