December 20, 2019 - Washington – Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) joined Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Patty Murray, (D-Wash.), and every member of the Senate Democratic caucus to demand that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rescind its proposed rule that would allow recipients of HHS grants and contracts to discriminate on the basis of religion. In a letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar, the senators also expressed concern with the agency’s decision to bypass the rulemaking process and immediately permit this discrimination.

(Left) Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)

“This is yet another step in the Trump Administration’s efforts to erode civil rights protections and leave millions of people across the country again subject to discrimination,” the senators wrote. “Taken together, these actions leave vulnerable populations unable to access the services they need. We strongly urge the Department to enforce existing federal nondiscrimination regulations that protect against discrimination based on sex and religion and rescind this proposed rule.”

HHS annually awards more than $500 billion in taxpayer-funded grants and contracts to support a wide range of critical programs and services including for public health, early childhood education, youth homelessness, the elderly, federally funded adoption and foster care, and much more. By no longer enforcing existing nondiscrimination regulations, HHS is allowing funding recipients to cite their religious faith as justification for choosing not to serve certain people—potentially leaving people of various religious affiliations and LGBTQIA+ people without the services necessary to support their health and well-being.

Read the full text of the letter here.
Source: Senator Dianne Feinsetein