HR 4909 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017
This bill authorizes FY2017 appropriations and sets forth policies for Department of Defense programs and activities, including military personnel strengths. However, language was added to the bill providing protections and exemptions from anti-LGBTQ discrimination executive orders for "any religious corporation, religious association, religious educational institution, or religious society" receiving federal contracts. This exemption would apply to "any branch or agency of the federal government," not just defense contracts. In effect, this language would allow federal contractors to discriminate against LGBTQ Americans while receiving taxpayer funding.
CFE position: The Center for Freethought Equality opposes this legislation. A “no” vote supports the position of the Center for Freethought Equality.
Outcome: The legislation passed in the House with a vote of 277 to 147 on 05/18/2016. It is now being reviewed in the Senate.
H.R. 4974, H.Amdt.1079 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017
This amendment was an attempt to contravene language in the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act which grants religious exemptions to federal contractors from anti-LGBTQ discrimination executive orders.
CFE position: The Center for Freethought Equality supported this legislation. A “yes” vote supports the position of the Center for Freethought Equality.
Outcome: The legislation failed in the House with a vote of 212 to 213 on 05/19/2016.
H.R. 5055, H.Amdt.1130 - Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2017
This bill provided FY2017 appropriations for the civil works projects of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation and Central Utah Project, the Department of Energy, and several independent agencies, including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. An amendment offered to this bill “prohibits the use of funds in contravention of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, Executive Order 13279, or the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.” Effectively, this bill, if passed with this amendment, would have exempt federal contractors from executive orders prohibiting discrimination against LGBTQ Americans.
This amendment to an appropriations bill would have exempted federal contractors from executive orders prohibiting discrimination against LGBTQ Americans.
CFE position: The Center for Freethought Equality opposed this legislation. A “no” vote supports the position of the Center for Freethought Equality.
Outcome: The amendment was added to the appropriations bill by a vote of 233 to 186 in the House on 05/25/16. However, the appropriations bill itself was defeated on 05/26/16 by a vote of 112 to 305.
H.R. 5055, H.Amdt.1128 - Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2017
This amendment, also to the FY2017 Energy bill, would have prohibited the use of funds for government contractors who discriminate against LGBTQ employees.
CFE position: The Center for Freethought Equality supported this legislation. A “yes” vote supports the position of the Center for Freethought Equality.
Outcome: The amendment was added to the appropriations bill by a vote of 223 to 195 in the House on 05/25/16. However, the appropriations bill itself was defeated on 05/26/16 by a vote of 112 to 305.
H.R. 5485 - Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2017
This bill provides FY2017 appropriations to the Department of the Treasury, the Executive Office of the President, the judiciary, the District of Columbia, and several independent agencies. The bill includes language extending a voucher program in the District of Columbia, in addition to an anti-contraception amendment. The former provision extends a federally funded private school voucher system in DC for a further five years, while the anti-contraception amendment would prohibit the District from using funds to enforce a bill it recently passed, the “Reproductive Non-Discrimination Amendment Act.” This DC law prohibits discrimination against employees and their dependents based on their reproductive choices – including their decision to use birth control.
CFE position: The Center for Freethought Equality opposes this legislation. A “no” vote supports the position of the Center for Freethought Equality.
Outcome: The legislation passed in the House with a vote of 239 to 185 on 07/07/2016. It is now being reviewed in the Senate.
H.J. Res.43 - Disapproving the action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Amendment Act of 2014
This resolution “disapproves the action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Amendment Act of 2014.” The Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Act prohibits discrimination against employees and their dependents based on their reproductive choices – including their decision to use birth control. Unlike an amendment to the FY2017 Financial Services Appropriations bill, this joint resolution does not prohibit spending by the DC government to enforce the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Act; it merely expresses Congress’s disapproval of the legislation.
CFE position: The Center for Freethought Equality opposes this legislation. A “no” vote supports the position of the Center for Freethought Equality.
Outcome: The legislation passed in the House with a vote of 228 to 192 on 04/30/2015. It is now being reviewed in the Senate.
S. 304 - Conscience Protection Act
This legislation, originally the Motor Vehicle Safety Whistleblower Act, became the Conscience Protection Act after action by the House of Representatives. This bill would amend the Public Health Service Act to “prohibit discrimination” against health care providers who refuse to provide abortions. This bill would effectively allow employers, insurance companies, and hospitals to discriminate against women seeking reproductive health care, and in the process jeopardize their ability to obtain safe, legal abortion care.
CFE position: The Center for Freethought Equality opposes this legislation. A “no” vote supports the position of the Center for Freethought Equality.
Outcome: The legislation passed in the House with a vote of 245 to 182 on 07/13/2016. It is now being reviewed in the Senate.
H.R. 2802 - First Amendment Defense Act
This bill “prohibits the federal government from taking discriminatory action against a person on the basis that such person believes or acts in accordance with a religious belief or moral conviction that: (1) marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman, or (2) sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage.” The First Amendment Defense Act, if passed, would protect the tax exempt statuses and other benefits like federal grants that religious institutions and religiously affiliated organizations receive, while allowing those organizations to discriminate against LGBTQ Americans, unmarried parents, and others who fall outside these narrow religious precepts and who fund these federal grants and other federal benefits.
CFE position: The Center for Freethought Equality opposes this legislation. Those who refuse to co-sponsor this legislation support the position of the Center for Freethought Equality.
Outcome: The legislation has not yet received a vote in the House or the Senate.
H.Res. 548 - Darwin Day Resolution
This resolution shows gratitude for all that Charles Darwin and modern scientists have done to help improve humanity’s quality of life. The resolution also states that evolution provides humanity with a logical and intellectually compelling explanation for the diversity of life on Earth, claims that the teaching of creationism in some public schools compromises the scientific and academic integrity of the United States’ education systems, and decries those who oppose the scientific findings regarding climate change. Since 2011, the American Humanist Association and the Center for Freethought Equality has worked closely with members of Congress to introduce the Darwin Day resolution and work towards its passage through Congress.
CFE position: The Center for Freethought Equality supports this legislation. Representatives who co-sponsored the resolution support the position of the Center for Freethought Equality.
Outcome: The legislation has not yet received a vote in the House or the Senate.
H. Res. 670 - National Day of Reason Resolution
The National Day of Reason (NDOR) is the inclusive alternative to the National Day of Prayer (NDOP). The National Day of Prayer is an annual observance held on the first Thursday of May and was created by a congressional resolution approved by President Harry S. Truman in 1952. The resolution calls on the president to issue a proclamation every year to encourage Americans to pray in thanks for America’s freedom and other values, and to establish that year’s National Day of Prayer through government recognition. Since the NDOP excludes nontheist Americans, the Center for Freethought Equality and American Humanist Association began advocating for a National Day of Reason as an inclusive alternative worthy of government recognition. A National Day of Reason resolution is therefore introduced every year to celebrate reason and to promote public policy that is based on reason and logic rather than dogma from religious and ideological beliefs.
CFE position: The Center for Freethought Equality supports this legislation. Representatives who co-sponsored the resolution support the position of the Center for Freethought Equality.
Outcome: The legislation has not yet received a vote in the House or the Senate.
