Barney Frank: “I would just ask, I guess I can mention this, whether we include language that protected free exercise, i.e., no one…”

“I would just ask, I guess I can mention this, whether we include language that protected free exercise, i.e., no one would be coerced into a religion, whether or not that would affect the employment issue, and my answer clearly is no. There are two separate issues that we raised. My colleague from Texas has raised the employment issue. I may agree with him on that, but it is a separate one from the free exercise. The free exercise goes to the question of the citizens not employed by the program, but who would be participants in it? I am assuming if we did free exercise, that would cover them. That would then leave unresolved the issue of employment, but the two would not be affected.”