AFA of PA ACTION ALERT     

February 5, 2009

Anti-Christian Components in Senate ‘Spendulus” Bill

Here are the problems:

Religious Freedom on College Campuses

·         Section 803 of the bill (p. 157), “Higher Education Modernization, Renovation and Repair”, establishes a multi-billion dollar grant program to renovate and repair public and private colleges and universities. The Senate Committee Report allocates $3.5 billion for this grant program (p. 65). Hidden within Section 803, on page 164 of the bill is a limitation on these funds which prohibits the money from being on facilities that are used for “sectarian instruction, religious worship, or a school or department of divinity; or in which a substantial portion of the functions of the facilities are subsumed in a religious mission.”

·         This prohibition is very broad and extremely ambiguous. It would prohibit religious student groups like the Fellowship of Christian Athletes or the Catholic Students Association, and community churches from using any facility that is renovated using these funds, even if they are currently permitted to use them. Institutions of higher education would have to choose between kicking these groups out and turning down tens of millions in federal funds.

·         The primary effect of the funding restriction is to encourage colleges and universities to deny equal access to their facilities for religious organizations and to encourage all universities to identify and eliminate religious activities, programs, and instruction on their campuses. This is a blatant attack on the First Amendment and a deceptive attempt to circumvent the Supreme Court and purge the public square of faith and prayer.

·         This funding restriction is unconstitutional. In the 2001 Good News Club v. Milford Central School Supreme Court decision, the Court ruled that restricting religious speech within the context of public shared-use facilities (or schools) is unconstitutional. Not only is the bill’s ambiguous funding limitation unconstitutional; it is not stimulus; and it will lead to numerous ACLU lawsuits. 

·         DeMint Amendment #189 will remove this unconstitutional funding prohibition from the bill and allow thousands of religious groups, student organizations and community assemblies to continue to use these college facilities which are critical to their functions. Support for the DeMint Amendment to the Senate “Stimulus” bill is needed!

Additional problems can be found by clicking here.

If concerned, these are the steps you can take: 

1.)  E-mail Senator Casey using the web form: casey.senate.gov/contact/ and then call his D.C. office at (202) 224-6324 or the district office nearest you. 

Senator Casey’s district offices:

·        Harrisburg Toll Free: (866) 461-9159

·         Philadelphia (215) 405-9660

·        Pittsburgh (412) 803-7370

·        Scranton (570) 941-0930

·        Erie (814) 874-5080

·        Bellefonte (814) 357-0314

·        Allentown (610) 782-9470

•  Philadelphia (215) 597-7200
• Pittsburgh (412) 644-3400
• Harrisburg (717) 782-3951
• Scranton (570) 346-2006
• Allentown (610) 434-1444
• Erie (814) 453-3010
• Wilkes Barre (570) 826 6265