[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 108 (Thursday, August 1, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7952-S7953]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire (for himself, Mr. Helms, and Mr. 
        Hutchinson):
  S. 2886. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to ensure 
the religious free exercise and free speech rights of churches and 
other houses of worship to engage in an insubstantial amount of 
political activities; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire. Mr. President, along with my colleagues 
Senators Tim Hutchinson and Jesse Helms, to introduce the Houses of 
Worship Political Speech Protection Act.
  This bill, introduced by my friend Congressman Walter B. Jones of 
North Carolina, H.R. 2357, enjoys broad support on the House side with 
128 bipartisan cosponsors.
  This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit a church to 
participate or intervene in a political campaign and maintain its tax-
exempt status as long as such participation is not a substantial parts 
of its activities.
  The bill replaces the absolute ban on political intervention with the 
``no substantial part of the activities'' test currently used in the 
lobbying context. This bill would give clergy the freedom to speak out 
on moral and political issues of our day and to fully educate their 
congregation on where the candidates stand on the issues without the 
threat of losing their tax exempt status.
  Senator Lyndon Johnson inserted the ban on political speech in 1954 
as a floor amendment in order to hamstring certain anticommunist 
organizations that were opposing him in the Democratic Party. No 
hearings took place nor was any congressional record developed in order 
to explain the reasons for the ban. There is no indication that Senator 
Johnson intended to target churches.
  Before 1954, pastors and members of many churches spoke freely about 
candidates and political issues. The slavery abolitionist organizations 
and the

[[Page S7953]]

civil rights movement are great examples of church inspired political 
success.
  Had the current law been enforced earlier in American history, 
William Lloyd Garrison could not have spoken out against slavery, nor 
could Martin Luther King, Jr. have spoken out against segregation.
  Currently, the ban on political speech has a dramatic chilling effect 
on the ability of houses of worship to speak out on moral and political 
issues, since under Section 501(C)(3), houses of worship may not engage 
in even a single activity that might be regarded as participating in, 
or intervening in a campaign on behalf of or in opposition to a 
candidate for public office.
  Thus ultimately restricts the clergy's freedom of speech by 
threatening to revoke the church's tax-exempt status if they dare to 
speak out on moral and political questions of our day.
  Additionally, the bill seeks to shift the burden of proof from houses 
of worship to the IRS. Rather than require the house of worship to 
prove that its activities are not political at all, this bill will 
force the IRS to prove that its activities are in fact substantially 
political.
  Nothing in this bill ``makes'' a church speak on political issues; it 
merely gives them the freedom to do so if they choose to.
  Since so many of the issues that are debated in the halls of Congress 
have a moral or religious aspect to them, those who ask for help from a 
higher power should not be absent from the political process.
  America is a religious nation. Religion affects every aspect of our 
culture, and yes, even our government. The views of our church-going 
members and their clergy are vital to a well-rounded debate on the 
important issues of our day.
  This substantial portion of the American people who consider 
themselves religious and practice that religion should not be shut out 
of the process.
  I hope more of my colleagues will join us and cosponsor this 
important legislation.
                                 ______