Biden admin threatens faith-based recipients of federal funding
The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Matt Bowman, director of regulatory practice, regarding a public comment ADF attorneys submitted Wednesday to the Office of Management and Budget. The public comment urges the agency to eliminate language in a proposed guidance for grants that would harm faith-based recipients of federal programs and to restore language that specifically protects free speech and religious liberty:
“Ejecting faith-based groups from programs such as foster care and adoption will lead to fewer children served. Yet that is exactly what the Biden administration is threatening to do with its new proposed guidance for beneficiaries of federal programs. The proposed guidance violates the U.S. Constitution and contradicts the rulings of several federal courts and the U.S. Supreme Court that held that government funding conditions cannot compel religious groups to act in violation of their sincerely held beliefs. Federal agencies can’t single out people of certain beliefs to punish, sideline, or discriminate against. We urge the administration to swiftly amend its proposed guidance to affirm every American’s First Amendment rights.”
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
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ABOUT Matt Bowman
Matt Bowman serves as senior counsel and director of regulatory practice for Alliance Defending Freedom, where he leads the team focusing on the impact of administrative law on religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and family. From 2017 to 2020, Bowman was a senior executive service appointee in the Trump administration, serving the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as Deputy General Counsel, and then in the Office for Civil Rights. Prior to joining HHS, Bowman was an accomplished litigator at ADF for over ten years. Before joining ADF in 2006, Bowman served as a law clerk for Judges Samuel A. Alito, Jr., and Michael A. Chagares, at the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and for Judge John M. Roll at the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. Bowman earned his J.D. summa cum laude and was first in his class at Ave Maria School of Law in 2003. He is a member of the bar of the District of Columbia and Michigan and is admitted to practice at the U.S. Supreme Court and multiple federal appellate and district courts.