CHEYENNE (WNE) — This week, U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, both R-Wyo., praised the U.S. Senate for passing Ohio Sen. JD Vance’s amendment to the Senate minibus appropriations bill prohibiting the Department of Transportation from using any federal funds to enforce mask mandates.

The amendment, which passed the Senate by a vote of 59-38, bans mask mandates on passenger airlines, commuter rail, rapid transit buses and any other transportation program funding through Fiscal Year 2024.

“Today, the Senate took an important step in protecting the freedoms and rights of all Americans,” Barrasso said in a news release. “The federal government has no business mandating Americans wear masks on airlines or public transit.”

“We cannot expect the people of Wyoming to forgo their personal freedoms for misguided and ineffective mask mandates,” Lummis said in the release. “The passage of this commonsense amendment is a big win for states’ rights, and I am glad we are one step closer to shielding the people of Wyoming from D.C. bureaucrats’ unfounded and heavy-handed federal mandates.”