Conference Report on S. 2943, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017

Floor Speech

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Mrs. HARTZLER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding and for his leadership on this bill, as well as Ranking Member Smith, and the hardworking dedicated staff. This is a great bill. It is a win for our troops and it is a win for national defense, and I fully support it.

I do want to also convey, though, my concern about and the importance of the Russell amendment, which passed this House but was not in the final bill. The attacks on this commonsense language have been dishonest and grossly inaccurate. The truth is that this language uses existing Federal civil rights laws to clarify hiring practices of religious organizations when they partner with the government through grants and contracts.

Religious charities are selfless and crucial providers who often go where no one else will go to help the vulnerable. They resettle refugees, counsel victims of sex trafficking, pray for soldiers in war zones, and comfort veterans suffering from PTSD. The White House has lauded these partnerships with the government, and Senate Democrats included a nearly identical provision in ENDA in 2013, a bill which most of the Senators publicly opposing this provision voted for in the past.

We need to protect these basic rights and preserve these vital partnerships, and I look forward to working with the chairman next Congress to address these most basic of interests.

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