Congress removes religious liberty provision in defense bill

Congress has removed a provision, which seeks to protect religious organizations from discrimination in their contracts with the Defense Department, from the 2017 defense authorization bill last Wednesday.

Last summer, Rep. Steve Russell introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would apply religious exemptions under Title VII Of the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act to federal grants and contracts.

Senate Democrats threatened to filibuster the entire defense bill if the Republicans did not remove the religious liberty provision, also known as the Russell Amendment, World reported.

Russell expressed his disappointment over the removal of his amendment but he said that he has seen "positive signs" that it will get full support from President-elect Donald Trump.

"I'm confident we will see this brought to a complete resolution in the near term," Russell told World.

"They're tactical ways and then there are strategic ways, but I don't think anyone on the opposing side of this issue is under any illusion that they somehow won," he added.

Russell stated that his provision only seeks to ensure that contractors will get fair treatment regardless of religious beliefs.

Without the Russell Amendment, faith-based organizations may be forced to violate their religious convictions or lose their federal contracts due to a 2014 executive order that prohibits federal contractors from considering sexuality and gender identity in their hiring practices.

In October, President Barack Obama hinted that he is prepared to veto the defense bill if it includes the religious liberty provision. Senate Democrats sent a letter to the Armed Services committees in both chambers that highlighted their concerns about the amendment.

"This provision would jeopardize protections against discrimination for LGBT workers on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. This discrimination erodes the freedoms that our military has fought for generations to protect," the lawmakers wrote.

Congress also struck down an amendment to the $618.7 billion defense bill that would have required women aged 18 to 25 to register for the draft.

David Christensen, vice president for government affairs at the Family Research Council (FRC), expressed his frustration over the removal of the Russell Amendment, but he was pleased that the lawmakers decided not to require women to enter the draft.

He believes that the Russell Amendment will come back under the Trump administration.

"The Obama administration has turned our military into a social engineering laboratory," he told World. "And we hope the next administration will take these issues seriously."