New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker declined to directly answer whether a religious education institution should lose their tax-exempt status if they oppose LGBTQ rights, avoiding taking a side on a hot button issue that matters greatly to religious Democrats and Republicans alike.
Donald Trump’s administration has moved at numerous times to protect the tax-exempt status of religious organizations and schools, even if they don’t support certain LGBTQ rights. The issue is also important to religious Democrats in states like South Carolina. The state recently sought a waiver from the Department of Health and Human Services that allows taxpayer funded foster-care agencies to refuse to perform certain services if they conflict with the organization’s religious values.
Booker decried the Trump administration “turning against what the Obama administration did” and said “whether you’re a school and are providing health care for folks, whether you are a bakery, you cannot discriminate.”
“We must stand up as a nation to say that religion cannot be an excuse to deny people health insurance, education, or more,” Booker said. “This cannot happen. And I will make sure that I assert the laws to make sure.”
But Booker did not say whether those organizations should lose their tax-exempt statuses.
“So would they lose their tax exempt status,” CNN’s Dana Bash asked.
“Again, I will press this issue. I’m not saying, because I know this is a long legal battle. I’m not dodging your question. I’m saying I believe fundamentally that discrimination is discrimination,” Booker said. “And if you are using your position to try to discriminate others, there must be consequences to that. And I will make sure to hold them accountable using the DOJ or whatever investigatory. You cannot discriminate.”
“No yes or no there,” Bash followed up.“That is a process and I’ll make sure I will hold them accountable, if it means losing your tax status,” Booker said, adding, “there has to be consequences for discrimination.”