Disapproval of District of Columbia Reproductive Health Non-discrimination Amendment Act of 2014

Floor Speech

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Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Tennessee for her work on this issue, and I also thank Chairman Chaffetz for the work that he has done on this issue.

Both the gentlewoman and the chairman have mentioned the work and the comments by Mayor Gray regarding this policy and the policy by the RHNDA. You can say the reason that we are here tonight is to correct a wrong. I think you could also say that it is here to protect one of those first principles that we hold so very dear in this country and one of the reasons that our country was founded: to celebrate and enjoy religious freedom. So that is what brings us to the floor tonight. One of the things that we hear from our constituents all the time, Madam Speaker, is that we should never pass bills that are going to compromise or limit our freedoms.

Now, it is important to note that what the District has done with the RHNDA would prevent organizations of faith--including schools, churches, and pro-life groups established explicitly to uphold their moral and ethical views--from making personnel decisions consistent with the mission of their very establishment. So that is a prohibition that we are addressing with this resolution that we are bringing forward tonight.

I think it is important to note the resolution doesn't take away any rights and it doesn't add any new rights. What it does is to maintain what has been current law. That is something that is important for us to remember. I also think it is important to note that in 2012 the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the rights of religious organizations, and we stand tonight with that affirmation.

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