House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) joined Fox Business Network’s Mornings with Maria this morning to discuss the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s harmful and inconsistent guidelines for children in schools across the country. Whip Scalise called out Democrats for caving to teachers union bosses instead of listening to the science on whether students should be wearing masks in the classroom. Additionally, Whip Scalise highlighted students’ declining mental health and academic performance because of these lockdowns and mandates. Whip Scalise also called out Democrats for not holding a hearing on the origins of COVID-19 and for being soft on China when their country likely caused this pandemic. Whip Scalise emphasized that House Republicans will lead a vigorous investigation into COVID’s origin and if American taxpayer dollars were used in developing the coronavirus in Wuhan, China.
On Select Subcommittee Republicans demanding that the CDC explain its mask rules for kids:

“Maria, it’s good to be with you. But it’s really concerning to see how the CDC continues [to operate]. They’ve changed so many times on how kids have to be kind of managed in schools by each school system. And look, there are a lot of school systems across America that have been doing just fine by having the kids in the classroom without masks. There are all kinds of studies out there, and there’s a lot of science that shows that kids are being harmed not only by being kept out of the classroom but also by having to wear masks at such a young age. It hurts their ability to learn. Even reading the facial expressions of teachers, seeing their fellow classmates.

“And so when you look, Los Angeles is a great example. Over the weekend, the [Governor of California] can be hanging out at a football game without a mask, but a six-year-old has to have a mask. People know this isn’t science. It’s political science. It’s surely not medical science. But they’re doing real long-term damage to our kids. Nobody’s studying that over at CDC. All they do is continue to put out these mandates, and in certain areas, it’s [being] done. And in certain areas, it’s not [being] done. And where, where they’re not mandating masks, the kids are doing fine, and they’re learning better.” 

On how mask mandates are harming kids’ abilities to learn in school:

“I worry about this a lot because, again, there is already science and studies that show the damage that’s been done to kids just in the last two years. And so, if you know this, if you know, you’ve got a lot of examples out there of states and local school systems that got open quickly and did not mandate masks versus the ones that closed down, went virtual and mandated masks. The kids in the classroom without masks are doing dramatically better. And we’re going to look back on this years later, like you suggested, and say, ‘Who let this happen?’ That’s why we’re fighting so hard to reverse these mandates. Many European countries have dropped the mandates because they know it’s hurting kids.

“And at some point, we’ve seen President Biden’s been in a position for over a year now, are you going to side with the teacher union bosses or with kids? But you’ve got to pick a side. You can’t be with both because the union bosses are doing and pushing these mandates that are hurting kids, and Biden will not stand with America’s kids. We’re standing with America’s kids. [Oversight Ranking Member] Comer and I wrote that letter saying, ‘Go follow the science. And by the way, point out what kind of damage is being done to the kids in the classroom or out of the classroom with these masks on versus kids that don’t have to wear the masks.’” 

On Speaker Pelosi refusing to work with Republicans and investigate the origin of COVID-19:

“It’s been incredibly alarming that both President Biden and Speaker Pelosi are so soft on China, especially looking into the origins of COVID. There are scientists – across the political spectrum – who have said now, ‘If you look at the genome spectrum of COVID, it is not naturally occurring. It wasn’t a bat to an animal to a human. It was likely started in that lab in Wuhan.’ 

“In fact, [Oversight Committee Ranking Member] Comer and I had a hearing on that because no Democrat would hold a hearing. They’re running Congress. So we said, let’s have our own hearing. And we asked scientists to come, and a number did. We invited Dr. Fauci. Interestingly, he would not participate. But the scientists who came said COVID probably did start in that lab and Wuhan. And so, these are questions that need to be asked.

“And by the way, if it did happen in that lab, not naturally occurring, don’t we want to know about it? Don’t we want to know about whether or not China lied for months, vital months, that could have saved lives all across the world? These questions will be asked when we’re in the majority, Maria.”

On holding the Biden Administration accountable for its disastrous handling of COVID-19:

“We’ve already said things like the origins of COVID will absolutely be investigated. [Were] American taxpayer dollars involved in coming up with and developing COVID-19 in that lab in Wuhan through gain-of-function research? These are all questions scientists are asking. We’re surely going to be asking those if we’re in the majority. Why [Speaker] Pelosi won’t [ask these questions] is beyond me.”