Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina unveiled a bill Tuesday that would stop the federal government from tracking information of individuals who receive religious exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccine.
The bill comes after the Pretrial Services Agency for the District of Columbia announced a system recording “personal religious information” of employees with “religious accommodation requests for religious exception from the federally mandated vaccination requirement,” Fox News reports.
The bill, called the Religious Freedom Over Mandates Act, would apply to federal funding for records systems.
“No federal funds may be used to establish, operate, maintain, or support any system of records on religious accommodations requested by, or granted to, an employee, detailed, contractor, consultant, intern, applicant, volunteer, or any other person with respect to any COVID-19 vaccination requirement,” the bill reads.
“The ability for individuals to openly practice their faith without fear of retribution is a precious right we must guard closely,” Norman said in a statement to Fox News.
“As if overreaching government vaccine mandates aren’t bad enough, it is highly inappropriate for federal dollars to be used to collect information about someone’s religious beliefs. The only way to prevent this information from being abused is to prevent its collection in the first place, and I thank Rep. Hinson for joining me in this effort,” he added.
Rep. Ashley Hinson said that any “form of database tracking religious beliefs flies in the face of our First Amendment - U.S. citizens are guaranteed the right to make their own medical decisions without fear of government reprisal.”
