Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Rep. Diane Black (R-TN), have introduced the Religious Freedom Tax Repeal Act of 2012 (H.R. 6097), which would “exempt employers from any excise tax and certain suits and penalties in the case of a failure of a group health plan to provide coverage to which an employer objects on the basis of religious belief or moral conviction.”

The bill comes in response to the mandate issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that would force scores of employers to provide health plans that directly violate their religious beliefs.

The HHS mandate, scheduled to take effect on August 1, 2012, poses a significant threat to religious freedom in America.  Rep. Black described the implications, explaining that “With the HHS mandate, the administration has set up an impossible choice for many religious affiliated institutions: either violate the law and pay a tax, or violate your conscience. . . . This means some of the most respected parochial schools, hospitals, soup kitchens, and universities across our country will have to choose between violating their faith to keep their doors open or paying a potentially devastating tax.”

New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms appreciates all efforts to remove this fine on an individual’s personal faith.