Congressman Landry Leads Huge Coalition to Protect Religious Freedom

Landry Coalition Requests Budget Committee Defund Liberty Violators

WASHINGTON, DC – Amid recent attacks by the Obama Administration on religious freedom, Congressman Jeff Landry (R, LA-03) today led a coalition of 79 House Members in sending a letter to the Budget Committee requesting that no funding be allocated to any effort which forces entities to violate their sacred beliefs. The letter urges the Budget Committee to recall the faith of our Founding Fathers and preserve our fundamental religious freedoms.

“We strongly urge the U.S. House Budget Committee to include report language recommending that no funding be appropriated towards promulgating, implementing or enforcing any rule or guidance which forces entities to violate their religious charter or doctrinal beliefs or employees' individual consciences by offering to their employees health insurance coverage of contraceptives, sterilizations and abortifacients,” wrote Landry and his colleagues.

Landry, who cosponsored the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act last year and urged the Obama Administration to reconsider their contraceptive mandate last month, said Congress should take all steps possible to protect religious freedom. “For a President who has honored conscientious objector status for military service and protected Muslims’ rights at airport screeners, it is troubling he can’t put the same effort to protect the rights of conscious for religious businesses. The President’s direct assault on our religious liberty and Constitutional rights is one that Congress should work together to rescind. I hope the Committee will do all that it can to ensure that health insurance providers and beneficiaries are not forced to violate their faith in order to comply with an ideological and unconstitutional government mandate.”

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The full text of Congressman Landry’s letter may be found at http://landry.house.gov/sites/landry.house.gov/files/documents/Religious%20Freedom%20Letter%20to%20House%20Budget%20Committee.pdf.

The full list of letter signers are Congressmen Jeff Landry (LA-03), Joe Pitts (PA-16), Chris Smith (NJ-04), Jeff Fortenberry (NE-01), Michael McCaul (TX-10), Steve Chabot (OH-01), Steve Southerland (FL-02), Jean Schmidt (OH-02), Quico Canseco (TX-23), Paul Broun (GA-10), Dennis Ross (FL-12), Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-09), Dan Benishek (MI-01), Walter Jones (NC-03), Don Manzullo (IL-16), Vicky Hartzler (MO-4), Thaddeus McCotter (MI-11), Bill Johnson (OH-06), Paul Gosar (AZ-01), Doug Lamborn (CO-05), Lee Terry (NE-02), Ron Paul (TX-14), Jeff Duncan (SC-03), Chip Cravaack (MN-08), Mike Pompeo (KS-04), Lynn Westmoreland (GA-03), Sue Myrick (NC-09), Bill Cassidy (LA-06), Timothy Johnson (IL-15), Andy Harris (MD-01), Alan Nunnelee (MS-01), Tim Scott (SC-01), Marsha Blackburn (TN-07), Charles Boustany (LA-07), Mike Rogers (AL-03), Dan Burton (IN-05), Stephen Fincher (TN-08), Howard Coble (NC-06), Steve Austria (OH-07), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-18), Tim Murphy (PA-18), Joe Wilson (SC-02), Tom Graves (GA-09), Randy Neugebauer (TX-19), Jim Jordan (OH-04), Trent Franks (AZ-02), Billy Long (MO-07), Gus Bilirakis (FL-09), David Rivera (FL-25), Sam Graves (MO-06), Bob Gibbs (OH-18), Robert Aderholt (AL-04), Renee Ellmers (NC-02), Steve Pearce (NM-02), Vern Buchanan (FL-13), Pete Olson (TX-22), Tom Rooney (FL-16), Blake Farenthold (TX-27), Tim Walberg (MI-07), Mike Kelly (PA-03), John Carter (TX-31), Ben Quayle (AZ-03), Spencer Bachus (AL-06), Ann Marie Buerkle (NY-25), Randy Hultgren (IL-14), David Schweikert (AZ-05), Mike Coffman (CO-06), Trey Gowdy (SC-04), Don Young (AK-AL), Jeff Flake (AZ-06), Steve Scalise (LA-01), John Fleming (LA-04), Steve King (IA-05), Phil Roe (TN-01), Phil Gingrey (GA-11), Jeff Miller (FL-01), Larry Bucshon (IN-08), Raúl Labrador (ID-01), and Dan Lungren (CA-03).