[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 167 (Thursday, November 21, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1727]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 THE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM RESTORATION ACT

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                          HON. DANIEL LIPINSKI

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 21, 2013

  Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, twenty years ago this month, the Religious 
Freedom Restoration Act was signed into law on a wave of overwhelming 
bipartisan support. We gather today to celebrate passage of the law, 
which reaffirmed one of the core principles on which our nation was 
founded by prohibiting government from burdening the free exercise of 
religion without a compelling state interest. To this day, the law has 
remained a testament to religious liberty and has played a critical 
role in protecting our fundamental First Amendment rights.
   But the same bipartisan spirit that championed the rights of the 
individual and carried the Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law 
two decades ago is under assault today. The premise behind the 
Religious Freedom Restoration Act could not be more clear: Congress 
shall not pass laws that get in the way of Americans from exercising 
their religious beliefs and conscience rights.
   Yet under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, 
commonly known as Obamacare, Americans are being forced to act in 
direct opposition to their religious and moral beliefs in order to 
comply with the law. Under the Department of Health and Human Services 
interpretation of Obamacare, nearly all employers will be required to 
cover, through their health insurance plans, abortion drugs, 
sterilization and contraception, even if such a provision goes against 
these moral and religious beliefs.
   This is wrong; it is un-American. The mandate from the 
administration and subsequent inadequate efforts to rectify it clearly 
fly in the face of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act that we honor 
today.
   As the HHS mandate continues to be fought in the courts, I have been 
deeply disappointed by the administration's refusal to provide a 
reasonable exception to the rule. I have urged, and will continue to 
urge, an exception that protects the conscience rights of all 
Americans.
   I ask my colleagues to join me in that fight. I am one of the 
original cosponsors of H.R. 940, the Respect for Rights of Conscience 
Act, legislation that aims to ensure that no employer would be punished 
for refusing coverage for procedures or drugs that violate the 
employer's beliefs.
   So as we take time today to celebrate the achievements of the 
Religious Freedom Restoration Act, we also must be aware of the need to 
continue to be vigilant.
   We must reaffirm the guiding principles of the United States of 
America and the rights to religious freedom guaranteed under the First 
Amendment.
   It was the right thing to do 20 years ago. It is the right thing to 
do today.

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