John Chafee: “I would like to like take a moment to discuss my grave concerns with the Helms amendment adopted by the Senate last…”

“I would like to like take a moment to discuss my grave concerns with the Helms amendment adopted by the Senate last week. The essence of the Helms amendment is as follows: No funds made available through the Department of Education under this act, or any other act, shall be available to any State or local educational agency: Which has a policy of denying, or Which effectively prevents participation in, constitutionally protected prayer in public schools by individuals on a voluntary basis. This amendment at first glance may sound quite reasonable: It seems to say that no school may prevent a child from engaging in constitutionally protected prayer in school; and any school that does so will lose its funding. For those of us who believe strongly that the right to exercise one's own religious beliefs, free from interference, is one of the single most important guarantees of our Federal Constitution, this amendment may appear reasonable, and indeed, attractive. But upon closer inspection, this amendment is fraught with danger, and I believe my colleagues need to query whether this amendment achieves its purported goal.”