H.R. 497 · 118th Congress

Freedom for Health Care Workers Act

Introduced on Jan 25, 2023 by Jeff Duncan (R-SC-3). 75 cosponsors, all from the sponsor's party. Latest action (Dec 17, 2024): Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
Jan 25, 2023
Cosponsors
75
0 from the other party
Policy area
Health
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

To eliminate the COVID-19 vaccine mandate on health care providers furnishing items and services under certain Federal health care programs.

Subjects

  • Administrative law and regulatory procedures
  • Cardiovascular and respiratory health
  • Health personnel
  • Immunology and vaccination
  • Infectious and parasitic diseases
  • Medicaid
  • Medicare

Summary

The Congressional Research Service has not summarized this measure yet.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Jeff DuncanR-SC-3Sponsor

Republicans · 75

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

  1. On Motion to Recommit
    Jan 31, 2023· House· Procedural· Failed 210–219
  2. On Passage
    Jan 31, 2023· House· Passage· Passed 227–203

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Jan 25, 2023Introduced in House
  2. Jan 25, 2023Introduced in House
  3. Jan 25, 2023 · HouseReferred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
  4. Jan 25, 2023 · HouseReferred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
  5. Jan 31, 2023 · HouseRules Committee Resolution H. Res. 75 Reported to House. Rule provides for consideration of H.J. Res. 7, H.R. 139, H.R. 382 and H.R. 497. All bills are considered under a closed rule with one hour of general debate and one motion to recommit.
  6. Jan 31, 2023 · HouseRule H. Res. 75 passed House.
  7. Jan 31, 2023 · HouseConsidered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 75. (consideration: CR H539-551)
  8. Jan 31, 2023 · HouseRule provides for consideration of H.J. Res. 7, H.R. 139, H.R. 382 and H.R. 497. All bills are considered under a closed rule with one hour of general debate and one motion to recommit.
  9. Jan 31, 2023 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with one hour of debate on H.R. 497.
  10. Jan 31, 2023 · HouseThe previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule.
  11. Jan 31, 2023 · HouseMs. Jacobs moved to recommit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce. (text: CR H548-551)
  12. Jan 31, 2023 · HouseThe previous question on the motion to recommit was ordered pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule XIX.
  13. Jan 31, 2023 · HousePOSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate on H.R. 497, the Chair put the question on the motion to recommit and by voice vote, announced that the noes had prevailed. Mr. Pallone demanded the yeas and nays and the Chair postponed further proceedings until a time to be announced.
  14. Jan 31, 2023 · HouseConsidered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H551-553)
  15. Jan 31, 2023 · HouseOn motion to recommit Failed by the Yeas and Nays: 210 - 219 (Roll no. 97).House · Roll call 97
  16. Jan 31, 2023Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by recorded vote: 227 - 203 (Roll no. 98). (text: CR H539)House · Roll call 98
  17. Jan 31, 2023 · HouseOn passage Passed by recorded vote: 227 - 203 (Roll no. 98). (text: CR H539)House · Roll call 98
  18. Jan 31, 2023 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  19. Feb 1, 2023 · SenateReceived in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
  20. Feb 3, 2023 · HouseReferred to the Subcommittee on Health.
  21. Dec 17, 2024 · HouseReferred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Who lobbied on it

Organizations whose lobbying reports (LD-2) name this measure. Spending is what they reported for those quarters on all issues, not on this measure alone.

  1. American Medical Association1 report
    $5.7M reported (all issues)Federal contractor: AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION$371K in contracts, FY2026AI match · 99%

Reports filed in 2023.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 5, 2026 · loaded Oct 5, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.
  • Money and votes are shown side by side; neither explains the other.