Believe. It is this unique American Freedom that sometimes people around the world stare at with awe. Because theyre bound to have a certain set of beliefs to be in that country but not so with us in america. You can have a belief, not have a belief. If you have one, you may live your faith. Coptic christians in egypt would love to be able to live their faith and not live in fear right now. The behai in iran would love to be able to live out their faith. The christians in syria would love to be able to live out their faith and not be able to live in fear. And the multiple religiouses that try to practice in countries like china and vietnam and other places that constantly live in fear because of their own faith would love to have that. But not so in america. Whether youd be a member of congress, whether youd be a member in the administration, whether youd be any person walking down the streets in america, you have the right to live out your faith and its essential for us. And its a great value that we share, but it is essential that we also continue to protect. And in days like today, it is ironic that were discussing again this unique value to say, can we still live out our faith as americans . Let me give you a couple of examples where the challenge has been put to the test recently. It wasnt but a couple of years ago that the Obama Administration challenged the missouri sin aid church. Whether that church could choose their own minister or whether theyd be fought from the outside, that the government could step into the church and say, no, we have to help be a part of selecting what the minister is. And that was argued all the way until it got to the Supreme Court. Where they lost 90 in the Supreme Court reaffirming that a church has a right to select their own minister. As ironic as it is that were dealing with a great business that employs thousands upon thousands of people around the country called hobby lobby, that the founders of that company are christians. And they live out their faith and they practice their faith from when they were a craftframing shop in the garage of the family. And they continue to practice that business the exact same way now. To say, can they live out their faith . Theyre currently facing a set of fines right now where the administration has stepped in to say, if you provide Health Care Insurance that we choose, youre fine. If you dont provide any insurance at all, im going to fine you 2,000. But if you provide insurance that doesnt meet the administrations religious belief, youll be fined as a 36,500 per employee. Let me run that past you again. In a country where you are free to live out your faith, if this particular company chooses to provide insurance that violates their faith, and it doesnt follow up with the administrations policy, theyll e fined 36,500 per employee per year. And so they changed their insurance to meet the faith of the administration. Thats not right. Were a place where we cannot only have a belief and a label, but also choose to live out that label. Thats important for us as a nation. Two things that i want to be able to encourage as well, one is the students that september 25, just a very few days from now, will stand at flagpoles around this nation and theyll gather early in the morning, before other kids even get up, and stand at a flagpole for an annual celebration called see you at the pole. Where students will gather to pray. Its not a demonstration, its not a declaration, its just students doing publicly what they do privately every single day and thats pray for our nation. They can do that because of our freedom. Oday, i remember three oklahomans that two years ago ost their life in afghanistan. Theyre heroes. Theyre individuals that are protecting the freedom of people they had never met. And protecting our nation. Jane horton, one of the widows, not long after her husband, chris, was killed in afghanistan dropped by my office, got a chance to visit with me and we talked for a long time and she handed me a tie that her husband had and i chose to wear it today, two years after he was killed, so that we would not forget them, who stand for our freedom and that we will not forget what they have done for us in our nation. With that i yield back. Mr. Forbes thank you, james. And for your great work on this subject and probably no one has defended the rights of our military and their First Amendment right and the rights of our chaplain more than john fleming from louisiana. John, thank you for your efforts in that and for being here tonight and wed love to hear your thoughts on this very special amendment and right for americans. Mr. Fleming id like to thank my good friend from virginia for having this special order this evening and the leadership that the gentleman has provided in this area with the prayer caucus and so many other things, both on Armed Services and outside of Armed Services, in that realm. Mr. Speaker, im greatly inspired and moved this evening with the speeches that i have heard, talking about religious liberty. And all of the things that were struggling with right now, with religious liberty. Religious freedom is at center of who we are as americans. With foresight and clarity, the Founding Fathers enshrined religious freedom as as a First Amendment right. Quote, Congress Shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The First Amendment. Despite these undisputed facts, time and again weve witnessed a widdling away of this freedom. The passage of president s signature legislation obamacare ushered in a new wave of government oppression for businesses, religious organizations, faithbased schools, charities and hospitals. Mr. Speaker, im very concerned this evening that with obamacare and with many other things that were seeing on the religious front, on the military front, that washington and this administration is actually substituting its religious beliefs for our own. A very dangerous precedent. Obamacare . Talk about we discuss obamacare and all the problems, the cost, the rationing board and all of these things. But whats left out of that discussion is some very, very important points. Obamacares h. H. S. Mandate requires that all insurance plans cover various items and services that even they are in direct conflict with deeply held religious beliefs or moral convictions. And three groups are singled out for this. Number one is Health Care Providers themselves. Who in many cases will be forced to participate in certain techniques, certain types of treatment that is against their deeply held rnls beliefs. Such as deeply held religious beliefs. Such as abortion. Abortion pills. Sterilization procedures and such as that. Another Important Group is religious institutions. The Catholic Church has for many decades, really centuries, have gone about the work of the lord to provide health care to individuals. But will be required under the h. H. Mandates to actually provide certain procedures such as sterilization, Birth Control pills that are against their deeply held beliefs. Regardless of whether you agree with that or not is besight the point. According to the First Amendment , the church and its institutions should be allowed to do what is right by their own personal religious beliefs. And the third group is private businesses. Youve already heard about hobby lobby and many others who because of the h. H. Mandate will have to provide coverage through insurance for certain things which may include abortions. And yet thats against their own deeply held religious beliefs. And suffering fines of tens of thousands of dollars for having done so. That is not right under the First Amendment. There are 67 cases and over 200 plaintiffs that have filed suit against the administration to protect the First Amendment right to religious freedom. Theyre working their way through the courts. A Christian Publishing Company well known for their production of the bible as well as familyowned and operated business fresh unlimited inc. , a Fresh Produce processing and Packing Company in ohio. And beckwith electric, a floridabased Electric Company are among the 37 forprofit Companies Seeking relief from the h. H. S. Mandate. Hospitals, charities, Catholic Diocese and religious colleges, including Louisiana College in my own state are at various stages of defending their first freedom against administrations constitutional h. H. S. Mandate. Instead of supporting blishers, groceries, electricians, doctors, nurses, teachers and professors, obamacare strips away the ability for these individuals to live their lives in a manner consistent with their religious beliefs. This administration is relentlessly lambasted the religious freedom of hardworking americans, threatening ruinous fines for noncompliance. And again companies such as hobby lobby, a wellknown arts and crafts store that started out just as one single store, face crippling fines for their religious beliefs. Congressman for theberry, Congress Lady black and myself have put together a continuum of conscious protections through legislation and weve attempted many times to get this up for a vote and passed through the house and through the senate that would block many of these h. H. S. Mandates that come down from obamacare. So far we have not gotten the support from the other side of the aisle to get this done. But we will continue until this is completed. And then finally military religious freedom. You know, we know that the military often times is a micros could much of what happens microcosm of what happens in the demographs across america and today religious freedom is under tremendous pressure. We have situations where military members can no longer put a bible out on their desk. That somehow thats offending someone. You heard the recent case of Master Sergeant monk who because he wouldnt champion something that was against his religious beliefs closely held and taught by his own church is now facing court Court Marshall for speaking out against that. The list goes on and on, mr. Speaker, of whats happening and its very recent. This is not injure fathers military this is not your fathers military. This is not really the military you were in even five years ago. This is a new military in which religious freedom is being pushed away in substitute of washingtons morality, washingtons faith. This administrations faith instead. So with that i do want to thank my colleagues who are here tonight talking about the important thing, what could be more important than religious freedoms . I think many would say thats the foundation, the basic Foundation Upon which this nation was created and why many people have immigrated over the centuries here and many people even today continue to immigrate to the United States, because of its religious freedom. Lets hold this dear. Lets not let go of the First Amendment. The ability to not only believe what you choose to believe in religion, but also to speak out and express as well. Even to take action. All of these fundamental and very important. And so with that i would like to yield back to mr. Forbes and thank you again for the opportunity. Mr. Forbes dr. Fleming, we thank you for your expertise in both the Health Care Area and the military and thanks for fighting this fight so well. One of the truly great champions on religious freedom issues has been the chairman of the judiciary subcommittee on the constitution. He was actually selected as christian statesman of the year because he truly practices what he preaches and were delighted to have with us trent franks from arizona. Mr. Franks, its good to have you here and love to hear your comments. Mr. Franks thank you, mr. Speaker. Tonight, mr. Speaker, as we talk about religious freedom, it is especially appropriate that this group is led by one congressman randy fornse. Forbes. Mr. Speaker, i came into congress approximately 11 years ago and mr. Forbes has been a press yent and noble voice among us during that time and i truly believe that as long as there are men like randy forbes in congress, that america will continue to be a great and hopeful nation. Mr. Forbes understands the importance of religious freedom. He understands that religious freedom is truly the cornerstone of all other freedoms. Want to make a sort of lehmans analysis of a quote sometime back from a great english statesman. Said, out of deep, dark bondage arises great faith. And that faith leads to great courage. And freedom leads to abundance and abundance leads to apathy age. Dependence to bond and down through the ages, mr. Speaker, and i would suggest to you, mr. Speaker, there is a solution to blaking that pattern and to hold to the great founges of religious freedom as we so this is the at precursor and we protect it and on do it is a problem. A United States citizen, who has been in prison in iran for exercising his faith that is protected under International Law. Branchays ago, the 36 tf onfirmed his sentence and is serving the sentence. The following statement is from his wife and a resident of idaho in reaction to the news that iran upheld her husbands prisons septemberens. When i learned that i heard they upheld the prison sentence, the crush with the hope of this news with the children prayed for their daddys safe return. Few discouraged after a news, i was doipted that the leader of my country that has been seal ent when an american citizen is wasting away. For an entire year my husband was faced threlingts for refusing to denny his Christian Nathan president obama has never spoken a word about him. Im grateful for pressure we realize if we dont speak out against injustice, all of our children will have to face what my children are facing today, unquote. Mr. Speaker, the American People would be jut raged to know that administration has known that was throne h thrown into a regime for having the nerve to practice hist Christian Faith sm the sfration should be ashamed of its failure to speak out against the precious family. They hold the Obama Administration as it proceeds to weapons. I hope the American People will hold the administration will hold it in injustice forced upon this pastor and so many others. On september 26, he will have served in irans prison for an entire year. It was his last hope of being released under a heartless judicial system that he seve his eightyear system. Now his wife is faced with crushing his child like hope of her two Young Children who have prayed in hope and expectation for their daddys safe return to tell them that it will be a long time before they see their daddy again. When i hear the words, roll them over in my behind and i think of my children atlanta home, im heart broken for the family and enraged at the attitude and sealens of president obama. Iran has demonstrated in utter disregard for religious freedom hold the pastor an american citizen in a hellish iranian prib. To stifle the freedom, have been again exposed to the world after the impribment of this pastor who at the time was working to build an are fanage. Sking once said, this is a threat to justice and it has shown the implications of a single instins of stance. Acknowledge, we re upholding the religious freedom as a first freedom that humanity. O all of mr. Forbes we thank you out. The pastor who did not have parents and loved his faith and god. Our next speaker is someone who mab recognized for a lot of tores and here to sfand up al guse freedom, louis gourment. Ormentegormente gormentegormente i know it is attack and under when we look at what the constitution says and it has been ride that we forget the first word, we blow the first word of the First Amendment and that is that Congress Shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise throve. Why is it they singled out congress and the 10th amendment and anything that is not prohibited to the states, that power is reserved to the statutes and the pep. Why is it . This was intended for congress and not for the states. Because the people that voted for these amendments knew that every one of the tu states had some laws that dealt with the in s tanity or a belief jeesyuss jesus crist. And if you wanted to be part of this, you had to believe this way. It was supposed to be a reindustries on congress and we have gotten so far afield. And we arent a loud to bring up a hymn here in congress whereas forbes, the dy hall, the separation of church and state, Thomas Jefferson came to church every sunday and on some occasions he brought the marine band. Right down the hall in what was the House Chamber and now looks what has happened. We seen these incursions and christians are forced to epdure he slams and the arrows that should never be endured. Like 1706, those members that ere part in harms way and after sale team 6 was outed after the once that took out Osama Bin Laden and you can see recordic of the ceremony and do a muslim prayer, caskets and we know some of they rice guys and condemn to hell they will never defeat. It turns out today we see persecution after persecution of christians when you look at the underpinnings of this nation, it ordained ians where christian ministers. Lynn ok at what