After eight years of promises, Senate GOP leaders continue to scramble to put an end to what President Trump often describes as the “nightmare” of Obamacare. Wednesday, Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) introduced a replace bill that gets rid of Obamacare’s individual and employer mandates and sends block grants to the states. States would be allowed to use their block grants to create innovative state-specific programs to provide health insurance. President Trump praised the senators “for continuing to work toward a solution to relieve the disastrous Obamacare burden on the American people…I sincerely hope that Senators Graham and Cassidy have found a way to address the Obamacare crisis.”

The president is right. Obamacare has been a nightmare everywhere you look — and that is especially true for unborn children, more of whom lose their lives every day that repeal is delayed. FRC endorses the Graham/Cassidy bill because it reapplies to federal health care law the principle contained in the Hyde Amendment that abortion is not health care and should not be subsidized, removes taxpayer funding from certain abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood, allows states to opt-out of the coercive HHS contraception mandate, and provides better state-based health insurance solutions for families than Obamacare.

In a stark contrast Wednesday, Senate Democrats led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) unveiled a health care plan that would in Blumenthal’s words get rid of “restrictions like the Hyde Amendment. Consider the Hyde Amendment history. And all those other restrictions on reproductive rights.” You read that right. Senate Democrats, if given the opportunity, would wipe away “all” of the hard fought pro-life advances of the past 44 years — including the decades-old bipartisan Hyde Amendment that, in most cases, prevents taxpayers from being forced to pay for abortions. You may find it hard to believe that a politician is so bold in calling for forced taxpayer funding of abortion, but Blumenthal is just echoing what is in the most extreme pro-abortion party platform in history. But the Democratic Party is way out of step with 61 percent of Americans who are opposed to it.

The party platforms could not be more different. But the actions of GOP and Democratic senators have led to the same results — Obamacare. If the Senate Republicans fail to act, they will now own Obamacare. A failure to replace Obamacare after years of promising to do so will necessitate a renaming of the Obamacare law to what it will have become: GOPcare. The time for results is now. Lives depend on it.

Originally published here.

Every Nonprofit Benefits From FEMA Aid — Except Churches

While developments continue to unfold regarding the agency’s policy of denying disaster relief to churches and a lawsuit related to the issue, the verdict on FEMA’s religious tolerance is still up in the air.

The issue gained attention last week when three Texas churches filed a lawsuit against FEMA due to its policy of denying disaster relief to churches and other groups simply because of their religious nature. Under FEMA’s public assistance disaster relief program, repair money is available to a host of entities providing both critical and noncritical services. Examples of noncritical services include venues hosting art classes, food assistance services, health and safety programs, senior services, museums, zoos, and even stamp and coin collecting. Moreover, aid is also available to what are termed “various social functions of community groups.” Yet churches are banned under this policy because they are “religious.”

But Hurricane Harvey didn’t discriminate. When the storm hit the Texas coast, Harvest Family Church, Hi-Way Tabernacle, and Rockport First Assembly of God were all extensively damaged. As the churches document in their lawsuit, roofs caved in, trees fell in the buildings, and flooding caused serious damage to multiple structures. These churches need what is known as “emergency work” under FEMA’s public assistance program, yet they will be denied such relief because they are not “eligible” — solely because they are religious. Unfortunately, without debris removal and repair, according to the churches, people using their facilities and grounds face serious health and safety concerns as a result of “broken glass, sharp metal and wood, downed trees, falling limbs, mold and mildew, slick surfaces, and structures that are weakened by high winds and flooding.” While Harvey didn’t discriminate, FEMA did, and as a result the churches filed a lawsuit against FEMA challenging its ban as a violation of the Free Exercise clause of the First Amendment. As Diana Verm, a Becket Law attorney representing the churches, observed, “Hurricane Harvey didn’t cherry-pick its victims; FEMA shouldn’t cherry-pick who it helps.”

When the issue became public, President Trump seemed to side with the churches, tweeting: “Churches in Texas should be entitled to reimbursement from FEMA Relief Funds for helping victims of Hurricane Harvey (just like others).” Jamie Johnson, director of the Center for Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships with the Department of Homeland Security, replied to the tweet with “Amen!” The Congressional Black Caucus seems to support the move too, noting that churches often provide needed services during disasters and shouldn’t have to fight for reimbursement.

And why should they, when faith groups and churches are providing the lion’s share of the effort toward cleaning up after Hurricane Harvey and other disasters? Churches and religious institutions already care for many in the community; it would add insult to injury to deny them the same aid offered to others.

It is ironic, as Becket pointed out, that FEMA is “currently using Hi-Way Tabernacle to shelter dozens of evacuees, distribute meals, and provide medical care.” However, “Hi-Way is not eligible for relief for the three-foot flood it suffered in its sanctuary, simply because it primarily uses its building for religious purposes.” FEMA recognizes the good that churches do for disaster areas, and regularly uses houses of worship to set up relief centers. The minimum it can do after using them is treat them fairly in its relief programs.

The churches have other cheerleaders too. Congressman Chris Smith has introduced the Federal Disaster Assistance Nonprofit Fairness Act of 2017. Under his proposed legislation, which amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act by implementing the holding of Trinity Lutheran, religious entities will be treated exactly the same as all other entities under consideration for disaster relief assistance. The bill does this in two ways: (1) it amends the definition of “private nonprofit facility” in the Stafford Act to explicitly include “houses of worship” (currently the definition includes museums, zoos, performing arts facilities, community arts centers, community centers, libraries, homeless shelters, senior citizen centers, rehabilitation facilities, shelter workshops, and facilities that provide health and safety services, but not churches); and (2) it amends the definition of what facilities can receive repair money by explicitly saying that houses of worship shall be eligible even if the money is used to repair a building used for religious purposes (in essence, churches would now be completely eligible). This is good legislation and it should be passed and signed into law.

The president can (and should) change FEMA’s policy right now, but Congressman Smith’s legislation is needed to make the change a statutory one. We urge action in both areas.

For the three churches in Texas, and the many other religious institutions damaged by disasters, such relief can’t come soon enough.

Originally published here.

Charlotte Ousts Mayor Who Championed Open Bathroom Policy

In a primary election result that shocked the pundits, Charlotte, North Carolina, voters expressed their dissatisfaction with the extreme agenda of Mayor Jennifer Roberts. Given the national attention Roberts’s controversial decisions received, the loss is one political leaders across the country should take note of. When Tuesday’s results were tallied, Roberts was ousted from office by her own party, defeated by Democrat Vi Lyles 46 percent to 36 percent. As Mayor of North Carolina’s largest city, Roberts generated national headlines last year when she aggressively championed an extreme, citywide Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity ordinance. This measure allowed biological males to enter women’s showers, bathrooms and locker rooms so long as they identify as a female on that particular day.

Trying to prevent more stories like that of abuse survivor Kaeley Haver Triller, the North Carolina legislature responded to her ordinance by quickly passing HB 2. This bill sought to protect safety and privacy in the state. This common sense law simply required individuals to use the public bathrooms, showers, and locker rooms that correspond with the gender on their birth certificate.

While the Left has not stopped beating its “sky is falling” drum over HB 2, the facts simply don’t line up with its doom-and-gloom narrative. For the second consecutive year, North Carolina was ranked #2 on Forbes’s top states for doing business — well after the enactment of HB 2. Earlier this year the North Carolina’s annual hospitality report celebrated hotel and motel occupancy rates that were up 3.4 percent statewide, setting a state record. In 2017 North Carolina was ranked #1 in Site Selection Magazine’s “2017 Prosperity Cup” rankings. And if that’s not enough, according to recent estimates, North Carolina’s population is not only growing, it’s growing faster than the rest of the country. North Carolina is projected to be one of only six states to pick up electoral votes in 2020.

Though the Left is determined to mark Gov. Pat McCrory’s loss as a result of his HB 2 support, these other elections in North Carolina paint a different picture. Conservative Republican majorities in the House and Senate passed HB 2 and the pro-business policies that have yielded such tremendous results. The state’s voters responded by re-electing them to super-majorities again last year in the 2016 election. However, Mayor Roberts, the vocal instigator of the whole situation, has now gone down in defeat. Though Lyles, a current member on the city council, ended up voting in favor of Robert’s ordinance, her reluctant support caused many local voters to believe she would not aggressively push the issue the way Roberts had. Lyles now faces Republican Kenny Smith in the general election Nov. 7th.

Originally published here.

---

This is a publication of the Family Research Council. Mr. Perkins is president of FRC.