Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) has reintroduced legislation to cut through the web of crony protections for COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers, Breitbart News learned exclusively Wednesday.
Roy’s LIABLE Act, first introduced in the 118th Congress, would remove federal liability protections for the COVID-19 vaccine – what Roy called “the most liability-protected vaccine on the market right now.”
The bill will allow Americans who took misleadingly promoted vaccines forced onto millions via federal mandates to pursue civil litigation for their injuries. These mandates were issued despite the fact the vaccines were given emergency use authorization unilaterally and did not go through the normal FDA approval process.
“The government-healthcare industrial complex’s response to COVID-19 was a tragedy for healthcare freedom,” Roy said in an exclusive statement to Breitbart News. “Millions of Americans were forced to choose between a largely untested vaccine or their livelihood, leading to many suffering a range of vaccine injuries as a result.”
“Few have been afforded proper recourse,” Roy continued, blaming the vaccine’s web of liability protections. “To date, only 50 injury cases have been opened and paid out, despite hundreds of millions of doses administered.”
Vaccine manufacturers enjoy wide-ranging liability protections from two federal laws, the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA) and the Public Readiness and Preparedness (PREP) Act.
NCVIA, signed into law in 1986, broadly shields vaccine manufacturers from liability except in cases of willful misconduct and created the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) as an alternative to civil litigation. That program, through which Americans can receive compensation for vaccine injuries, is funded by a $0.75 excise tax on applicable vaccines.
However, the PREP Act, enacted in 2005, created a separate liability protection system for HHS-designated “countermeasures” during a public health emergency. That law also created a separate fund for countermeasure injuries, the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP), which is subject to a one-year statute of limitations and under which compensation can only be provided for death or serious injuries.
Although the COVID-19 public health emergency has expired, COVID-19 vaccines are still designated by HHS as “countermeasures,” enabling PREP Act protections and loopholes denying relief for many vaccine injury victims.
Roy’s LIABLE Act both limits COVID-19 vaccine liability protections and preserves the ability to access preexisting compensation programs for those injured by vaccines. Importantly, those having sought or received compensation from existing funds will not be precluded from seeking compensation through the courts or accessing CICP compensation funds.
The law would be retroactive, ensuring that the hundreds of millions of people who received a COVID-19 vaccine before its enactment will be not prevented from seeking relief.
“The American people harmed by this deserve justice,” Roy told Breitbart News. “I am re-introducing the LIABLE Act to give Americans who were injured by the COVID-19 vaccines a chance to have their day in court and their injuries properly addressed.”
Roy’s cosponsors are Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY), Josh Brecheen (R-OK), Michael Cloud (R-TX), Clay Higgins (R-LA), Eli Crane (R-AZ), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), and Scott Perry (R-PA).
Bradley Jaye is Deputy Political Editor for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter and Instagram @BradleyAJaye
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