PIERRE, S.D. (SDBA) — An attempt to re-litigate the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic failed Tuesday in the House Health and Human Services Committee.

On a 12 to 0 vote, the committee sent the 11-page HCR6012 to the 41st legislative day, thus killing it.

Republican Rep. Aaron Aylward from Harrisburg sponsored the resolution.

Chad Bishop from Sioux Falls came to Pierre to support the bill.

He questioned the wisdom and efficacy of the federal government’s crash program to find a COVID-19 vaccine.

He says he believed the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, lied about COVID-19.

Opponents disagreed with the resolution’s premise.

They said the resolution was a mix of opinion and unverified claims, with some factual statements about what happened from 2020 to 2022 with the pandemic.

Republican Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt from Sioux Falls, a certified nurse anesthetist, was unhappy that nurses and teachers weren’t recognized in the resolution.

Committee chair, Republican Rep. Kevin Jensen from Canton, said he wished the resolution were more “targeted.” He said he placed “no blame” on the medical community’s response to COVID-19.

If passed, the resolution would not have had the force of law but would have stated the viewpoint of the legislature.