I have one quibble with the “Freedom to Breathe Act” that U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio introduced this week in Washington.

Why does it have a sunset clause? This is an excellent piece of legislation, so why would it expire on December 31, 2024?

Vance plans to force a vote on the bill later today. In essence, the measure prohibits anyone in federal government from imposing mask mandates in schools - any that accept federal funds, that is - and on public transit.

Public transit means trains, buses and of course - God bless Senator Vance - commercial aircraft.

There’s a reason that last year and this are setting records for air travel: The mask mandate was finally ruled unconstitutional by a federal appeals court judge. While the mandates were in place many of us refused to fly. When I was forced to fly - to my daughter’s wedding in California in 2021, for instance - I brought along a black mask made of cheesecloth that I bought on Etsy. I also brought a gigantic oatmeal cookie that I gnawed all the way across the country, so I didn’t have to wear that disgusting cloth on my face.

Mostly, I felt sorry for families of very young children who were fighting to keep worthless masks on the poor faces of their screaming 2-year-olds. It was a miserable, insane time. The airlines hated the mandates and so did travelers. The only people who liked the masks were a handful of hypochondriacs and petty tyrants.

Once the mask mandates were lifted, air travel was on fire again. Pent-up demand.

When some of us predicted that the covid clowns would try to bring back mandates we were told that was crazy.

No one is bringing back masks, we were told.

Guess what? They are.

“Multiple entities within our government, within the public health bureaucracy, there are local schools in the D.C. area now reimposing mask mandates, this is coming back unless we stop it from happening,” said Senator Vance. “That’s why I introduced this legislation, and I’m going to force the Democrats to vote on it. If they say the mask mandates are not coming back, then come to the Senate floor, vote with us, and say ‘no more mask mandates.’ Let’s make it bipartisan.”

Vance says he’s forcing a vote on the proposal to get Democrats on the record. If they side with government over-reach while most Republicans support freedom, that’s a win for the GOP, he believes.

If the bill passes with bipartisan support, that’s a win for the country.

Call the roll, Senator!