Congressman Aderholt: House Bill Will Safeguard Free Expression of Religion

CONGRESSMAN ADERHOLT: HOUSE BILL WILL SAFEGUARD FREE EXPRESSION OF RELIGION

The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday passed H.R. 2679, the Public Expression of Religion Act. Congressman Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville) voted in support of the legislation that will safeguard religious freedom by eliminating the authority of judges to award attorney fees in litigation against public officials and public entities.

"The First Amendment was never intended to remove all forms of expression and acknowledgements of religion from public life but rather to protect people from coercion by a particular religion or from prosecution for their religious beliefs," said Congressman Aderholt. "Unfortunately, there are people and organizations that have misused the First Amendment to satisfy their own personal desires and are using federal law to force state and local governments to remove constitutional displays."

In 1976, Congress passed a law called the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Awards Act. This law was intended to help individual citizens bring suit against state officials who had deprived them of their constitutional rights. It levels the financial playing field so that a citizen - who in most cases does not have the funds available that a public entity might have - can afford to bring his or her case before a court of law. If that citizen wins the case, the losing party is required to pay for the attorney's fees of both the plaintiff and the defendant.

Organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have recently begun using the statute to claim that any public official who expresses religious beliefs or displays a memorial with religious imagery is promoting "an establishment of religion" and therefore violating the constitutional rights of citizens. Using the threat of having to pay attorney's fees, the ACLU has forced public officials and public entities to give in to their demands even when it is highly probable that their cases would prevail if permitted to be heard in a court of law.

H.R. 2679, the Public Expression of Religion Act, amends federal law to provide that Establishment Clause cases brought against a local or state government or the federal government can only be brought for injunctive or declaratory relief. In other words, the only relief the court could order in such cases would be that the defendant cease whatever it was that was found to be a violation of the Establishment Clause.

The bill is supported by the American Legion which has made it one of its top legislative priorities. American Legion National Commander Paul A. Morin commented, "The American Legion fully supports this legislation because it fairly addresses the constitutionally protected expression of religion and rectifies the excessive awards of attorney fees paid from public funds."

Congressman Aderholt concluded, "State and local governments should not be coerced into curtailing constitutional acknowledgments of God by an interest group threatening costly lawsuits. These matters should be decided in the full light of day by courts that are designed to handle such issues."

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/al04_aderholt/92706PublicExpressionOfReligion.html