Watch All Shows Victor Davis Hanson Tony Kinnett Daily Signal Signal Sitdown

Watch All Shows Victor Davis Hanson Tony Kinnett Daily Signal Signal Sitdown

Home – Religious Liberty News – OMB’s Proposed Grant Reform Promises a Major Victory for Religious Liberty

OMB’s Proposed Grant Reform Promises a Major Victory for Religious Liberty

Justin Butterfield | Lea Patterson

Americans should not have to surrender their constitutional freedoms to partner with a government program. Churches that receive federal grants should not have to hide their crosses. Religious charities should not have to secularize their missions. And citizens should not face higher fees to speak on public property simply because officials dislike their political or religious views.

The Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) proposed overhaul of rules governing federal grants recognizes these basic principles. It is an important effort to ensure that federal funds are administered according to law, used for the purposes Congress authorized, and distributed without unlawful discrimination.

The proposed rule would establish uniform, government-wide standards for grants and other forms of federal financial assistance. Among other reforms, it directs agencies to administer awards in accordance with the Constitution and federal laws protecting free speech, religious liberty, and rights of conscience. It reinforces that faith-based organizations that do the same work as secular organizations should not be treated as second-class.

Religious organizations operate schools, hospitals, shelters, food banks, adoption ministries, and addiction-recovery programs. The government should judge them based on whether they can perform the work, not based on........

© The Daily Signal