Religious Liberty Update on U.S. Congress and Executive Branch Actions
Congress
NEW LAW
1. On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed into law H.R.2617, the $1.7 trillion spending package that spans 4,155 pages. The new law includes provisions that will keep the government open until September, provides aid for Ukraine and a large increase in Defense Department spending, requires employers with 15 or more employees to grant reasonable accommodations related to an employee’s pregnancy, sets forth new retirement saving rules, changes the Electoral Count Act to define the role of the Vice President as strictly ceremonial and require 20% of both chambers of Congress to raise an objection to a state’s electoral votes, increases funding for police, rolls back environmental laws that burden lobster fishers, bans the use of TikTok on government devices, renames two federal buildings for Democrat Nancy Pelosi and Republican Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, and allocates funding for developing drugs and therapeutics to combat future pandemics and disaster relief, among other provisions.
2. On December 23, 2022, President Biden signed into law Pub. Law 117-81, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022. The new law rescinds the DOD vaccine mandate for the COVID-19 vaccine. DOD has 30 days to work out the details for rescinding its vaccine mandate for troops.
SENATE
1. On December 15, 2022, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) introduced S.5276, “A bill to prohibit the limitation of access to assisted reproductive technology, and all medically necessary care surrounding such technology.” The bill was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
2. On December 13, 2022, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) introduced S.J.Res.66, “A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) relating to ‘Reproductive Health Services.’” The resolution would cause the VA’s rule to have no force or effect. It was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX-27) introduced with 65 cosponsors an identical resolution on the same day in the House.
3. On December 8, 2022, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WA) introduced with 10 cosponsors S.5227, “Reproductive Health Travel Fund Act of 2022.” The bill would authorize eligible entities to pay for travel-related expenses and logistical support for individuals to access abortion services. It was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
4. On December 1, 2022, Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-PA) introduced S.5158, “Students’ Access to Freedom and Educational Rights Act of 2022.” The bill would “strengthen civil rights protections against harassment based on sex, race, color, national origin, disability, or age.” It was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
An identical bill was introduced in the House on the same day by Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-CT-5).
5. On December 1, 2022, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) introduced S.5177, “Defending Religious Accommodations for Military Members Act of 2022.” The bill was referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
HOUSE
1. On December 21, 2022, Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK-1) introduced H.R.9657, “To prohibit the use or declaration of a public health emergency with respect to abortion, and for other purposes.” The bill was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
2. On December 15, 2022, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO-3) introduced with 14 cosponsors H.R.9575, “No Taxpayer Funds for Illegal Alien Abortions Act.” The bill was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on the Judiciary.
3. On December 14, 2022, Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO-1) introduced, with 116 cosponsors, H.Res.1522, “Condemning the horrific attack on November 19, 2022, at Club Q, honoring the memories of those who were murdered, and offering support to all who were impacted.” The resolution was referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
4. On December 13, 2022, Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX-27) introduced with 65 cosponsors H.J.Res.102, “Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) relating to ‘Reproductive Health Services.’” The resolution would cause the VA’s rule to have no force or effect. It was referred to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) introduced with 6 cosponsors an identical resolution on the same day in the Senate.
5. On December 13, 2022, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC-5) introduced H.R.9507, “Parental Right to Protect Act,” which would amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to prevent state child protective services systems from removing a child from custody of the child’s parent or legal guardian due to the parent’s reluctance to consent to the child receiving a gender-transition intervention. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
6. On December 6, 2022, Rep. Bob Good (R-VA-5) introduced H.R.9436, “To codify the Department of Labor rule regarding religious exemptions to the equal opportunity clause, and for other purposes.”
7. On December 1, 2022, Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX-13) introduced with 29 cosponsors H.R.9389, “To amend title 10, United States Code, to restrict the Secretary of Defense from paying for reimbursing expenses relating to abortion services.” The bill was referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
8. On December 1, 2022, Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-CT-5) introduced H.R.9387, “Students’ Access to Freedom and Educational Rights Act of 2022.” The bill would “strengthen civil rights protections against harassment based on sex, race, color, national origin, disability, or age.” It was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor and the Committee on the Judiciary.
An identical bill was introduced in the Senate on the same day by Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-PA).
The Executive Branch
OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLIC COMMENT
1. On December 29, 2022, HHS announced a new proposed rule, “Safeguarding the Rights of Conscience as Protected by Federal Statutes.” Comments are due 60 days after date of publication in the Federal Register. HHS proposes to partially rescind the Trump 2019 Conscience Rule and seeks to determine what additional regulations, if any, are needed to implement certain conscience protection laws.
OPPORTUNITIES TO REQUEST EO 12866 MEETINGS
Request an EO 12866 Meeting by entering the rule’s RIN number here.
1. ED will soon propose “Discrimination Based on Shared Ancestry or Ethnicity in Response to EO 13899 on Combating Anti-Semitism and EO 13985 on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities,” (RIN 1870-AA15). In its abstract for the proposed rule, ED states that ED OCR has received complaints of harassment and assault directed at Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and other students based on shared ancestry or ethnicity.
OTHER NEWS
1. On December 23, 2022, DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel published a new opinion, “Application of the Comstock Act to the Mailing of Prescription Drugs That Can Be Used For Abortions.” Shortly after, on January 3, 2023, the FDA did not formally announce, but updated its website and added a Q&A page, to reflect its determination that retail pharmacies, from corner drugstores to major chains, are permitted to offer abortion pills to consumers. Walgreens and CVS announced that they plan to get certified to dispense the abortion pill in their pharmacies.
2. On December 6, 2022, the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education notified officials at a North Texas school district that it is investigating the district for possibly violating Title IX after its superintendent instructed librarians to remove books containing LGBT themes from school libraries.
Note from the Editor: The Federalist Society takes no positions on particular legal and public policy matters. Any expressions of opinion are those of the author. We welcome responses to the views presented here. To join the debate, please email us at [email protected].