It is so sad that this is necessary

President Trump Signs Executive Order Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty…
Posted on May 4, 2017 by sundance

Earlier today President Trump signed an executive order promoting speech and religious liberty during a ceremony in the Rose Garden:



May 04, 2017
Presidential Executive Order Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty

EXECUTIVE ORDER

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PROMOTING FREE SPEECH AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY


By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, in order to guide the executive branch in formulating and implementing policies with implications for the religious liberty of persons and organizations in America, and to further compliance with the Constitution and with applicable statutes and Presidential Directives, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Policy. It shall be the policy of the executive branch to vigorously enforce Federal law's robust protections for religious freedom. The Founders envisioned a Nation in which religious voices and views were integral to a vibrant public square, and in which religious people and institutions were free to practice their faith without fear of discrimination or retaliation by the Federal Government. For that reason, the United States Constitution enshrines and protects the fundamental right to religious liberty as Americans' first freedom. Federal law protects the freedom of Americans and their organizations to exercise religion and participate fully in civic life without undue interference by the Federal Government. The executive branch will honor and enforce those protections.

Sec. 2. Respecting Religious and Political Speech. All executive departments and agencies (agencies) shall, to the greatest extent practicable and to the extent permitted by law, respect and protect the freedom of persons and organizations to engage in religious and political speech. In particular, the Secretary of the Treasury shall ensure, to the extent permitted by law, that the Department of the Treasury does not take any adverse action against any individual, house of worship, or other religious organization on the basis that such individual or organization speaks or has spoken about moral or political issues from a religious perspective, where speech of similar character has, consistent with law, not ordinarily been treated as participation or intervention in a political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) a candidate for public office by the Department of the Treasury. As used in this section, the term "adverse action" means the imposition of any tax or tax penalty; the delay or denial of tax-exempt status; the disallowance of tax deductions for contributions made to entities exempted from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of title 26, United States Code; or any other action that makes unavailable or denies any tax deduction, exemption, credit, or benefit.

Sec. 3. Conscience Protections with Respect to Preventive-Care Mandate. The Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall consider issuing amended regulations, consistent with applicable law, to address conscience-based objections to the preventive-care mandate promulgated under section 300gg-13(a)(4) of title 42, United States Code.

Sec. 4. Religious Liberty Guidance. In order to guide all agencies in complying with relevant Federal law, the Attorney General shall, as appropriate, issue guidance interpreting religious liberty protections in Federal law.

Sec. 5. Severability. If any provision of this order, or the application of any provision to any individual or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of this order and the application of its other provisions to any other individuals or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.


DONALD J. TRUMP

THE WHITE HOUSE,
May 4, 2017.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-off...ligious-liberty

If anyone is curious here is:

42 U.S. Code § 300gg–13 - Coverage of preventive health services

Current through Pub. L. 114-38.

(a) In general
A group health plan and a health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage shall, at a minimum provide coverage for and shall not impose any cost sharing requirements for—

(1) evidence-based items or services that have in effect a rating of “A” or “B” in the current recommendations of the United States Preventive Services Task Force;

(2) immunizations that have in effect a recommendation from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with respect to the individual involved; and [1]

(3) with respect to infants, children, and adolescents, evidence-informed preventive care and screenings provided for in the comprehensive guidelines supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration. [2]

(4) with respect to women, such additional preventive care and screenings not described in paragraph (1) as provided for in comprehensive guidelines supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration for purposes of this paragraph. [2]

(5) for the purposes of this chapter, and for the purposes of any other provision of law, the current recommendations of the United States Preventive Service Task Force regarding breast cancer screening, mammography, and prevention shall be considered the most current other than those issued in or around November 2009.
Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit a plan or issuer from providing coverage for services in addition to those recommended by United States Preventive Services Task Force or to deny coverage for services that are not recommended by such Task Force.

(b) Interval

(1) In general
The Secretary shall establish a minimum interval between the date on which a recommendation described in subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2) or a guideline under subsection (a)(3) is issued and the plan year with respect to which the requirement described in subsection (a) is effective with respect to the service described in such recommendation or guideline.

(2) Minimum
The interval described in paragraph (1) shall not be less than 1 year.
(c) Value-based insurance design
The Secretary may develop guidelines to permit a group health plan and a health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage to utilize value-based insurance designs.

[1] So in original. The word “and” probably should not appear.

[2] So in original. The period probably should be a semicolon.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/300gg-13#FN-2

Greenffield's take:

The Religious Liberty Order is a Good Start, Here's What Needs to Happen Next
May 4, 2017
Daniel Greenfield

President Trump's Religious Liberty executive order, like many of his orders, set out good general principles. The principles, e.g. "It shall be the policy of the executive branch to vigorously enforce Federal law's robust protections for religious freedom" are good. The actual legal authority is limited. It's a good start for a much broader program.

The order largely takes on the Johnson Amendment. But as a practical matter, that needs to be repealed by Congress. And it should find its way to the agenda. President Trump can try to limit its enforcement, but as long as it's there, it's a ticking time bomb. And with members of the Obama/Clinton judiciary acting like a rogue state, bad laws are dangerous to have on the books.

There is a limited attempt to address contraception and ObamaCare. This is a serious and ongoing problem because too much of government is still run by Obama people.

The Justice Department on Monday asked a federal appeals court to extend a stay in a suit brought by religious groups seeking to overturn an Obama-era rule requiring employers cover birth control.

The department petitioned the Fifth-Circuit Court of Appeals for another 60 days to negotiate a solution with East Texas Baptist University and several other religious colleges, non-profits and churches that harbor religious objections to the birth control provisions of the Affordable Care Act.

The Justice Department's continued participation in the case came as something of a surprise to religious groups since, during his run for office, Trump wrote a to the Catholic leadership Conference indicating he'd reverse the policy once in office.

There's a signal otherwise in the Order.

Sec. 3. Conscience Protections with Respect to Preventive-Care Mandate. The Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall consider issuing amended regulations, consistent with applicable law, to address conscience-based objections to the preventive-care mandate promulgated under section 300gg-13(a)(4) of title 42, United States Code.

This is something that actually needs to happen.

But the bigger issues remain the attempts to force religious institutions and individuals to comply with gay marriage. That needs to be addressed. Real religious liberty means the freedom to dissent. And we lost that under Obama. It's a vital issue for religious traditionalists from Catholics to Evangelical Christians to Orthodox Jews. Many of those standing behind President Trump when he signed the order.

The move will be unpopular with some. But it does need to happen. Without it, there's no religious freedom. The left's social agenda is a war on religion.

Religious people, at this point, have become so persecuted that they're not asking to uphold family values nationwide. They are asking to be exempted from the left's assault on family values. That's the very bare minimum.

Meanwhile the left is figuring out new angles in its war on family values and religious institutions.

Congress and the White House need to work together on this. And once the ObamaCare chaos ends, it needs to rise to the top of the Congressional agenda.

http://www.frontpagemag.com/point/266611...niel-greenfield