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ACTION ALERT

House Judiciary Committee moving to strip citizen access to the courts in Establishment Clause cases

Sep. 26 update: Today the House of Representatives passed this legislation 244-173. The roll call vote can be found on the House website.

Sep. 7 update: This legislation moved from committee to the House floor today. See our Sep. 5 alert for details.

Jun. 21, 2006 - The House Judiciary Committee is currently considering HR 2679, the so-called Public Expression of Religion Act (PERA), which would effectively limit citizen access to the courts in Establishment Clause cases. Passage of the bill would have a chilling effect on the rights of citizens seeking to protect their constitutional rights. The bill strips the rights of plaintiffs to seek attorney fees and costs in successful challenges of improper intrusion of religion into government. Without the imposition of these fees and costs on government, appointed and elected officials will have no obstacles to impose their religious beliefs on the general public. Even lawyers who volunteer their time to handle Establishment Clause cases would be expected to also foot the bill for the large costs and fees involved in these complex cases.

If this bill passes, the only penalty for violations of the Establishment Clause will be the court's injunction to end that particular unconstitutional practice. Appointed and elected officials will simply modify their practices just enough to circumvent the court's ruling, knowing that they will face no penalty for their actions and that eventually the plaintiff will be unable to afford to pursue additional cases through the court system. Clearly, the only purpose of PERA is to deny Americans access to the courts to protect their constitutional rights. Passing this type of legislation virtually guarantees that plaintiffs will be unable to afford to seek redress against unconstitutional government action. This would make the freedoms guaranteed in our Constitution worthless, which will encourage a tyranny of the majority and relegate the nonreligious to a state of second-class citizenship.

This legislation is yet another example of bills being pushed forward to play to the religious right for the fall elections. If your member of Congress sits on the House Judiciary Committee (see list below), we urge you to contact your Representative and urge her/him to vote against HR 2679.

House Judiciary Committee: Bachus (R-AL), Berman (D-CA), Boucher (D-VA), Cannon (R-UT), Chabot (R-OH), Coble (R-NC), Conyers (D-MI), Delahunt (D-MA), Feeney (R-FL), Flake (R-AZ), Forbes (R-VA), Franks (R-AZ), Gallegly (R-CA), Gohmert (R-TX), Goodlatte (R-VA), Green (R-WI), Hostettler (R-IN), Hyde (R-IL), Inglis (R-SC), Issa (R-CA), Jackson Lee (D-TX), Jenkins (R-TN), Keller (R-FL), King (R-IA), Lofgren (D-CA), Lungren (R-CA), Meehan (D-MA), Nadler (D-NY), Pence (R-IN), Sanchez (D-CA), Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Schiff (D-CA), Scott (D-VA), Smith (R-TX), Van Hollen (D-MD), Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Waters (D-CA), Watt (D-NC), Weiner (D-NY), and Wexler (D-FL).

Below you will find a sample letter regarding this issue.

Take a stand: Contact your Representative in the House and urge her/him to vote against HR 2679.

You can contact your Representative through her/his website or through the Legislator/Media Lookup by Zip Code.

Below you will find a sample letter regarding this issue. Please feel free to adapt it to your voice, and to add any additional information of importance to you: