Passage of Bipartisan Infrastructure Package a Crucial Step Toward a Fairer America

For Immediate Release Contact: Shannon Craig Straw, West End Strategy Team, 202-776-7700, scstraw@westendstrategy.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 15, 2021

CONTACT
Manisha Sunil, West End Strategy Team
msunil@westendstrategy.com; Phone: 202-417-0171

Passage of Bipartisan Infrastructure Package a Crucial Step Toward a Fairer America
The long-awaited legislation ensures funding goes where it’s most needed, not to private religious groups

WASHINGTON—The Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (BIF) is critical to building more equitable communities and ensures funding goes where it is most needed. Following President Biden signing the legislation into law this afternoon, Rabbi Jack Moline, president of Interfaith Alliance, released the following statement:

“This afternoon’s signing of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (BIF) signals a historic and long-overdue shift in American priorities, strengthening much of the infrastructure on which all Americans depend and providing support for those who need it most.

“Critically, many of the legislation’s provisions will direct funding to America’s most vulnerable, correcting a lamentable error in the COVID-19 relief bills of last year which created new funding streams for private religious interests rather than directly addressing the needs of America’s most vulnerable.

“Interfaith Alliance welcomes the support BIF extends to the nation’s everyday people, those who rely on public transport to get to work or live with fear over the quality of the water their children drink. Much work remains to be done but this unprecedented legislation is a vital down payment on future investments.

“As the nation’s only interfaith organization focused on protecting the Constitutionally guaranteed freedom of (and from) religion, Interfaith Alliance is keenly aware that the impact of such funding, when directed to private religious organizations, can all too easily run counter to bedrock democratic principles. American democracy depends on a clear and inviolable line between religion and government; one way we reinforce that line is to give the necessary support to all Americans to live their lives free of religious coercion disguised as assistance.”

If you are interested in speaking further with Interfaith Alliance on this issue, please contact Manisha Sunil at (202) 417-0171 or msunil@westendstrategy.com.

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Interfaith Alliance is a network of people of diverse faiths and beliefs from across the country working together to build a resilient democracy and fulfill America’s promise of religious freedom and civil rights not just for some, but for all. We mobilize powerful coalitions to challenge Christian nationalism and religious extremism, while fostering a better understanding of the healthy boundaries between religion and government. We advocate at all levels of government for an equitable and just America where the freedoms of belief and religious practice are protected, and where all persons are treated with dignity and have the opportunity to thrive. For more information visit interfaithalliance.org.