Political Quotes

“I rise today in strong support of the Protect Women From Corporate Interference Act, and I praise Senator Murray and Senator Udall (of Colorado) for their work on this bill. Let me first discuss the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision in Hobby Lobby v. Burwell--a decision that in my view is deeply disappointing. In the Hobby Lobby case, the Supreme Court found that large, closely-held, for-profit corporations have religious-freedom rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA). Major corporations can now assert a religious objection to generally applicable federal law. It is possible such corporations will not get most exemptions they seek. This will be examined on a case-by-case basis. But the point is the Court has opened the door to granting these sorts of exemptions to large, for-profit corporations. This is a far-reaching result that Congress never intended when it enacted the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. As 18 other senators and I made clear to the Court in an amicus brief in the Hobby Lobby case, Congress's purpose in passing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 1993 was simple. Congress wanted to strengthen individuals' free-exercise protections, after a Supreme Court decision in Employment Division v. Smith (1990) limited those rights. But Congress never intended to grant new free-exercise protections to artificial, for-profit business corporations.…”