Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2007

TRANSPORTATION, TREASURY, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, THE JUDICIARY, THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND INDEPENDENT AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2007 -- (House of Representatives - June 14, 2006)

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Chairman, I support this amendment.

As an American, I deeply resent any restriction imposed by my government or any other government under freedom of churches and religious organizations to exercise their religion, meet in fellowship with their counterparts in other countries, worship together, collaborate on projects of common interest and celebrate their faith together.

This administration has taken actions contrary to the very soul of what it means to be an American. It has denied U.S. churches and religious organizations that have been meeting with their Cuban counterparts for years, often decades, renewal of their licenses to travel to Cuba. They have imposed arbitrary restrictions and definitions on what it means to be a church, a national religious organization or a religious denomination.

For 5 months a bipartisan group of Members have asked the decisionmakers at the State and Treasury Departments to meet with us and U.S. Catholic, Protestant and Jewish religious leaders to discuss these restrictions, but so far they have refused.

Now they are preparing even more restrictions that will discriminate among the many religious organizations on the island and pick and choose who it is okay to break bread with in faith and fellowship. They will take it upon themselves the right to say what constitutes a church and who is a legitimate person of faith. The United States of America does not and must not take such actions against communities of faith. I urge the people to support the Flake amendment.

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