Key Points
- Democrats are increasingly pushing legislation that undermines religious liberties.
- The $1.85 trillion-dollar Build Back Better bill may cut federal funding for religious institutions.
- The cuts would be devastating; 53% of families rely on religious institutions for child care.
It’s the holidays. And nothing says “good cheer” and “merrymaking” like stripping faith-based services of their funding in the name of discrimination prevention and civil rights. It sounds extreme, but that’s exactly what Biden’s $1.85 trillion-dollar Build Back Better bill will do.
And come midterms, Dems may regret it.
BBB eked through the House 220-213. Now, it sits in the Senate where it’s facing major obstacles. One of the contested points? Blocking certain religious institutions – institutions that provide social services like adoption and child care – from receiving federal funds.
“Child care centers and preschools affiliated with religious organizations make up a substantial share of those offered in the United States — serving as many as 53 percent of families, according to a survey last year by the Bipartisan Policy Center,” the New York Times reports.
More than half of the nation’s child care centers have a religious affiliation. Cutting their funding would be an incredible unforced error by Dems and could trigger a red wave.
According to NPR, “The last time the Democratic Party created a new social safety net government program — the Affordable Care Act in 2010 — the backlash created a red wave that saw Republicans gain 63 seats and capture control of the House of Representatives.”
The American leaders of the Catholic Church and other religious groups are asking for the bill to be rewritten to include their institutions. If nothing is changed, they may have to turn away people in need or close up shop permanently.
“It will be detrimental to our ability to participate,” said Jennifer Daniels, the associate director for public policy at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. “It would impact our ability to stick with our Catholic mission in a variety of ways. We’ve worked really hard to make our concerns known.”
But so far, it’s not looking good for the religious institutions. Dems are taking a hard line, even going as far as to revoke Trump-era waivers that granted religious exemptions for Texas, Michigan, and South Carolina – and they celebrated it.
“Today’s action supports the bedrock American principle and a core mission of our Department – to ensure Americans have access to quality health and human services,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said about the rescinding of the waivers. “Our action ensures we are best prepared to protect every American’s right to be free of discrimination. With the large number of discrimination claims before us, we owe it to all who come forward to act, whether to review, investigate or take appropriate measures to protect their rights. At HHS, we treat any violation of civil rights or religious freedoms seriously.”
A strange thing to say when you’re the one violating religious freedoms.
