[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 83 (Wednesday, June 12, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H3347-H3354]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 3, 2013, the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Fortenberry) is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
Mr. FORTENBERRY. Mr. Speaker, tonight's discussion is not about
politics. It's not about partisanship. It's about principle. It's about
an American ideal, an ideal so common, so ordinary that we don't think
about it very much; yet this ideal is essential to a well-functioning,
orderly, and just society. In fact, it should define the nature of the
relationship between the government and her people.
Mr. Speaker, when a person uses right reason and sound judgment when
they believe something is right or wrong, that is a sacred space. That
is called conscience.
Conscience is inextricably intertwined with the inherent rights and
dignity of all persons. It is, therefore, only just that governing
authority have the highest level of sensitivity to upholding and
protecting the person's free exercise of deeply held, reasoned beliefs.
Mr. Speaker, I want to read two emails that I received from
constituents back home. Katie, from Nebraska, says this to me:
Please do everything in your power to ensure that our
hospitals, service agencies, and universities are allowed to
carry out their work unhindered by laws that go against their
conscience. I do not want to see good agencies and businesses
shut down because they were forced to choose between the law
and their conscience.
Karen McGivney-Lecht wrote to me and said this:
As a woman's health practitioner and as a Catholic, I need
the ability to stay within my faith boundaries. I would be
unable to work if I was required to provide the services this
HHS mandate has imposed.
{time} 1950
Now, Mr. Speaker, what are they talking about? What are they
referring to? Let's take a few moments and unpack the issue here. Let's
review the multiple layers.
The Department of Health and Human Services proposed a rule, commonly
known as the HHS mandate, which will take full effect this coming
August. This mandate, authorized by the 2010 health care law known as
ObamaCare, would require all health care plans to cover in full--and
consequently, every American--to subsidize procedures and drugs that
many Americans consider to be ethically divisive. Americans who cannot
in good conscience comply with this mandate will now be subject to
ruinous fines if they do not obey simply for exercising their First
Amendment rights, exercising their religious freedom, exercising the
deeper philosophical principle of the rights of conscience as rightly
exercised by reasonable persons doing what they believe to be right,
what they believe to be good, what they believe to be just.
[[Page H3348]]
Mr. Speaker, I simply find it difficult to understand how we can let
this happen, how we got to this place in our country, how we can
willfully cross a threshold that Republicans and Democrats of an
earlier, wiser era sought scrupulously to avoid. For the first time in
our history, Mr. Speaker, the new health care law provides the
Secretary of Health and Human Services the discretionary authority to
mandate the coverage of drugs and procedures such as abortion-producing
drugs. Many Americans reasonably find these drugs and procedures
controversial. In past times, they were considered to be electives. If
a person or an organization didn't want to choose them, they didn't
have to.
In 1993, Congress passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a
Federal law signed into law by President Clinton. The Religious Freedom
Restoration Act ensures that Federal officials cannot reach into the
private sphere to substantially burden the practice of religion. In
view of the many philosophical and diverse religious perspectives in
this country that all contribute to our vibrant civic culture, members
of both parties, Mr. Speaker, worked to pass that important piece of
legislation.
Now, however, we have the HHS mandate, which is clearly an affront to
established law and precedent. Conscience protections in health care
have always been championed by members of both parties since Senator
Frank Church authored the widely popular Church Amendment in 1973 to
protect objections of conscience to abortions and sterilization.
So, Mr. Speaker, what has changed? What has so dramatically changed
in this body? We have lost our collective sense of respect for
divergent views. We have lost our sense that the government must
protect that sacred right of conscience and not coerce her citizens
into doing something that they fundamentally believe is unjust or
wrong.
While the HHS mandate is arguably a small component of the 2010
health care law, it does bring us face-to-face with a stark new reality
here in Washington that we fervently hope will not become the new
normal in America. We have recently heard of the discrimination against
Americans by certain employees at the IRS, IRS employees targeting
Americans because of their religious or philosophical or political
leanings. The IRS is the very agency set to implement the new health
care law.
Mr. Speaker, a good government must ensure that those in position of
authority are committed to two principles: fairness and impartiality.
These revelations about religious and political targeting have done
much to undermine the public trust.
But, Mr. Speaker, the HHS mandate is also a form of discrimination.
It primarily targets people in faith communities, the very people who
have been the backstop of compassionate care for the poor, the
vulnerable, and the marginalized in our society today.
When the new health care law was under consideration, it was said
that if you like your health care, you can keep it. Now, however, we
are finding out that you may not be able to keep your health care plan.
You may not be able to keep your doctor. You may not even be able to
keep your own faith traditions, given this governmental threat.
Mr. Speaker, no American should be forced to choose between their
conscience and their livelihood. No American should be forced to choose
between their faith and their job. No American should be forced to
choose between their deeply held, reasoned beliefs and the law. That's
a false choice. It's un-American, and it's wrong.
I want to thank my colleagues who have joined me tonight to share
other stories of Americans who are deeply concerned about the impact of
this mandate upon them, but who also, I think, are going to discuss the
very purpose of our government, which, at its core, should be to
protect the dignity and the rights of every person, beginning with the
fundamental right of the reasonable exercise of conscience. Mr.
Speaker, this is not some theoretical debate. This is about the
preservation of our way of life, the ability to work as we choose, the
ability to serve as we see fit with what should be support from our
government.
With that said, I'd like to now call upon and yield time to my good
friend, Joe Pitts, who heads the Values Action Team, who has been a
stalwart leader for years upon years now for basic protections for the
most vulnerable and the calling forth of leadership in the whole arena
of human rights. Joe Pitts is from Pennsylvania. He is a Vietnam War
veteran. He flew 116 combat missions in service to our country.
Joe.
Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Nebraska
(Mr. Fortenberry) for his outstanding leadership on this issue that
we're discussing tonight, the right of conscience. And I come tonight
to the floor with alarm over how this administration is trampling on
our First Amendment rights.
Freedom of assembly means that Americans can come together to
petition the government, but the IRS has targeted conservative groups
for extra scrutiny, throwing up roadblocks to their organization.
Freedom of the press means that journalists can work on stories
without government interference, but the Justice Department subpoenaed
multiple telephone numbers for the Associated Press and investigated a
FOX News journalist as a ``coconspirator.''
Freedom of religion means that the government does not get to tell
you to violate your beliefs, but ObamaCare is forcing even explicitly
religious employers to provide services they have moral objections to.
Our freedoms are clearly under assault by government bureaucrats who
claim that they know what is best for all Americans. Over 60
organizations around the country, nonprofits and businesses, are suing
the Federal Government to protect their rights.
One of those businesses is located in my district, in Lancaster
County, Conestoga Wood Specialties of East Earl, Pennsylvania. For
nearly 40 years, this family-owned business has made high-quality doors
and wood components for kitchen cabinets. They provide over 950 quality
jobs in my district. The owners have provided good health insurance
that comports with their Mennonite beliefs for their employees, but now
they are being coerced into providing government-approved health care,
required to pay for products that include abortion-inducing drugs and
sterilization.
Anthony Hahn, President and CEO of Conestoga Wood Specialties
Corporation, said this:
Being told that we must provide a health plan that includes
a provision that violates the Christian beliefs of our family
and the Christian values that our company was founded on is
deeply troubling. Forcing Americans to surrender
longstanding, deeply held principles in order to own and run
a business is not merely troubling but unnecessary and
unconstitutional.
And they've gone to court over this.
{time} 2000
Americans should not have to sacrifice their religious rights when
they enter the marketplace. ObamaCare would fine Conestoga Wood
Specialties up to $36,500 per employee per year--$34 million a year for
not providing government-approved insurance, but only about $2 million
for not providing any insurance at all. This is madness. Clearly, this
law is out of control.
Conestoga and many others are fighting for their rights in court, but
here in Congress, we too have an obligation to defend the Constitution.
The Founding Fathers established a Bill of Rights because they knew
that the government would always be tempted to abuse its power.
Democratic elections do not protect the rights of unpopular minorities.
In fact, all too often an unbound democracy becomes a tyranny of the
majority.
The bureaucrats at the HHS may feel that they know what is best for
all Americans, but being an American means the freedom to decide on
your own, to let your convictions guide your life. What kind of Nation
will we be when the IRS decides who gets to assemble, when the
Department of Justice decides who reports the news, and when HHS
decides what religious beliefs are worthy of First Amendment
protection?
I'm not a Catholic. I'm not a Mennonite. We don't share the same
ideas about what is morally objectionable on everything, but I do not
believe that my ideals should be forced on them. Under ObamaCare, we
can't choose our
[[Page H3349]]
doctor; we can't choose our health insurance plan. Now we lose our
First Amendment rights.
At one time Pennsylvania was perhaps the only place in the world
where people could freely practice their religious beliefs without fear
of persecution. In a world where people were killing each other over
theology, William Penn established a safe harbor in our colony, and
Penn's once radical idea became the foundation for our Nation's concept
of religious freedom.
The actions of the HHS remind us that our rights are not guaranteed.
We must stand up and protect them. We must continually demand that the
government respect that which has been granted to us by God. And I'm
proud to stand with my colleagues tonight in defense of religious
freedom, to stand with my constituents at Conestoga Wood Specialties.
We should pass the Health Care Conscience Rights Act and make it
clear that this House of Representatives will not stand by while
minority religious beliefs are under attack. What a sad day for America
when our fundamental rights like religious freedom and freedom of
conscience are under attack by the heavy hand of government. We must
pass this bill.
Mr. FORTENBERRY. Thank you, Congressman Pitts, for your forceful
words and your leadership. We're very, very grateful.
I would now like to call upon my good friend, Dr. John Fleming from
Louisiana. As a dedicated physician who cares deeply about the health
care system in our country, I know you can provide us with
extraordinary insights into the problems with the implementation of the
new health care law. But I think it's important to point out that you
are one of the lead cosponsors and a coauthor of the Health Care
Conscience Rights Act, and we are very grateful for your leadership as
well.
Dr. Fleming.
Mr. FLEMING. I thank the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Fortenberry)
for bringing us together this evening with a number of colleagues
talking about an extremely important topic today, and that is health
care conscience rights. You've heard some of the major points here, and
I'm going to touch on more.
On August 1, 2013, the administration's coercive health care mandate
will take effect. It will force religious organizations, American
family businesses, universities, and countless others across the great
country of ours to violate the deeply held moral and religious beliefs
that we have. The HHS mandate is a serious affront to religious freedom
and leaves American businesses, nonprofit religious organizations, and
individuals with three terrible decisions.
First, they could violate their conscience and religious convictions
and comply with the mandate, purchasing and providing items and
services they find morally objectionable.
Second, they could resist the mandate, not complying with the Federal
regulations, and face fines up to $100 per employee, per day.
Or third, they could drop employee health coverage altogether--which
defeats the purpose, the basic idea of ObamaCare to begin with--leaving
employees to fend for themselves and still pay a Federal fine of $2,000
per employee, per year, according to the business that employs that
person.
These are not actually choices, but a top-down, burdensome Federal
regulatory scheme that forces the American public to participate in a
government-run health care plan that violates their values.
Who are we talking about? Who will be affected by the HHS mandate?
Mr. Speaker, to date, 61 cases and over 200 plaintiffs have filed suit
against the Federal Government to preserve their First Amendment right
of freedom of religion. One of the nonprofit lawsuits was filed by
Louisiana College, a private Baptist college in Pineville, Louisiana
just outside of my district.
Offering degrees in art, music, science, nursing, social work and
teaching, this central Louisiana school has over 70 programs of study,
has a student enrollment of about 1,500 students, and a faculty/student
ratio of 13-1.
The HHS mandate requires that Louisiana College provide employee
health insurance covering abortion-inducing drugs and counseling on the
use of such drugs. This, Mr. Speaker, is a violation of Louisiana
College's belief that all life is sacred, including the life of the
unborn.
Who else? Hobby Lobby is another example of a well-known business
throughout the country--we have 11 stores in Louisiana--employing more
than 2,000 people in 41 States. The business practice of Hobby Lobby
mirrors their religious principles. Their hours of operation are family
friendly, and they are closed on Sundays. Employee pay is important.
Well, what is the anecdote to this problem created by ObamaCare and
the rules rolled out of this administration? I'm going to just quickly
touch on them, and then yield back to my good friend from Nebraska.
Section 3 provides much needed protections to ensure that the Federal
Government cannot force individuals, charities and businesses to buy
plans for their employees that provide or facilitate coverage of items
or services to which they have a deeply held moral or religious
objection.
Section four provides much needed protections to ensure that any
government agency that receives Federal funds cannot force pro-life
health care entities to be complicit in abortion or discriminate
against them because they are pro-life.
Section 5 of the Conscience Rights Act amends title II of the Public
Health Service Act. It includes a private right of action for victims
who have been discriminated against. You see, at this time, Mr.
Speaker, people who are discriminated against, or coerced or forced in
some way by this mandate don't have access to courts. This opens up a
private right of action so that those of us who may object through our
conscience will have our day in court.
Just in conclusion I would like to say, Mr. Speaker, that ObamaCare
has provided many, many problems and really no solutions. But there are
even unintended consequences, and that is forcing people of conscience
to have to make that decision on whether to end providing certain care
for their employees or for their--really to their patients--or suffer
large fines, or just give up on health care coverage at all for their
employees.
I think it's time that this country comes together and decides, let's
make health care attractive and affordable and protect life, and
protect those who want to protect life, and not have this top-down,
bureaucratic, coercive system that's now in law that will require many
of us to do many things against our conscience. That is simply un-
American.
With that, I thank the gentleman for his time today.
Mr. FORTENBERRY. Dr. Fleming, thank you as well for your leadership.
To know that you gave up a medical practice to enter into public
service and stand here today defending this deep, essential American
principle, the rights of conscience, and as it affects those who are
most vulnerable in our society, is frankly deeply moving to me and I'm
grateful for your leadership. Thank you so much.
I would now like to call upon my good friend, Congressman Chris Smith
from New Jersey. And if you don't mind me calling you the ``Dean'' of
the tireless efforts on behalf of so many of us to fight for human
rights and the poor and the marginalized around the world. Your
tireless efforts have been an extraordinary example to me, and I'm
very, very grateful not only for your mentorship, but for your
friendship.
Congressman Smith.
{time} 2010
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Fortenberry, thank you for your
extraordinary leadership. This has been a very tough fight. You have
been walking point, and doing it with great class and with great
precision. I think your opening comments for this Special Order which
you have sponsored just summed up the issue so eloquently. I want to
thank you for your leadership. It is making a difference. And while we
may not have success on the short-term, I do believe on the
intermediate and long-term we will prevail over time, and I thank you
for your leadership, Mr. Fortenberry.
Mr. Speaker, President Obama today is using the coercive power of the
state to force tens of millions of people of
[[Page H3350]]
faith and people of conscience to violate a fundamental conviction or
suffer a severe penalty. What Mr. Obama has done is unconscionable,
unprecedented, and violates religious freedom. By coercing all
insurance plans, including those offered by faith-based institutions,
to pay for drugs and devices that are contrary to their deeply held
beliefs, including subsidizing abortion drugs like Ella and Plan B,
President Obama demonstrates a reckless disregard for conscience
rights.
Everyone must comply, regardless of moral convictions or religious
tenets, simply because his administration says so. Mr. Obama's means of
coercing compliance--absolutely ruinous fines of $100 per day per
employee that total up to over $36,000 per year per employee. Just
people listening at home, our Members who may be listening to today's
important Special Order, $36,500 per employee per year.
When faith-based organizations refuse to comply, Obama's mandate will
impose incalculable harm on millions of children educated in faith-
based schools, as well as the poor, the sick, the disabled, and frail
elderly who are served with such compassion and dignity by faith-based
entities.
Even Notre Dame, which heaped praise and honors and an honorary
degree on President Obama in 2009, will be crushed by this cruel
mandate. Astonishingly, it was President Obama in his 2009 speech at
Notre Dame University, who said:
Let's honor the conscience of those who disagree with
abortion and draft a sensible conscience clause.
Mr. Speaker, another promise broken; more empty, misleading rhetoric
from the President who has excelled at that.
Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is approximately 4,600 employees
are covered under Notre Dame's self-insured health plan, which means
that Notre Dame will face fines of over $100 million a year when they
refuse to comply with the Obama mandate.
If Mr. Obama's attack on conscience rights isn't reversed, faith-
based employers will be discriminated against and fined, and employees
who today benefit from health insurance plans provided by their faith-
based employer will be dumped into government health exchanges. And
even when they do that, the fines to faith-based organizations are also
without precedent. If a faith-based entity scraps its own insurance
coverage because of the Obama mandate, they are then fined $2,000 per
employee.
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Obama's attack on conscience rights fits a dangerous
emerging pattern. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops had
a Federal grant to assist human trafficking victims under a law that I
wrote, known as the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, and did
an absolutely superb job, according to all professional reviews,
assisting trafficking victims in this country. In 2011, however, the
USCCB, or the Conference of Catholic Bishops, was blatantly
discriminated against and thrown out of the program simply because they
would not refer for abortions. That was it. Throw it out of the
program.
The Health Care Conscience Rights Act reasserts and restores
conscience rights, Mr. Speaker, by making absolutely clear that no one
can be compelled to subsidize certain so-called services in private
insurance plans contrary to their religious beliefs or moral
convictions.
Again, I want to thank Mr. Fortenberry. He had introduced the
legislation in the last Congress and was the first individual in this
House to come out of the blocks to recognize just how damaging the
Barack Obama anticonscience initiative really is. We need to move on
this. We need to protect those men and women of conscience, those of
religious belief who will not bow and will not go in the direction that
this administration is demanding.
Mr. FORTENBERRY. Thank you, Congressman Smith, for your very powerful
words. I think, before you leave, I should say this. We also value your
leadership. For decades now you've stood in this House well, even when
it wasn't the most popular thing to do--as it isn't now--to talk about
that which is right and just, that which is higher and good, to, in a
sense, provoke the conscience of this body to a more meaningful
engagement. So I want to thank you again for your strong leadership.
Let's turn now to my good friend Dr. Bill Cassidy, another physician
in the House of Representatives, from Louisiana. Again, like I told Dr.
John Fleming, I think it's important that everybody knows that you left
a medical practice to enter into public service, and we're very, very
grateful for the example you've provided, and your leadership as well.
I know you have some broader concerns about the issue of conscience and
religious freedom, so we look forward to hearing your comments.
Mr. CASSIDY. Thank you, Congressman Fortenberry.
Mr. Speaker, a couple of things. First, I associate myself with the
remarks made by my colleagues. I think that there is a concern
regarding our religious freedoms here in the United States.
But for just a moment, I want to draw the attention of those watching
and the Speaker to an issue of Pastor Saeed Abedini. He is an American,
originally from Iran, who is now incarcerated for 8 years--this is his
sentence in Iran--for crimes, as they defined it, that happened 13
years ago. This is a question of religious freedom which involves an
American citizen who happens now to be abroad.
Pastor Abedini is 33 years old, was born in Iran, and there converted
from Islam to Christianity. Here, that would not be a big deal because
we have religious freedom. Theoretically, so does Iran.
In his early twenties, he helped start house churches. It was legal
to do so. At some point, he moved to the United States and married his
wife, who I gather her family also is originally from Iran. They have
two children and they live in Idaho.
He went back to Iran to work on a nonsectarian orphanage. He was
arrested by the state police and incarcerated, at first they said for
activities disruptive to the state. Now they apparently are attributing
it to his work in house churches around the year 2000. But he has been
incarcerated in prison and is tortured. He's been taken to the hospital
on a couple of occasions. The physician recommended that he be admitted
to a hospital. The Iranian Government will not allow it. He went to
seek medical care on another occasion. The nurse refused to touch him
saying that because he was a Christian, or if he had been Baha'i,
either, she would not touch him.
So here we have a fellow, an American, who is being imprisoned for
activities which happened 13 years ago in a country which is a
signatory to the UN Declaration of Human Rights in which someone may
have religious freedom.
Now, it is upon we, as Americans, if you're a person of faith, to
pray for the Abedini family. If you're a person not necessarily of
faith but just believe in human rights, this is something which should
be incredibly important to you. If you're just a person who has
compassion for a 33-year-old man whose wife and two children are here
alone as he is being imprisoned and tortured for no other crime than
attempting to start an orphanage for children who might not have
another option, even that would offend someone who is of no faith
whatsoever.
So what can we as Americans do? One, we have to draw attention to it.
We have a resolution that has been submitted that calls upon the U.S.
State Department to intervene on his behalf--and, in fairness, the
State Department has attempted to do so in the past, but there is some
feeling they could do more--and for the Iranian Government to free him.
So one, we have this resolution before Members of Congress. If you're
watching this, ask your Member of Congress to sign on to this
resolution. It has bipartisan support now.
{time} 2020
Number two, contact our State Department and ask them to redouble
their efforts to free Pastor Abedini.
Number three, include him and his family in your prayers. We can only
imagine if our loved ones were abroad, in prison, being tortured,
without access to health care, and what that would mean for both wife,
children, and also parents.
Lastly, join us all in admiration for a man in his commitment to the
people
[[Page H3351]]
whom he loves, who was willing to risk something that he knew might be
a possibility as he was living out his faith, caring for those,
treating those as he would have them treat him but, as an impulse of
his faith, going to those who were otherwise without care.
So thank you for allowing me to speak on behalf of Pastor Abedini,
and I thank you for having this discussion of religious freedom here
tonight.
Mr. FORTENBERRY. Thank you, Dr. Cassidy, for your powerful words as
well.
As you were speaking, I was reminded of the fact that this is
America. We disagree with what the President and the Secretary of
Health and Human Services have done with health care, particularly
imposing this harsh mandate. We need the right type of health care
reform, but one that is going to protect our liberties and not simply
shift more unsustainable cost and spending to the government.
Those are the normal debates that we have, but we have that debate,
and we can have it right here without fear of that type of retribution
that so many people in other places have who are exercising their
deeply held beliefs, their rights of conscience, their faith
perspectives; but they do so under grave threat. This is still America.
Mr. CASSIDY. The United States has historically been a beacon of
human rights to the rest of the world, and so it is no accident that a
fellow comes to the United States seeking religious freedom.
I think the undertone of what others here have spoken is the sense
that some of our commitment to religious freedom is under siege by
forces of secularism. Now, you can be secular if you wish; but
nonetheless, the First Amendment says that the right to practice
religion shall not be infringed upon. So with all of these kinds of
trimming at the margins, at the edges, of someone's ability to practice
her faith or his faith, one, it affects us, but, two, it also affects
our standing in the rest of the world in our ability to advocate for
those who do not have the same freedom as we.
If others see our example as substituting religious freedom for
something which is less so, how much less will our beacon be dimmed?
That will have tragedy, not only for us, but also for them.
Mr. FORTENBERRY. That is an outstanding point to make. It's
something, as I tried to state earlier, that we so take for granted--
our rights of conscience as we exercise them through faith, through
prudential judgment in our everyday lives. It has been embedded in our
culture and, therefore, in our government until very recently, until
this measure has come along and is coercing people unjustly into
violating that sacred space, that right of conscience.
By the way, this is not just people of faith who are speaking out.
Other persons of goodwill can see the fundamental principle here in
that, if we erode that, we are eroding something that is essential to
human dignity and the very flourishing of democratic ideals,
themselves. So thank you for pointing that out.
The gentleman from Michigan, if you are ready to speak, I'd love to
hear from you.
Congressman Walberg is a good friend, who has been here a long time,
again, championing these issues, standing up for what he believes to be
right and just, and being a good partner in trying, as well, to
exercise his rights of good conscience before this body about what is
essential and good.
So thank you, Congressman Walberg, for coming tonight.
Mr. WALBERG. I thank the gentleman from Nebraska. I thank you for
your leadership, and I thank you for the opportunity to stand with
principled legislators. We are not talking about parties here. We are
talking about people who understand rights and responsibilities.
The First Amendment to our Constitution says so clearly that Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Tonight, we are talking about
rights of conscience. Our First Amendment liberty affirms that for us.
It affirms us for greater principles than just political or even
governmental.
In approximately the year my father was born, 1903, Abraham Kuyper, a
theologian--and I take great comfort in the fact that theologians
sometimes aspire to political life in coming from the pastorate myself
and pastoring for over a decade--this theologian who became the Prime
Minister of the Netherlands, said:
When principles that run against your deepest convictions
begin to win the day, then battle is your calling, and peace
has become sin. You must at the price of dearest peace lay
your convictions bare before friend and enemy with all the
fire of your faith.
That's a powerful statement. It's a statement that, I'm sure, Mr.
Kuyper would have said to his brethren in the Netherlands is not coming
simply from my religious convictions but, rather, is coming from my
conviction for freedom and the right given us by the Creator God. So he
fought. Sadly, as we know the course in the Netherlands, they've gone
away from the freedom of life, and we know the impact upon the unborn.
We know the impact upon the infirm. We know the impact upon the
elderly. We know the impact upon the frail, upon the disabled in the
Netherlands. Their lives are cast off. Their lives are not as secure.
So here tonight, Mr. Speaker, we stand for rights of conscience that
go way beyond just issues of medicine and issues of government. It goes
to the core of life and to the sanctity of it and to the humanity of
each and every individual.
We have talked about some people and about their convictions of
things like life, abortifacient, contraceptives, and people who are
compassionate to businesses and compassionate in using their businesses
for the good of people, like the Greens already referred to with Hobby
Lobby, who allegedly have given over $500 million to charities and who
give to their employees and benefit them and see that as an outflow of
their religious life as well;
Or we go over to St. Louis, where Chris and Paul Griesedieck, who run
a 105-year-old business that they've carried on from their father and
grandfather, with 150 employees who have taken stands for their
religious beliefs, as well, and have very clearly stated that they will
not abandon their beliefs in order to stay in business. The impact is
upon all of their people;
Or we look at an 85-year-old gentleman by the name of Charles Sharpe,
also from northeast Missouri, who has made millions in the insurance
business, but who took that and founded Heartland Ministries in 1992,
providing rehabilitation services to men and women who are battling
drug and alcohol addiction, and employing 170 employees. Yet if this
HHS mandate comes down on them, those employees will lose their jobs
because of millions of dollars in fines.
I can go to businesses in my district like Eden Foods, which has
challenged the insurance rule on religious grounds; or a garden center
in Oakland County, Michigan doing the same--employing many, many
employees and providing benefits--and is now being challenged with this
HHS mandate. I could go on and on.
Mr. Speaker, it is time for us who understand what America is about
to stand firmly with our convictions and to uphold liberties that go
way beyond ourselves. Our Framers and Founders understood that. John
Witherspoon said that a Republic once equally poised must either
preserve its virtue or lose its liberty.
We are losing our liberty.
John Adams--and I close with this--the second President of the United
States said that our Constitution was made only for a moral and
religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any
other.
Mr. Speaker, the people of the United States are great people, and
this government is a great government; but when the attack comes on
what makes America America--its liberty and its freedom and its moral
and traditional value heritage that is now being impinged upon to the
point of violating rights of conscience--we must stand and stand
firmly.
So I thank the gentleman from Nebraska for pulling us together so as
to speak out clearly tonight; and I would hope, Mr. Speaker, that those
who are listening and watching tonight on C-SPAN will speak out very
strongly to their communities and their families, calling us back to
decency, order, conviction--and a conscience that even God can honor.
[[Page H3352]]
{time} 2030
Mr. FORTENBERRY. I thank the gentleman from Michigan for his
thoughtful and powerful remarks. I particularly noted what you said,
that the rights of conscience go way beyond the issues of health care.
That was very well put. Thank you very much for your leadership on this
issue, as well.
I want to turn now to Congressman Dan Lipinski and yield time to him.
As I said earlier in the beginning of this hour, this is not about
politics and it's not about partisanship. It's about principle.
Congressman Lipinski and I do not share the same party affiliation, but
we share this principle. He has been one of the key lead cosponsors on
this initiative, the Health Care Conscience Rights Act, and has stood,
as well, side by side in helping to promote this effort to revive an
understanding of this fundamentally American principle that transcends
the philosophical differences we tend to find with the pushing and
shoving that go around here.
So I'm very grateful, Congressman Lipinski, for your willingness to
come tonight and speak with us.
Mr. LIPINSKI. Thank you, Mr. Fortenberry. Thank you for yielding and
leading us here tonight. I'm glad to join you here from this side of
the aisle.
Mr. Speaker, religious freedom is our first freedom, as stated right
there in the First Amendment. This is not just freedom to worship as we
hear it defined now in many ways. It is not just freedom to worship in
our own homes, in our churches, synagogues, mosques, temples. It is
freedom to practice and live out religious faith here in America.
On June 21 through July 4, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is
having a Fortnight for Freedom to pray, educate, and act for religious
freedom. But this is not just a Catholic issue. This is an issue for
all Americans. It's an American issue. Just as you said this is not
just a Republican issue.
Freedom is what our country was founded on. We just recently
commemorated Memorial Day for all of those who have died for our
country and for freedom. Friday is Flag Day. Again, we'll be
remembering what America is all about in our freedom. And on the Fourth
of July, we celebrate the freedom that our country was born to serve
and to live out and be a beacon for the rest of the world. We need to
uphold that freedom, and the HHS mandate, amongst other efforts, other
things that have been done by the Federal Government, unfortunately, in
recent years has really run counter to freedom.
Mr. Speaker, I want Americans to understand what this is about. It's
not about birth control or abortion, although we were told in the
health care law, ObamaCare was not going to cover abortion, though we
know the HHS mandate requires the abortion-inducing drugs. But that's
not what the core of this is about. It's about freedom. It's about
taking away Americans' freedom, requiring them to participate in
activities that violate their conscience.
Unfortunately, I think there's been a lot of misdirection on this,
and I think it's important for all of us to focus back on what this is
about. It's about freedom for all Americans to live their lives
according to their conscience, whether or not they are practicing faith
or not. It's to live according to their conscience.
So, Mr. Speaker, I just am very happy to join with my colleagues in
helping to support, protect and call upon Americans to speak up, rise
up and bring that message to Congress, to their Representatives, that
freedom must be protected. We must do it now. We cannot continue to let
freedom slip away. And I'm very happy to join my colleagues tonight.
Mr. FORTENBERRY. Before you leave, Congressman Lipinski, let me first
of all say thanks. I'm very deeply grateful to you for two things. One
is your personal friendship. The second is the gift of your leadership
on these essential American issues. I think most American people want
to see what we just did: Republicans and Democrats standing right here
and focusing on that which can be constructively achieved for the
greater good. So for you providing that example of strong
bipartisanship in this effort, I'm very grateful. Thank you so much.
Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time we have remaining.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Cook). The gentleman has 12\1/2\ minutes
remaining.
Mr. FORTENBERRY. Mr. Speaker, now I'd like to turn to my new friend,
Congressman Mark Meadows, from near Ashland, North Carolina. He was
newly elected for this Congress. And I'm just going to say this--and I
hope this doesn't embarrass you--I consider you a rising star. Your
thoughtfulness, your immediate engagement on that which is most
important around here, your willingness to look for good outcomes, to
me, has been a great example.
So we are grateful for your willingness to come tonight, and I turn
it over to you.
Mr. MEADOWS. I thank the gentleman from Nebraska, and I, too, would
echo just the fact that we're friends. And I appreciate your leadership
on this and the heart that it represents.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join with my colleagues in strong
opposition to the Obama administration's attack on our fundamental
religious freedoms that we have, our First Amendment rights that must
be protected.
This HHS mandate that has been mentioned many times tonight is an
unprecedented government overreach that forces charities and businesses
to buy plans for their employees and provide coverage in areas that
violate their deeply held religious beliefs.
We've already heard about Hobby Lobby and the fact that they're
facing fines of some $1.3 million a day just for believing and
upholding those values that they hold dear. And I'd love to say that I
wish that it was just with ObamaCare that we're having this attack, but
it's not.
Throughout our Nation, we're seeing our religious liberties being
attacked in a number of areas. In New York, the school board has been
working there for two decades to block Bronx Household of Faith from
meeting in a public building for their worship services on Sundays.
In Montana, we see that Canyon Ferry Road Baptist Church faced
election law charges just for a volunteer passing out petitions to
place a marriage amendment on a Montana ballot.
In Louisiana, we saw a Federal contractor order Calvary Baton Rouge
Church to stop feeding people who were left homeless during Hurricane
Katrina's aftermath just because the group offered voluntary prayer
service and Bible studies.
These are painful examples, Mr. Speaker. But one that comes home to
me--and I'll share this and close with this--in my home district, a 6-
year-old writing a poem about her grandfather who served our country
honorably put in there that he prayed to God for peace and he prayed to
God for strength, and yet they wanted to strike the word ``God'' from
that poem.
We have created a culture that, quite frankly, we cannot continue to
support. We must stand up and stand against it. So tonight I join with
so many of our colleagues, and those who are watching, I hope that you
will understand the true point to which we've come that we must stand
up and fight.
In the rotunda of this very building is a painting of the Mayflower
where they had a particular person there, William Brewster, who had a
Bible open. The foundation of our country was really about religious
freedoms, and we have it there as a reminder of that. To me, that's got
a special meaning because William Brewster, holding that Bible there
for those freedoms that we must hold dear, is my 11th great
grandfather. I'm a direct descendent of that. So today I am here
joining with him and my colleagues to say that we must stand and we
must fight back and make sure that we protect this freedom and not
yield.
With that, I thank my friend and colleague.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to the Obama
administration's attacks on our fundamental First Amendment right to
religious freedom.
The HHS mandate is an unprecedented government overreach that forces
charities and businesses to buy plans for their employees that provide
coverage of items or services that violate their deeply-held religious
convictions.
Individuals, non-profits, and businesses that fail to comply will
face massive fines.
We're already seeing this happen with Hobby Lobby, facing fines of up
to $1.3 million
[[Page H3353]]
a day because of refusing on religious grounds to include abortion
coverage in employee healthcare packages.
Organizations that do not comply with the mandate will face fines of
up to $2,000 per employee per day. Those who can't pay may have to make
the incredibly difficult decision to drop insurance coverage for their
employees. This administration has made it more costly to defend and
protect our religious freedoms than it is to provide healthcare.
Americans should never be penalized like this simply for following
their conscience.
Violations of religious liberty aren't just limited to Obamacare,
however.
Throughout our nation, we are seeing an increase in attacks on our
religious liberty:
In New York, the school board has been trying for nearly two decades
to block Bronx Household of Faith from meeting in a public school
building for worship services on Sundays.
In Montana, Canyon Ferry Road Baptist Church faced election law
charges after a volunteer passed out petitions to place a marriage
amendment on the Montana ballot.
In Louisiana, a federal contractor ordered Calvary Baton Rouge
Church to stop feeding people left homeless by Hurricane Katrina
because the group offered a voluntary prayer service and Bible study.
And the list continues.
These violations of religious freedom are becoming more frequent
because our government is sanctioning this type of discrimination
against people of faith.
Religious liberty does not simply mean allowing people to attend a
worship service. It protects the fundamental right to--live all aspects
of our lives in a way that is consistent with our religious beliefs.
Religious freedom, often referred to as our ``first freedom,'' is one
of the bedrocks that make America such a tremendous nation. Our
Founding Fathers knew a country could not flourish without defending
this fundamental truth.
Thomas Jefferson emphasized the value of freedom of conscience when
he stated that ``no provision in our Constitution ought to be dearer to
man than that which protects the rights of conscience against the
enterprises of the civil authority.''
Throughout our history, Americans have been able to freely choose and
live out their faith, abiding by conscience in their day-to-day lives.
Yet, through the mandate, this administration is now telling
Christian business owners to check their faith at the door and comply.
And which agency will be tasked with ensuring that businesses comply
with the mandate? None other than the IRS, which has already admitted
to targeting organizations for their beliefs.
In the 11th District of North Carolina, my constituents continue to
voice their concerns to me about these dangerous infringements on
religious liberty. They want to ensure that our fundamental freedoms
are protected, not trampled on by our government.
Our heritage, from the Mayflower until today, has been rooted in
protecting our religious freedoms. [William Brewster]
This administration's decision to disregard our fundamental right to
religious liberty cannot be ignored.
{time} 2040
Mr. FORTENBERRY. What a powerful and beautiful story you shared with
us. I had no idea about your family being one of the founding families
of this country. And now 13 generations later, you stand here with the
mantle of authority now on your shoulders directing the affairs of
state. That has to be very gratifying and a proud moment for your
entire family, but it is also proud for me to know because I consider
us to be good friends. Thank you so much for your comments.
I now recognize my friend, the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Huelskamp)
for a few thoughts on the subject. Thank you as well for your tireless
and strong leadership on the fundamental principles of protecting that
which is necessary for all of us to understand at the core, where our
liberty comes from.
Mr. HUELSKAMP. Thank you, Congressman Fortenberry. It is a pleasure
to be here. I will warn you, as I will warn those who are listening,
I'm going to try to be frank. And obviously, short, candid and
truthful. But I think it may be uncomfortable to hear what is
happening.
Simply put, the HHS mandate is a religion tax. You heard me right. If
you morally or ethically disagree with the abortion, drugs,
contraception, sterilization, it doesn't matter, under the President's
health care plan, you will pay for it for your employees, for your
family, and for yourself even if you don't want it. If you dare to
follow your conscience and actually practice your faith and refuse to
participate, you will be fined. You will be taxed. You will be forced
to give your hard-earned money to Washington, even if you morally
disagree.
That, my fellow Americans, is a religion tax; a faith tax; a tax on
conscience; a tax on our freedom of religion. It's a shocking attack on
that first right in the First Amendment, the right to believe in and
follow the God we choose. As of now, there have been 31 lawsuits by
nonprofits filed over the HHS mandate, another 30 lawsuits filed by for
profit. These include hospitals, businesses, charities, religious
colleges, Catholic dioceses, and many others. Let me illustrate the
impact, particularly with Catholic services.
One in six patients in America are treated in Catholic hospitals.
Catholic Charities provides an estimated 334 orphanages, feeds millions
of Americans each year, serves thousands of our homeless each year, and
the mandate punishes these individuals for feeding the homeless, takes
away help for the sick, starves the hungry, and punishes the
entrepreneur. Since the initial announcement, the administration has
issued multiple updates claiming to modify the mandate. These are
simply deceitful smoke screens. And even if some accommodation did
exist in the language, the First Amendment is to be protected, not
accommodated.
It's kind of like accommodating our freedom of speech by saying you
use your freedom of speech on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, but
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, that's probably not
permitted. We should ask ourselves: How can the beacon of freedom known
as America become home to religious intolerance on such a massive
scale?
Frankly, there is a war on religious liberty in this country, and
there is no one to ride in defense. It is up to us. We must be ever-
vigilant in defense of our God-given rights. We must be ever vigilant
in safeguarding the protections in law for those rights. We must be
ever-vigilant in standing for that first right of that First Amendment,
religious liberty.
Thank you for your leadership, Congressman.
Mr. FORTENBERRY. Thank you, Congressman Huelskamp. I know you have to
run. We are very grateful you were willing to share those powerful
sentiments tonight.
I turn now to Congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio, a former national
championship wrestler in college, who now wrestles with some of the
toughest issues right here on the House floor.
Mr. JORDAN. I thank the gentleman for yielding, and thank you for
your leadership on this most fundamental, most basic of issues.
You think about the folks who started this place, this experiment in
freedom we call America. In Europe they said you have to practice your
faith a certain way. And they said, No, we don't, and we're willing to
risk it all. We'll get on a boat and risk everything and practice our
faith the way we think the good Lord wants us to. And they did. They
risked everything to come here for that fundamental principle.
This experiment in freedom we call America, the greatest nation in
history, was founded on that simple, yet basic and profound principle.
The document that started it all--it's probably been talked about, I
haven't been here for the whole hour--but the document that started it
all, the Declaration of Independence:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights.
The document that started this experiment in freedom started with
this simple concept that there is a Creator, and that's where we derive
our rights from. Not gifts from government, not grants from government,
but gifts from the Creator. Gifts from God. And here's why this is so
important: because this attack on this basic and most fundamental
principle is not isolated.
Think about what we are witnessing in this country today regarding so
many of your liberties. Start with the one we are talking about
tonight, the most basic, your First Amendment right to practice your
faith the way you think the good Lord wants you to. There is an attack
on our First Amendment religious liberty rights. But there
[[Page H3354]]
is also a First Amendment attack on freedom of the press. We now know
that what this Justice Department did relative to Mr. Rosen, First
Amendment attack on freedom of the press. There is a violation, an
attack on your First Amendment rights to free speech, political speech,
as evidenced by the IRS issue. There are attacks on your Second
Amendment rights. And as we just learned this past week, potentially
your Fourth Amendment rights to be free from unreasonable search and
seizure.
So this is critical because this is the issue that started it all,
but it's also critical when viewed in context, when viewed in the
overall attack on freedom, the overall attack on the Constitution, the
overall attack on the Bill of Rights. And that's why I applaud the
gentleman from Nebraska for his leadership, and as he well said, the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski) on the other side of the aisle,
who understands these basic principles and basic freedoms, and how
central they are to the American experience and to what we call the
United States of America.
Mr. FORTENBERRY. Thank you so much, Congressman Jordan, for your
thoughtful words and your powerful presentation. Thank you for your
tireless leadership on this and so many other issues. Thank you for
coming tonight.
I think it is most appropriate that the gentlewoman from Tennessee
(Mrs. Black) gets to close the hour. Diane Black is the primary author
of the Health Care Conscience Rights Act. We have been proud to stand
in partnership with you as you've taken the lead on this term, this
Congress.
Mrs. BLACK. I thank you the gentleman from Nebraska for yielding. I'm
getting a signal from Mr. Speaker that I have 1 minute left, so I'm
going to reserve what I've written up, and just talk very briefly about
what my colleagues have addressed up to this point in time.
The bill that we are talking about, the Health Care Conscience Rights
bill, would simply take us back to where we were before a decision was
made by Ms. Sebelius to change the way in which we have operated in
this country now for over 235 years. All we're asking is to take us
back to where our Founding Fathers had us from the beginning, as has
just been talked about by Mr. Jordan, about the founding principles of
this country where people came here to be able to practice their deeply
held beliefs without having government intrusion.
This is so important for the American people to understand, that this
is not about the issues that sometimes are talked about from the other
side about birth control. This is about religious freedom, and I thank
the gentleman for leading this hour this evening. We will have many
more conversations.
Once again, thank you for being a leader in this arena.
Mr. FORTENBERRY. Thank you, Congresswoman Black. We are so grateful
for your leadership.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
____________________