Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) reintroduced legislation on Wednesday that would allow the federal government to send three N95 respirator masks to every person in America.

Sanders first introduced the legislation, called the Masks for All Act, in summer 2020, but Congress did not bring it up for a vote. But as the highly transmissible omicron variant continues to spread, Sanders urged lawmakers to use this second opportunity to arm all Americans with better protective gear.

It is an absolute scandal that in the richest country in the history of the world, high-quality masks are not more readily available to frontline workers, health care workers, and all Americans, Sanders said in a statement on Wednesday.

More than 50 congressional Democrats are backing the bill, Sanders office said.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who is co-sponsoring the House version of the bill, echoed Sanders, saying Congress must prioritize this type of spending.

If we can afford a $778 billion defense budget, we can afford to send N95 masks to every American to keep people safe as Omicron cases spike, he wrote in a statement.