U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., has written a letter to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) asking the agency to clarify its new mask guidance for vaccinated adults with young children.
Duckworth said the CDC seemed to be in a “rush for good news” when it said people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can ditch their masks in most places.
“You can still catch (COVID-19) and we have seen numerous instances of people who have been vaccinated, including other members of Congress who have then tested positive and were actually positive with it without even realizing it,” Duckworth said. “God forbid I bring that home to my kids who can’t be vaccinated.”
Duckworth said she is asking as both a U.S. Senator and a parent of children ages 3 and 6.
Children under age 12 are not yet eligible to receive the COVID vaccines. Vaccine trials for younger children are still underway.
Duckworth said she is still wearing a mask in public and will allow her staff with kids at home to continue working remotely.
Duckworth was a guest on IPR's The 21st Show.
Jan. 6 commission
Duckworth said she's not surprised to see Senate Republican leaders plan to block creation of a commission to investigate the U.S. Capitol attacks on Jan. 6.
Duckworth said Republicans seemed more willing to support the commission, and negotiated a few concessions, before former President Trump criticized the idea.
“If they vote as a bloc and vote no and block it, it’s going to be sending a clear message, in my opinion, that Republicans would rather stand with Donald Trump than with the truth and they would rather defend traitors and lies than defend our democracy and support our Capitol police officers,” Duckworth said.
Duckworth said Congress should learn how it can better equip and support the officers she calls heroes.
Infrastructure
Duckworth said she's optimistic the Biden administration can still get some Republican support for some of the bigger parts of his agenda, including infrastructure.
“There’s this tendency to basically be the Trump party and to be anti-anything that President Biden or any Democrat wants to do, but they do come forward from time to time and I think on infrastructure you are going to see some bipartisanship,” Duckworth said. “I really hope so because we are seeing it from some of the smaller bills.”
Duckworth referred to the Hate Crimes Act she helped champion following a rash of violence against Asian Americans. It passed the Senate in April on a 94-1 vote. As another example of bipartisanship, Duckworth noted a Senate committee’s approval on Wednesday of a $311 billion highway bill.
The two sides remain far apart on cost and scope for an infrastructure bill. Democrats want a $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan. Republicans latest counteroffer is about $900 billion. That plan focuses mostly on traditional infrastructure.
Afghanistan
Duckworth said she backs the Biden administration's plans for a complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11.
Duckworth said U.S. troops completed their mission and they should come home.
“We’ve been asking military men and women to do a mission that is not their job. It’s not their job to nation build,” Duckworth said. “They have been more than courageous. They have fought over the same plot of land over and over and again, losing friends, losing buddies.”
Duckworth said if the U.S. wants to continue to nation build in Afghanistan, it should consider additional funding for the State Department, rather than "hiding behind" military use authorizations that are nearly 20 years old.
