Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene introduced the “Fire Fauci Act” on Thursday to cut the government’s leading infectious diseases expert’s salary.
The Georgia Republican introduced the bill to reduce Dr. Anthony Fauci’s salary to $0 “until a new [National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases] Administrator is confirmed by the Senate,” according to a news release on Twitter.
The director of NIAID’s position is not subject to confirmation by the Senate, The Hill reported.
Greene’s bill points out that Fauci is the highest paid of all 4 million federal employees, including President Joe Biden, with a salary of $434,312.
It is not known at this time if cutting Fauci’s salary could be authorized even if the bill is passed.
The bill also directs the Government Accountability Office “to conduct a study about the correspondence, financials, and policy memos inside the NIAID before COVID through the end of this year.”
“This will allow us to see what Fauci and the NIAID knew, when they knew it, what they spent money on, and how the agency responded to the virus,” according to the news release.
🚨NEW BILL ALERT!🚨
The "#FireFauci Act" will slash the salary of Dr. Always Wrong to $0 and the "#WeWillNotComply Act" will ban vaccine "passports," prevent discrimination against the unvaccinated, and much more to protect the freedom of the American People. pic.twitter.com/JVR01lBID5
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) April 1, 2021
Greene simultaneously introduced the “We Will Not Comply Act” that would “ban vaccine ‘passports’” that have been proposed to show which Americans have been vaccinated.
The bill would “create the ability to sue if a person has been discriminated against on the basis of their vaccination status or mask compliance.”
The federal government and airlines would also not be allowed to require a COVID-19 vaccine for a passport, to travel or to attend a public college.
Vaccine passports have been proposed for those wanting to attend concerts and patronize reopened businesses, among other things.
“The passports are expected to be free and available through applications for smartphones, which could display a scannable code similar to an airline boarding pass,” The Washington Post reported.
Greene’s bills are not expected to pass the Democratic-controlled House and Senate.
However, a number of Republican lawmakers have clashed with Fauci over coronavirus mitigation efforts, like wearing masks even after vaccination.
A PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll released in mid-March showed that 30 percent of Americans do not plan to get vaccinated, including 49 percent of Republican men.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida has criticized the idea of vaccine passports.
“It’s completely unacceptable for either the government or the private sector to impose upon you the requirement that you show proof of vaccine to just simply be able to participate in normal society,” he said at a Monday news conference, according to NPR.
