[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 128 (Thursday, August 3, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11340-S11341]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                   RELIGIOUS FREEDOM RESTORATION ACT

 Mr. BRYAN. Mr. President, on July 28, Senator Harry Reid and I 
introduced the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 Amendment Act 
of 1995.
  In 1993, during consideration of the Religious Freedom Restoration 
Act, Senator Reid and I introduced our amendment to establish a 
different legal standard for judicial review of religious freedom cases 
brought by prison inmates. This bill proposes again to establish an 
exception for prisoner-generated free-exercise lawsuits challenging 
prison regulations.
  I supported and voted for the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 
1993. However, I continue to be very concerned about the act's impact 
on increasing prisoner lawsuits.
  This bill will retain the current U.S. Supreme Court standard for the 
evaluation of prison actions affecting religious activities. That 
standard focuses on whether or not prison officials, in light of 
security, discipline, and safety concerns, have acted reasonably in the 
measures they have taken which may impact religious activities.
  In the past, the U.S. Supreme Court has required courts to give great 
difference to decisions made by prison officials regarding how their 
prisons are administered. Without such a prison exception provision in 
the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, it is not clear such deference 
will continue. Many attorneys general, including Nevada's attorney 
general, Frankie Sue Del Papa, support this prison exception.
  Without this provision, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act has 
overturned judicial review standards for prison settings that have 
existed for approximately 45 years. The result is not only increased 
numbers of prisoner-generated lawsuits. Courts now are also able to 
second-guess prison administrators' decisionmaking by looking beyond 
concerns for security and conditions of confinement in the prisons. For 
example, the Santeria religion case upholding religious ritual animal 
sacrifices could create
 immense problems should such sacrifices be upheld in a prison setting.

  The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, as enacted, would require 
prison officials to justify any actions involving prisoners' exercise 
of their religious belief by showing there was a compelling 
governmental interest for the action, and that any action taken was the 
least restrictive alternative in burdening the prisoner's exercise of 
religion.
  Nevada's attorney general, Frankie Sue Del Papa, recently cited her 
top-10 frivolous prison lawsuits. Among the top 10 are two religious 
freedom claims. One inmate claimed the prison chaplain wrongly denied a 
marriage ceremony between the male inmate and his male friend. Another 
inmate claimed the prison rule prohibiting inmates from receiving 
stamps in the mail violated his right as an indigent to engage in the 
Universal Life Church practice of writing letters to others.
  As a former attorney general, I am well aware of the amount of 
prisoner-generated litigation that engulfs attorney general offices 
across this Nation. Oftentimes amounting to purely frivolous claims, 
these prisoner lawsuits tie up our already stretched State and Federal 
legal resources.

[[Page S 11341]]

  As a former Governor, I am also well aware of the difficult decisions 
facing our prison administrators day in and day out as they strive to 
maintain the security of their facilities, for both staff and inmates.
  Also as a member of the Nevada State Prisons Board during my tenures 
as Governor and attorney general, I experienced first hand the burdens 
placed on State governments as a result of Federal court actions. This 
burden continues to impact State governments' monetarily and 
administratively through increased costs, time, and effort expended to 
comply with required legal holdings.
  The National Governors' Association during its annual meeting this 
past weekend addressed the impact the Religious Freedom Restoration Act 
has had on State prison inmate claims. By voice vote, the NGA accepted 
a policy position resolution that provides:

       The Governors strongly support First Amendment rights that 
     protect an individuals freedom to worship. Governors also 
     recognize the importance of balancing the interests of prison 
     administrators responsible for running safe and secure 
     facilities with the legitimate claim of prisoners to exercise 
     their right to worship and practice according to their 
     individual religious faiths. Recently enacted federal 
     legislation disrupts this delicate balance and threatens the 
     ability of prison officials to effectively manage state and 
     local correctional institutions.
       Under current Federal law, prison regulations governing 
     religious practices are subjected to strict legal scrutiny. 
     This effectively interferes with prison management on a day-
     to-day basis. For example, correctional institutions can be 
     prohibited from regulating certain types of garments claimed 
     to be religious clothing, which may conceal weapons, 
     narcotics, and other contraband.
       In addition to the concerns for safety within our prison 
     facilities, extensive litigation and an explosion of 
     frivolous petitions by prisoners demanding accommodations for 
     specific religious activities has a detrimental impact on the 
     costs of operating correctional institutions. Additional 
     guards, new physical structures, legal expenses, and other 
     additional costs are being incurred at a time when states can 
     least afford expenditures of this nature.
       The Governors strongly believe that prison officials 
     require necessary flexibility to enact regulations that allow 
     religious worship, but that also preserve institutional order 
     and safety. For these reasons, the Governors believe Congress 
     should enact legislation without delay that would:
       Exclude prison and jail inmates or any person held or 
     incarcerated as a pretrial detainee from provisions of the 
     Religious Freedom Restoration Act; and
       Eliminate any liability that may have accrued to State and 
     local governments as a result of the misapplication of the 
     Religious Freedom Restoration Act to individuals who are 
     incarcerated in a State or local correctional detention, or 
     penal facility.

  I ask my colleagues to join with the Governors across this country in 
supporting this bill to ensure our prisons and their administrators are 
allowed to exercise their judgment to maintain the security and of 
their facilities, and to have that judgment given due deference by our 
court system.


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