Washington -- On Tuesday, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a hearing on the First Amendment Defense Act (H.R. 2802), authored by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID). The Heritage Foundation's Ryan T. Anderson, Ph.D., explains the bill "would ensure that no federal agency discriminates against individuals or institutions for following their convictions about marriage as a man-woman union by revoking their nonprofit tax-exempt status, or denying them government grants, contracts, accreditation, or licenses." Heritage Action released the following statement from chief executive officer Michael A. Needham:
"Protecting freedom and pluralism in the midst of social change is the embodiment of American values - which is exactly what First Amendment Defense Act does. This week's long overdue hearing on FADA was successful in elevating the current and growing threat to religious liberty in our nation. We cannot allow the left's tired, inaccurate talking points to paralyze legislative efforts to protect religious liberty for all Americans.
"While we are thankful that a hearing was held, it should not have taken over a year to begin moving a broadly supported bill as critical as FADA. Americans must be wondering why the Committee failed to have a vote on the bill before beginning a 7-week recess, especially in light of the compelling case made by the witnesses. Moving forward, Chairman Chaffetz must begin to lead on this issue by scheduling a markup in Committee and successfully advancing FADA for a vote on the House floor."
There are currently 172 House Republicans on record supporting the First Amendment Defense Act, and 23 of the 25 members on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee are co-sponsors.