The Coalition Against Religious Discrimination August 25, 2016 The Honorable John McCain Chair The Honorable Jack Reed Ranking Member Committee on Armed Services Russell Senate Building, Room 228 Washington, DC 20510 Re: Representative Mac Thornberry Chair Representative Adam Smith Ranking Member Committee on Armed Services 2216 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 CARD Opposes Taxpayer-Funded Employment Discrimination Dear Senator McCain, Senator Reed, Representative Thornberry, and Representative Smith: The 91 undersigned religious, education, civil rights, labor, and women’s organizations write to voice our strong opposition to the sweeping language in Section 1094 of the House version (H.R. 4909) of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2017 (NDAA). That provision would authorize taxpayer-funded discrimination in each and every federal contract and grant. We urge the conferees to reject this provision during negotiations on the conference report. Notably, a bipartisan group of four Republicans and six Democrats—led by Representatives Charlie Dent and Adam Smith—submitted an amendment to the House Rules Committee to strip Section 1094 from the House NDAA bill, but the Committee prevented the full House from voting on their amendment. The Senate bill (S. 2943) does not contain such a provision. The government should not fund discrimination and no taxpayer should be disqualified from a job under a federal contract or grant because he or she is the “wrong” religion. We appreciate the important role religiously affiliated institutions historically have played in addressing many of our nation’s most pressing social needs, as a complement to governmentfunded programs. Indeed, many of us are directly involved in this work. We also recognize that the separation of church and state is the linchpin of religious freedom. In our view, effective government collaboration with faith-based groups does not require the sanctioning of federally funded religious discrimination. Because it is inconsistent with the longstanding principle that federal dollars must not be used to discriminate, we urge you to adopt a conference report without Section 1094 of the House bill, a sweeping provision that sanctions taxpayer-funded employment discrimination. If you would like further information, please contact Maggie Garrett, (202) 466-3234 x. 226, garrett@au.org or Dena Sher, (202) 466-3234 x. 281, sher@au.org. Sincerely, 9to5, National Association of Working Women African American Ministers In Action CARD • 1901 L Street, NW • Suite 400 • Washington, DC • 20036 • 202-466-3234 Alliance of Baptists American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) American Association of University Women (AAUW) American Atheists American Civil Liberties Union American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) American Federation of Teachers American Humanist Association American Jewish Committee (AJC) Americans for Religious Liberty Americans United for Separation of Church and State Anti-Defamation League Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC Autistic Self Advocacy Network Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty BiNet USA Bend the Arc Jewish Action Campus Pride Catholics for Choice Center for American Progress Center for Inquiry CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers Central Conference of American Rabbis Council for Secular Humanism Disciples Justice Action Network Equal Partners in Faith Equality Federation Family Equality Council FORGE, Inc. Freedom for All Americans Friends Committee on National Legislation GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) Hindu American Foundation Human Rights Campaign Institute for Science and Human Values Interfaith Alliance Japanese American Citizens League Jewish Council for Public Affairs Jewish Women International (JWI) Lambda Legal Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights League of United Latin American Citizens Legal Voice Marriage Equality USA Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers Movement Advancement Project 2 Muslim Advocates Muslims for Progressive Values NAACP National Abortion Federation National Association of Social Workers NARAL Pro-Choice America National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) National Center for Lesbian Rights National Center for Transgender Equality National Council of Churches, USA National Council of Jewish Women National Education Association National Employment Lawyers Association National Health Law Program National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund National Organization for Women National Partnership for Women & Families National Women’s Law Center People For the American Way PFLAG National Physicians for Reproductive Health Planned Parenthood Federation of America Population Connection Action Fund Presbyterian Church (USA) Pride at Work Pro-Choice Resources The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice Secular Coalition for America Secular Policy Institute Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS) Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) The Sikh Coalition Sikh Council on Religion and Education Southern Poverty Law Center Texas Freedom Network The Trevor Project Union for Reform Judaism United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society Whitman-Walker Health Women of Reform Judaism 3