The Biden administration will not require “vaccine passports” by law, but is willing to “support” companies looking for the technology, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Sunday.
“We don’t see this as the role of government, creating or enforcing any kind of vaccine passport, but these technologies exist,” Buttigieg He told CNN’s Jake Tapper when asked if he supported airlines that require customers to provide vaccination documentation in order to be able to fly.
“The private sector is working on it,” Buttigieg said. “We are interested in following this, providing any kind of technical advice or assistance when needed.”
The transportation secretary said the Biden and CDC administration would provide recommendations to airlines to make decisions on their own about “what they believe is right: protecting their passengers, protecting their workers, and consolidating that trust in the security of American travel. “
“Right now, what we’re seeing is, thankfully, that the guidelines reflect progress on vaccinations,” he told Tapper.
Republican Party leaders across the country have pledged to fight the “vaccine passports,” which House Minority leader Kevin McCarthy called Friday “something that was expected in Communist China.” .
“Thanks to the safe vaccines of Operation Warp Speed, we will defeat the virus. But forcing Americans to carry a “vaccine passport” to make everyday life unacceptable in a free society, “McCarthy posted to Twitter.
Meanwhile, Texas and Florida governors have banned state agency companies from requiring vaccine documentation.