[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 215 (Friday, December 18, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S7808]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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     SENATE RESOLUTION 806--DEFENDING THE FREE EXERCISE OF RELIGION

  Mr. SCOTT of Florida (for himself, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Wicker, Mr. 
Boozman, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Perdue, Mr. Rounds, Mr. Rubio, Mrs. Blackburn, 
Mr. Cotton, Mr. Hoeven, Mr. Braun, Mrs. Loeffler, Mr. Cruz, Mrs. Hyde-
Smith, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Paul, and Mr. Daines) submitted 
the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 806

       Whereas the First Amendment to the Constitution of the 
     United States clearly, plainly, and unequivocally states that 
     ``Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of 
     religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof'';
       Whereas the constitutional protection of this bedrock 
     principle of religious liberty was extended to the actions of 
     the several States through the Fourteenth Amendment to the 
     Constitution of the United States;
       Whereas, despite the clear prohibition against laws 
     infringing upon the free exercise of religion, houses of 
     worship and religious organizations have been frequent 
     targets of asymmetric restrictions by State and local 
     government officials during the coronavirus pandemic;
       Whereas irrespective of compliance with mask mandates, 
     social distancing, and other protective measures to limit the 
     spread of the coronavirus, houses of worship and religious 
     organizations have been subjected to size restrictions or 
     outright bans on in-person gatherings which severely infringe 
     upon the right of their members to freely exercise their 
     religion;
       Whereas, while houses of worship and religious 
     organizations are subjected to severe restrictions under the 
     guise of limiting the transmission of the coronavirus, 
     businesses and secular activities enjoy substantially more 
     favorable treatment by some State and local government 
     officials, including--
       (1) New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who severely restricted 
     the number of members who could enter a church or synagogue 
     in color-designated zones, but imposed no size restrictions 
     on ``essential'' businesses, like acupuncture facilities, 
     hardware stores, and liquor stores, and permitted other 
     ``non-essential'' businesses to define their own size 
     restrictions;
       (2) North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, who required 
     worship services involving more than 10 people to be held 
     outdoors unless a church demonstrated doing so would be 
     ``impossible'', but commercial shopping centers could allow 
     people into the stores without limitation;
       (3) California Governor Gavin Newsom, who prohibited or 
     severely limited in-person worship services in counties with 
     large numbers of coronavirus cases, but secular businesses 
     and activities such as shopping malls, swap meets, and card 
     rooms were permitted higher attendance;
       (4) New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, who prohibited or 
     severely restricted indoor services by houses of worship 
     because they were not deemed ``essential'', but commercial 
     establishments like marijuana dispensaries and liquor stores 
     were permitted to remain open;
       (5) Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak, who imposed strict 
     numerical attendance caps on houses of worship because they 
     were not deemed ``essential'', but allowed casinos and 
     amusement parks to operate at half-capacity without specific 
     numerical limits on people within those facilities; and
       (6) Mayor of the District of Columbia Muriel Bowser, who 
     prohibited even outdoor religious services attended by more 
     than 100 people, regardless of compliance with face-covering 
     and social distancing requirements, but actively encouraged 
     and participated in crowded political demonstrations attended 
     by thousands of individuals;
       Whereas the United States Supreme Court recently granted 
     injunctive relief to 2 houses of worship in New York against 
     the discriminatory actions by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, 
     and declared ``even in a pandemic, the Constitution cannot be 
     put away and forgotten''; and
       Whereas, for millions of people of the United States, 
     churches, synagogues, and houses of worship are more than 
     just buildings, and the ability to gather together in prayer 
     for people of all faiths, creeds, and beliefs must not be 
     diminished or impeded by the whims of government officials: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) affirms its support for the rights, liberties, and 
     protections enshrined in the United States Constitution; and
       (2) commits to vigorously defend the right of all people of 
     the United States to engage in the free exercise of religion.

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