Oklahoma GOP: OK Federal Delegation on Hobby Lobby SCOTUS Decision

OKLAHOMA CITY, June 30 -- The Oklahoma Republican Party issued the following news release:

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) released the following statement after the Supreme Court upheld the religious liberties of closely-held companies in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.:

"The Green family has built a successful business based on principles that are rooted in their deeply held faith. Today the Supreme Court ruled to protect those principles and the religious liberties of private employers. ObamaCare's mandate that employers provide abortion inducing drugs to employees violated the conscience of the Greens. Instead of succumbing to enormous financial penalties for failing to comply, the Green family stood strong in their faith and successfully fought against the intrusions of the federal government and preserved their right to religious freedom."

On Jan. 27, 2014, Inhofe joined Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and 13 Members of Congress in filing a legal brief with the Supreme Court arguing that a federal mandate requiring that women's contraception, including abortifacient drugs, be covered by all health insurance plans violates the RFRA.

Sen. Coburn

U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) released the following statement today regarding the Supreme Court's ruling on the Hobby Lobby case:

The Supreme Court's decision today is a victory for all Americans. The Court wisely affirmed that it is wrong for the government to violate the freedom of conscience and religious liberties of American citizens. Religious freedom is the foundation of all of our rights and that foundation was strengthened by today's ruling.

Hobby Lobby's success has always been based on its owners' - the Green family's - work ethic and character, which are informed by their religious beliefs. Hobby Lobby is closed on Sunday, they pay their employees a livable wage, they provide health insurance for their employees, and they support numerous charities across the nation. I am pleased the Supreme Court sent a message to other business owners and entrepreneurs across America that they don't have to surrender their Constitutional rights when opening a business.

Finally, this case was not about access to birth control, but government coercion. Hobby Lobby, which employs thousands of Americans across the country, provides its employees with quality health care insurance, including coverage for nearly all FDA approved contraceptives. This case was about the federal government forcing Hobby Lobby's owners to choose between paying for life-ending drugs and devices and violating their beliefs, or crippling their business. I'm pleased the Court ruled in favor of freedom.

Congressman Bridenstine - CD1

This is a great day for religious liberty in America. The Supreme Court has ruled, although more narrowly than many would prefer, that closely held companies do not have to leave their deeply held religious convictions at the door of their businesses. I celebrate with the Green and Hahn families and offer my sincere appreciation for standing on their beliefs.

The Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Woods cases considered before the Supreme Court are all about fundamental First Amendment rights: Do citizens have the right to enter into business without abandoning their faith?

Both of these family-owned businesses started small. They have grown over the years without abandoning their deeply held convictions about how to interact with their employees while making a living and serving their communities. Then Obamacare forced them into a difficult decision.

The "HHS mandate" would require them to provide certain drugs and services that are readily available elsewhere, should their employees choose to use them. The problem is that a small number of these drugs and services violate the values of these employers, so they choose not to provide them as part of their employee benefits. The business owners are not denying their employees the right to make their own personal choices about whether to use these particular drugs and services. These families are simply choosing that their company will not provide the drugs and services. The Court has affirmed that family owned, "closely held" corporations have the right to make that choice.

This is a fundamental religious liberty concern not confined to any one group. Numerous members of widely diverse religious communities have sued over whether HHS can mandate that people must abandon the free exercise of religious convictions in order to operate a business in America today. While over half of Americans disapprove of Obamacare overall, even more oppose the HHS mandate.

The Obamacare fine for companies that do not provide insurance at all is $2,000 per year per employee. But companies like Hobby Lobby and Conestoga, which provide excellent healthcare coverage, would have been fined $36,500 per year per employee over a very small number of products the families find objectionable. The "Fine on Faith" was $100 per employee per day. This would have amounted to approximately half a billion dollars per year for Hobby Lobby.

The irony is that the Obama Administration has chosen to exempt hundreds of thousands of others on purely secular grounds, but they chose to fight the Green and Hahn families all the way to the Supreme Court.

I believe the majority of the Court has made the correct judgment in upholding this fundamental constitutional right.

Congressman Mullin - CD2

Congressman Markwayne Mullin (OK-02) made the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. that under Obamacare for-profit employers can choose not to provide contraception coverage because of religious objections.

"As a business owner, I'm personally appalled by this Administration's attempt to dictate the free will of the private sector," said Mullin. "I have long been opposed to President Obama's healthcare law for its economic harm, increased costs, and its inability to address our healthcare challenges. But it's important that we also remember that this law is attempting to systematically change the way in which the government can intervene in our lives.

"Americans hold religious freedom as one of most important founding principles of this nation. We believe that each of us should be able to follow our faith and practice our beliefs without scrutiny or persecution from the government. This law is encroaching upon this freedom and essentially setting new standards for what our government can and cannot mandate.

"I applaud the Supreme Court for their careful consideration and for ruling in favor of our nation's principles. Blocking this overreach is a win for all Americans."

Congressman Lankford - CD5

Representative James Lankford (R-Okla.) expressed his support today after the Supreme Court released its decision that Oklahoma City-based Hobby Lobby is not required to provide abortifacient drugs to its employees under Obamacare's mandate.

"The court's decision today in favor of Hobby Lobby affirms every Americans' constitutional right to religious liberty. In a time when our constitutional liberties are under attack, today's decision represents a significant victory to preserve those rights," said Lankford. "I applaud Hobby Lobby and its owners for tenaciously pursuing protection of religious liberty on behalf of themselves, their employees and all Americans.

"The Court's opinion affirmed that the President cannot tell individuals with sincere religious beliefs they can only practice their faith in the privacy of their home but not in other areas of their life. In addition to the religious liberty victory, this decision also limits this Administration's capacity to fine faith-based companies out of existence for failing to comport with the President's beliefs. Since the case centers around companies with greater than fifty employees, it would have created an arbitrary change in citizen rights and companies who grow past fifty people. The Court rejected the argument that if your company grows past fifty people, you lose your religious freedom."

Obamacare's individual mandate required Hobby Lobby to provide free coverage, including drugs that can cause abortions, in their employer-sponsored health plans or face fines of $36,500 per employee per year. Obamacare would have forced Hobby Lobby to decide between complying with rules that violated their beliefs or drop healthcare coverage for all employees and direct them to the Obamacare exchanges, for which Hobby Lobby would have been fined $2,000 per employee per year.

"People of faith should never be compelled by the federal government to choose between practicing their faith and participating in the market," continued Lankford. "As Americans, we pride ourselves on empowering any individual, regardless of faith, to live the American dream. We should not allow secularism to dictate the free practice of religion.

"Hobby Lobby never argued against the ability for women to access contraceptives; they simply do not believe in being forced by the federal government to cover abortifacients. Today's decision merely protects a closely held corporation like Hobby Lobby from being forced to pay for drugs that could cause abortions that go against their Christian beliefs.

"When Congress passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) in 1993, they rightfully reaffirmed religious liberty for all Americans. The day-to-day operation of a closely held company should not include losing any of their enumerated rights to liberty. In a time when so many things in Washington diminish hope for our nation's future, this ruling is a breath of fresh air," concluded Lankford.

In September 2012, Oklahoma City-based, family-owned Hobby Lobby filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma over the Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate to provide four specific potentially life-terminating drugs and medical devices in the healthcare plans offered to employees. After a lengthy battle in the District Court and Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals on November 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a writ of certiorari to Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. (now Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.) Hobby Lobby then presented their oral argument before the Court on March 25, 2014, with a decision issued today.

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