The letter was signed by Lawrence Krauss, Foundation Professor at Arizona State University’s School of Earth and Space Exploration, and an Honorary Board Member at the Center for Inquiry; Ronald A. Lindsay, CFI’s President and CEO; and Michael De Dora, director of CFI’s Office of Public Policy.

The draft bill (PDF) proposed by Rep. Smith, chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, would require the NSF director to certify that a research project meet three new criteria before awarding a grant. It must advance national health, prosperity, welfare, or defense; it must be “groundbreaking” and answer questions or solve problems of the utmost importance; and it must not be duplicative of other government-funded research projects. It also suggests these requirements be considered for all federal science agencies.

CFI’s letter reads, in part:

“These requirements represent a serious misunderstanding of the nature of scientific inquiry and discovery and, if approved, would not facilitate, but instead obstruct productive scientific research.

The NSF’s current process for reviewing applications for contract or grant funding is based on the time-honored and scientifically sound principle of peer review. Under current NSF procedures, a group of independent experts with specialized knowledge in a field of specific scientific endeavor evaluates requests based on two main criteria: intellectual merit and societal impact.

Your bill would not improve this process, which is widely considered to be one of the most successful science funding processes in the world and which has placed our nation at the forefront of scientific advances; instead, it would burden this process with standards that politicize science and fail to give proper weight to the importance of basic scientific research.”

Given the risk this draft bill poses to scientific research, Krauss and the authors urge Rep. Smith to scrap his proposal.

You can download CFI’s full letter here (PDF).

In total, six letters were sent to thirteen federal lawmakers who are directly involved in the appropriations process in both chambers of Congress:

Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) of the Senate Committee on Appropriations; Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY) and Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) of the House Committee on Appropriations; Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) of the Senate Subcommittee on Financial Services; Rep. Jose Serrano (D-NY), Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL), Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), and Rep. Ed Pastor (R-AZ) the House Subcommittee on Financial Services; Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) of the Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies; and Rep. Rose DeLauro (D-CT) of the House Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies.

In our letters to these representatives, we noted that:

“In recent years, there have been multiple attempts to use the appropriations process to incrementally chip away at women’s health. These measures create unjust obstacles to care for millions of women, including women of color, low-income women, immigrants, and rural women, severely restricting their ability to make the best health care decisions for themselves and their families.”

You can download the six letters in full here.

This effort was organized under the umbrella of the Coalition for Abortion Access and Reproductive Equity. Other signatories include the American Civil Liberties Union, American Association of University Women, Catholics for Choice, Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, NARAL Pro-Choice America, National Council of Jewish Women, and the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. 

This newsletter will update you on some of our recent activity. We hope you enjoy.

_____________________________________________________________________________

FEDERAL 

- On April 8, CFI submitted formal comments urging the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to enact a final rule that requires all employers, apart from houses of worship, to provide or else arrange coverage for birth control without charging a co-payment. You can read our nine-page letter here, and some news coverage of our comments here.

- On April 11, CFI wrote a letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Suzan Johnson Cook regarding Bangladesh’s recent crackdown on freedom of expression, specifically its persecution of atheist bloggers arrested under the current blasphemy law. We urged them to raise public awareness of the situation and to pressure the Bangladeshi government to honor its obligations to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Right, which guarantees every individual the rights to freedom of belief, religion, and expression. You can read our letter and join us in writing the State Department here. 

 - On April 19, CFI submitted formal comments to the United States Commission for Civil Rights (USCCR) regarding the Commission’s recent briefing on “reconciling non-discrimination principles with civil liberties.” Our comments took the form of an amicus brief we submitted in the United States Supreme Court case of Christian Legal Society v. Martinez. You can read that brief here.

STATE

- CFI-Indiana Executive Director Reba Boyd Wooden worked with local members to fight a bill that would expand the state’s already problematic school voucher program. You can read more about the bill and CFI’s position here.

- CFI-Michigan issued an action alert opposing a measure in the statehouse that would broaden the state’s religious conscience protections to allow employers to deny coverage for any type of care they object to, including birth control. If you are a Michigan resident, you can contact your state senator here. 

INTERNATIONAL

- In response to Bangladesh’s crackdown on freedom of expression, an international coalition of atheist and humanist organizations — led by CFI and our partners the International Humanist and Ethical Union and CFI-Canada — has spent the past several weeks organizing protests in Washington, D.C., London, Canada, and Bangladesh, to be held May 2. You can find information on the protests here.

- On April 22, CFI’s representative to the United Nations, Michael De Dora, met with a representative from Canada’s permanent mission to the UN in New York City to discuss developments regarding freedom of belief and expression at the 22nd session of the Human Rights Council, which took place in March. The meeting was positive and constructive. 

- We have continued to work with the U.S. Department of State and the U.S Commission on International Religious Freedom on behalf of secularists and skeptics who face life-threatening blasphemy and similar charges in their home countries regarding freedom of belief or expression. We will keep you updated if and when anything happens.

CFI fully supports the free exercise of religion, and much of our work is dedicated to protecting freedom of conscience for religious believers and nonbelievers alike. However, Senate Bill 136 (PDF) does not protect freedom of religion; it allows for the imposition of religion on others.

If approved, SB 136 would put the citizens of Michigan at risk of not having access to a range of critical medical services. Consider just a few examples:

• Employers could deny women coverage for birth control and other preventative care;
• Health insurers could deny coverage to family members who seek to remove a loved one from life support;
• Doctors could refuse to inform a woman about her fetus’ severe defects out of fear she will have an abortion;
• And university guidance counselors could refuse to counsel a suicidal LGBT student.

As the Center for Inquiry recently argued to the federal Department of Health and Human Services, people should not be deprived of health care coverage simply because of their employers’ religiously motivated objections. People should have full control over their health care decisions and ought to be able to freely exercise their rights without interference from their particular employers.

The Michigan Senate could vote on SB 136 as early as this week. Please contact your state senator and tell him or her to oppose this bill and prevent employers and health insurers from dictating the health care decisions of Michigan citizens!

Take action now!

Last week, the government arrested several prominent bloggers for “hurting religious sentiments,” under Section 295A of the Bangladesh Penal Code. Home Minister M.K. Alamgir recently warned that the government has a list of seven more “atheist bloggers” who will also soon be targeted. Just today, a newspaper editor was arrested for printing quotations from the targeted bloggers. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of protesters belonging to the radical group Islami Andolan Bangladesh have rallied in the country’s capital, Dhaka, for even tougher blasphemy laws and more arrests. They have threatened violence if their demands are not met by April 25.

The Center for Inquiry (CFI) believes that no person should face social or legal punishment simply for holding or expressing their views, and we believe that no topic should be off-limits — especially religion, which has such an enormous impact on the lives of billions. That’s why we direct so much of our effort toward work at the United Nations and, more recently, organizing the Campaign for Free Expression.

CFI has written a letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Suzan Johnson Cook. We urged them to raise public awareness of the situation in Bangladesh and to pressure the Bangladeshi government to honor its obligations to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Right, which guarantees every individual the rights to freedom of belief, religion, and expression.

But we need your help. Join the Center for Inquiry in pushing Secretary Kerry and Ambassador Cook to press the government of Bangladesh to repeal its current blasphemy law, reject any new blasphemy laws, and end proceedings against bloggers for exercising their right to criticize religion.

Take action now!

You can download our nine-page letter here.

As you might recall, the “birth control rule” was originally announced on August 1, 2011, to acclaim from a wide variety of groups, including CFI. Yet almost immediately some organized conservative religious groups criticized the rule as an assault on religious freedom and called for it to be completely rescinded, or else amended to allow any organization to opt out.

In response, HHS has issued several “accommodations” for employers that object to birth control on religious grounds. These include an expansion of the definition of “religious employer” to allow merely religiously affiliated organizations to qualify for accommodation, and a procedure whereby religiously affiliated nonprofit organizations may opt out of the rule, thus requiring insurance companies to provide separate coverage.

CFI is pleased that HHS has resisted intense pressure to eliminate the rule entirely. However, we also believe that both the previous and proposed changes are unnecessary and unwise.

In our formal comments, we reiterate our support for the former definition of “religious employer” and detail a number of flaws with HHS’ new, expanded definition; explain why the birth control rule in no way violates religious liberty; and argue that adopted changes to the rule must not make it any harder for women employees to access birth control. As we write:

“We believe that there is no need for — and no constructive point to — further discussion. This prolonged debate, over something as fundamental as birth control, is a perfect example of the harmful influence sectarian religious institutions have on public policy. It’s time for us to move past them, for the common good.” 

You can read the letter in its entirety here.

This newsletter highlights some of our recent activity for interested members and followers. We hope you enjoy.

_____________________________________________________________________________

FEDERAL 

• On March 4, we released a first-of-its-kind position paper that details the growth and entrenchment of religious fundamentalism in the United States Armed Forces. This drew news coverage by HuffPost Liveand the podcast State of Belief.
• In early March, we joined representatives from several groups to meet with aides to Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL). Our goal was to convince these senators to oppose the Senate introduction of H.R. 592, a bill that would allow taxpayer funding to go towards the rebuilding of damaged houses of worship. The measure remains unfiled. You can read more about our position on this bill here.
• We also lobbied aides to Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) to include in H.R. 301 explicit mention of discrimination against non-religious persons. Our efforts will continue now that the bill has been introduced in the Senate as S. 653.
• On March 12, we attended the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee’s Spring Reception. CFI-OPP Director Michael De Dora met and spoke with Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA). 
• During the week of March 18, we joined members groups of the National Coalition for Public Education in opposing several amendments to the 2014 Senate Budget Resolution that would have created a federal school voucher program. Fortunately, we were successful. You can read more about our efforts here. 
• While we prepare final comments to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over the birth control rule, we released an action alert asking our members and followers to urge HHS to finalize the rule and provide no further exemptions or accommodations to religiously affiliated organizations.
• CFI-OPP Director Michael De Dora and Policy Analyst Ed Beck attended the marriage equality rallies and protests at the United States Supreme Court on March 26. You can read more about that here.

STATE

• In Indiana, CFI-Indiana Executive Director Reba Boyd Wooden attended a rally against school vouchers and testified against a bill to expand the state’s already problematic school voucher program. You can read Wooden’s testimony here.
• Also in Indiana, Wooden also testified in opposition to a bill that would change the definition of abortion to include non-surgical procedures performed with drugs. Her testimony was covered by FOX 59, WISH-TV 8, and The Statehouse File.
• In New York City, CFI’s local branch held an advocacy workshop. Led by Michael De Dora, the workshop taught local members how to arrange and conduct meetings with local city council members and state representatives.
• Late last month, CFI-Northeast Ohio held its first held its first Secular Summit, designed to get more secularists and skeptics active in the state’s political process. Speakers included Gary Daniels, associate director of ACLU-Ohio, and Michael De Dora. 

INTERNATIONAL

• CFI’s main representative in Geneva, Dr. Elizabeth O’Casey, lobbied the Human Rights Council to include non-religious persons in a resolution on freedom of belief. The European Union has rejected this attempt. You can read O’Casey’s report here. 
• We have been working with the U.S. Department of State and the U.S Commission on International Religious Freedom on behalf of secularists and skeptics who face life-threatening blasphemy and similar charges in their home countries. regarding freedom of belief or expression. We will keep you updated if and when anything happens. 

The proposed changes would, among other things, further accommodate employers that object to contraception on religious grounds by expanding the definition of “religious employer,” and simplifying the manner in which objecting organizations can opt out of coverage. 

We at the Center for Inquiry (CFI) applauded the Obama administration for issuing the birth control rule in August 2011, as we considered it an important step forward for reproductive rights and health care. And we are pleased the administration has held relatively steady on its commitment to provide women with free access to safe, preventative health care despite intense opposition from organized religion.

However, the proposed changes needlessly complicate what was already a scientifically sound policy, and they will force women to face additional challenges in accessing contraceptive coverage. Furthermore, the changes were a futile attempt at placating religious critics such as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. Yet both groups reject the changes and, as they have stated in their own comments on this issue, will be satisfied with nothing less than the rule being completely rescinded.

This is where you come in. Do you believe women should have full control over their reproductive systems regardless of the religious beliefs of their employer? Do you feel HHS has gone far enough in trying to please far-right religious critics of the birth control rule? Do you think it’s time to finalize the rule and move on? 

HHS will accept public comments on the proposed changes until April 8, 2013. While CFI is completing the draft of its formal comments and will not release them until next week, we urge you to write HHS as soon as possible and tell them that:

• Whatever accommodations might be adopted, nothing should prevent women from having straightforward, free access to birth control.

• The expansion of the definition of “religious employer” is wrong, and it gives organizations that claim to have a religious identity more control over the health care decisions of their employees.

• It is deeply troubling that the religious lobby has had so much influence over a major health and public policy decision, which should be based on reason, science, and the common good, rather than sectarian dogma.

• At the very least, employers should be responsible for notifying insurance providers that they will need to arrange coverage, and notifying employees that they will still receive coverage, at no additional cost, from their insurance provider.

• Coverage for health care benefits such as contraception should be seamless and any additional burdens created by HHS accommodations should be placed on the employer or else the insurance company—not the employee.

Hundreds of thousands of people who work at religiously affiliated organizations are depending on you to speak out on their behalf. Make your voice heard! Take action now!

Here’s how:

1.  Visit www.regulations.gov.

2.  In the search field, type the following: CMS-2012-0031-63161.

3.  Scroll to the result and click on “Comment Now!”

4. On the following page, submit your comment either by typing or pasting your message in the open box, or by uploading a file.

Thank you!

The session, commonly referred to as a “vote-a-rama,” began Friday around 4 p.m., and ended Saturday around 5 a.m. The Senate weighed in on 70 amendments before finally passing its first budget in four years. 

Three of the more than 400 proposed amendments concerned federal school voucher or similar programs that would allow taxpayer dollars intended for the public school system to support private and religious schools: Amendment #515, sponsored by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN); Amendment #290, sponsored by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL); and Amendment #201, sponsored by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). 

The Center for Inquiry (CFI) was well aware of these efforts, and joined the National Coalition for Public Education (NCPE) last week in writing every senator to vote down these or any similar last-second amendments. We followed up those letters with calls to every senator’s office. 

We also urged our members to contact their senators and tell them to vote “no” on any voucher amendments. 

Today, I am glad to report that the Senate considered only one of the three proposed school voucher amendments, Amendment #515, which it soundly rejected by a vote of 60-39. 

Sponsors of school voucher programs sell vouchers as a cure for our ailing education system. However, vouchers are actually a backdoor attempt to take money away from our shared public schools and funnel it to private schools — the vast majority of which are sectarian institutions that indoctrinate children with religious dogma and pseudoscience.

The Center for Inquiry (CFI) opposes school voucher programs and urges you to immediately contact your senators and tell them to vote “no” on any voucher amendments. 

School voucher programs are a big problem. Why?

1. They force taxpayers to fund religion. These programs take public funds away from public schools in order to fund private religious schools. This violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
2. They force taxpayers to fund the teaching of religious dogma. Private religious schools are not required to follow most state or federal education standards, so they can—and do—replace evidence-based curricula with faith-based religious tenets.
3. They force taxpayers to fund religious discrimination. Since private religious schools don’t have to follow most standards, they can not only teach religious dogma, they can also discriminate in hiring and firing and ignore other standards designed to ensure equality in education.
4. They force taxpayers to fund ineffective programs. Various studies by the Department of Education and other groups have found that school voucher programs do not necessarily improve academic achievement.

Instead of supporting private and religious schools, taxpayer money should be used to support and improve the public school system, which provides a religiously neutral, constitutionally sound, and evidence-based education.

Please contact your U.S. Senators today and tell them to reject any amendment that would create a school voucher program! Thank you!  

You can read more about the problems with school vouchers by downloading our position paper here.