Bill Pascrell: “Mr. Speaker, on page 40 of H.R. 7 is the very crux of why we believe that this is a particularly pernicious, pernicious…”

“Mr. Speaker, on page 40 of H.R. 7 is the very crux of why we believe that this is a particularly pernicious, pernicious, amendment. A young lady comes walking along, and suppose her purse falls and something pops out of the purse. Lo and behold, it is birth control pills. Under this piece of legislation, if that particular religion does not accept forms of prevention, that woman could be fired on the spot because they do not accept it. You tell me where it is she is protected in this legislation? In the early days of the Bush administration, the Office of Faith-Based Initiatives was created with the great idea that religious community-based organizations are the best source of social services. I support the Rangel-Conyers-Frank-Nadler-Scott substitute. I was the mayor of Paterson before I came to the Congress, a city whose residents rely on exactly the social programs this legislation is designated to help. Believe me, my city counted on these social services, nonprofit organizations, many of them religiously affiliated, to supplement the city, State and Federal programs that already exist. But as a former mayor, as a former State legislator, I have grave reservations about the number of provisions in the Community Solutions Act which would supersede State and local civil rights laws and, in essence, allow religious institutions to discriminate, despite receiving Federal dollars.”