H.R 3044 No Vaccine Mandates in Higher Education is Incomplete
But if it is amended as we have requested, this bill could put an end to health science student COVID-19 vaccine mandates
As many of you already know, college COVID-19 vaccine mandates are over. The final 15 colleges ended their mandates in March after President Trump signed Executive Order Executive Order 14214 “Keeping Education Accessible and Ending COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates in Schools”.
However, as many of you also know, some colleges have not ended COVID-19 vaccine mandates for health science students. From medical doctors to dental hygienist, health science students are still being coerced to take COVID-19 vaccines either by their institution as a condition of enrollment or by the hospitals or clinical facilities where they must complete practicums, clinical rotations, internships, and residencies to graduate.
The question that has been on the mind of many parents, students, doctors, lawyers and advocates for months (and that has yet to be addressed by our federal government) is why are the health science teaching programs exempt from complying with EO 14214? Of it they are not exempt, why isn’t the Trump administration eliminating their federal funding as promised in EO 14214?
On April 25, 2025, Mark Messmer introduced H.R. 3044. This legislation codifies EO 14214 by promising to “withhold federal funds for any college or university that continues to mandate a required COVID-19 vaccination”. The bill was co-signed by 8 other members of Congress. It is a great start as it is generally harder for a future administration to reverse a bill that has become law rather than an Executive Order, but our position is that the bill as introduced is incomplete. No College Mandates along with several other signatories has formally requested that before this bill comes law, it should be amended.
For the bill to definitively end ALL COVID-19 vaccine mandates in higher education, it must be amended to explicitly include ALL teaching programs required for health science students to complete their degree. In other words, not only must federal funding be removed from ALL colleges, universities and other institutions that continue to mandate COVID-19 vaccines, but also ALL teaching programs at hospitals and clinical partners with whom these institutions contract to provide practical training so students can freely enter practicums, clinical rotations, internships, and residencies which all degree granting institutions require to graduate.
Last week, we mailed a letter to all the Congress members who are supporting this bill requesting very explicit amendments. We have had several communications with staffers at some of the Representatives offices, and given the positive feedback we continue to receive, we are hopeful that the Representatives are both willing to consider and incorporate our suggested amendments to H.R. 3044.
However, we can’t get them to devote proper attention to these amendments without your help. We need as many supporters as we can inspire to also write to the Representatives in favor of these amendments. If every subscriber to this Substack wrote to the Representatives in support of our proposed amendments to H.R. 3044 (and forwarded this Substack post to every supportive friend and family member), together we can elevate the importance of this matter, and we might just help put an end to health science student COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Below you will find a PDF of our letter. Rather than repeat the letter here, it speaks for itself. Please take a few moments to read it and understand its importance. Next take few moments to print the letter, write your own short letter or note in support of it, and send it to the Representatives listed below. In fact, I will repeat that this is the most critical part of my post because if we can get enough constituents supporting these amendments, the Representatives will give them more weight in their considerations as this bill makes its way to its first vote.
In addition, if you live in one of the Districts represented by these Representatives, you can submit online commentary. If you do not live in one of the Districts represented by these Representatives, the most effective way to comment is to send a letter, and we really hope that you find the time to help.
If you’ve never spoken out or taken action in support of ending student COVID-19 vaccine mandates, now is your opportunity, and it might just make all the difference.
Thank you for your support and please consider a donation to our work if you want us to continue doing it.
Below is a list of each of the Representatives supporting H.R. 3044; please write to them and/or comment directly from their websites if you are a constituent in their Districts.
The Honorable Mark Messmer (Indiana 8th District)
1208 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
https://messmer.house.gov/contact/
The Honorable August Pfluger (Texas 11th District)
2202 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
https://pfluger.house.gov/contact/
The Honorable Anna Paulina Luna (Florida 13th District)
226 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-0913
https://luna.house.gov/contact
The Honorable Andy Ogles (Tennessee 5th District)
151 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-4205
https://ogles.house.gov/address_authentication?form=/contact
The Honorable Stephanie Bice (Oklahoma 5th District)
2402 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
https://biceforms.house.gov/contact/
The Honorable Claudia Tenney (New York 24th District)
2230 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
https://tenney.house.gov/contact
The Honorable Paul Gosar, DDS (Arizona 9th District)
2057 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
https://gosar.house.gov/contact/
The Honorable Andrew Clyde (Georgia 9th District)
445 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
https://clyde.house.gov/contact/
The Honorable John Rose (Tennessee 6th District)
2238 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
https://johnrose.house.gov/address_authentication?form=/contact
MANY H.S. programs skirt this issue by say "we the college"... don't require it the "hospitals do" ... when in fact even hospitals have exemptions.....
Shared and submitting letters!