On June 21, the Senate Judicary Committee held an oversight hearing of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Much of the focus of the hearing, of course, was onrecent allegations about improper politicization of decisions about hirings and voting rights cases in the Division

But we were concerned that, in light of a front page NYTimes article the previous week the Division’s excellent work over the past six years in protecting and supporting religious liberty might get criticized as well. Thus, the OU/IPA spearheaded a letter to the Committee (see below), signed by a diverse set of organizations, commending the Division for its work in defense of our “first freedom.” Senator Orrin Hatch cited the letter and entered it into the record early in the hearing. We’ll link to video or a transcript when it becomes available.

_Letter_to_Judiciary_Committee.doc