Religious Right Wish List For Congress Includes Church Funding, Court Stripping, A Federal Marriage Amendment And More

Church & State, Jan 2005 by Boston, Rob

The altered landscape in the Senate is especially troubling, AU legislative team members say, and protracted "culture war" battles in that chamber are a real possibility.

Since the Republican takeover of Congress in 1994, the House has passed numerous reactionary measures. Most have been blocked in the Senate, traditionally a more deliberative body.

But now that dynamic is changing. Republicans now hold 55 seats, and four new senators elected in November are close to the Religious Right.

Under Senate rules, Democrats still have a potent weapon to block extreme measures. It takes 60 votes to end a filibuster and bring a controversial measure to a vote. Democrats have used the filibuster technique in the past to block a handful of extreme Bush judicial appointments and other measures, but now the Republican leadership is trying to change the rules and allow bills to pass with a simple majority.

The legality of the GOP leadership's move is questionable, and the matter may end up before the Supreme Court, but the fact that such a dramatic change is even being considered - rewriting the rules like this has been called the "nuclear option" - is evidence of how much things have changed in the nation's capital.

Aaron Schuham, director of legislative affairs for Americans United, said the organization expects a challenging congressional session. He said AU will be calling on its members to communicate their concerns to members of Congress.

"We will face several major legislative challenges in the church-state area early in the 109th Congress, and we will need to mobilize all of our organizational resources for these battles," Schuham said. "We will need the help of every AU member in contacting members of Congress to convince them to oppose radical bills, such as the faith-based initiative, church politicking, the Federal Marriage Amendment and court-stripping legislation. Americans United will also be a leader in fighting Supreme Court nominees if their records show a hostility to church-state separation, and we will need our members' help in educating Congress about this."