Topic: Legislation
(What are "political devotions"? Click here.)
An alert from the Family Research Council:
Rep. Bill Thomas (R-CA), Chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee in the House of Representatives, has single- handedly obstructed legislation that would protect the free speech rights of churches and pastors. Under current IRS law, houses of worship are strictly limited in their ability to speak to the moral issues of the day since the issues can be seen as political. Consequently, many pastors are fearful to speak on many cultural issues.
The legislation in question, originally introduced as H.R. 235, would simply allow religious leaders to educate their flock on the moral issues of the day, whether considered political or not without the threat of action from the IRS. The bill, now in the form of an amendment, is a total of 28 words, and is supported by House Leadership and over 165 House Members. Yet, even with this overwhelming support, Mr. Thomas has made it his personal mission to keep the provision out of any bill that moves through his committee, which practically kills its chances of passing this year.
The chief sponsor of the amendment, Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC), has worked tirelessly on this effort for years and is now being frustrated by one man in his own political party. It is time for House Leadership to exercise its own authority and demand that Mr. Thomas get out of the way of the amendment.
The future of our culture will largely be determined by whether or not our church leaders speak up in defense of the family and the dignity of life, and we need to defend their right to speak and we need to do it now. To contact your representatives, click [here].
Posted by Tim
at 1:32 PM EDT
