Statement from Congressman Dan Lipinski (IL-3):

“I am pleased that in the Hobby Lobby case the Supreme Court has protected religious liberty.  The bipartisan Religious Freedom Restoration Act - signed into law by President Bill Clinton twenty years ago - reaffirmed one of the core principles on which our nation was founded by prohibiting the government from burdening the free exercise of religion without a compelling state interest.  The court ruled that in this case the HHS mandate violates this law.

“Protecting religious liberty should not be viewed as a partisan issue.  It is a fundamental right spelled out in the First Amendment of the Constitution.  As I taught my American government students, the ‘free exercise clause’ is not just freedom to worship, but freedom to exercise religious beliefs.  Today’s ruling upholds one of the core principles that makes the United States of America a model for freedom for the world.”