Marco Rubio Pushes Back Against Obama on Religious Freedom

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., came out swinging at President Barack Obama on Wednesday, attacking the Democrat for backing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' mandate that religious organizations provide insurance coverage for birth control under the federal health-care law that the president signed. At the end of January, Rubio introduced a measure allowing church-affiliated organizations the ability to opt out on grounds of religious liberty and right of conscience -- the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 2012.

Rubio spoke at a media event at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday with some of the leading Republicans in Washington -- including U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and U.S. Sen. John Thune of South Dakota -- to promote his legislation and attack the administration.

This is very straightforward, Rubio said. This is about whether the government of the United States should have the power to go in and tell a faith-based organization that they have to pay for something that they teach their members shouldnt be doing. Its that simple; and if the answer is yes, then this government can reach all kinds of other absurd results.

I think the vast majority of Americans, whether on the left or the right, will tell you that the government of the United States should not have the power to be able to go in and tell a church-based organization that they must pay for something that that faith teaches their members not to do," Rubio added. And that is what this issue is about, and that is why you have commentators on both the left and the right saying that this is wrong. That is why I think you have people in the White House uncomfortable with it.

So here is the solution in my mind. The solution is for the president to come back and say, You know what, maybe we overreached. Maybe we went too far. Weve heard from a lot of people, we are going to reconsider this decision. There is nothing wrong with that, continued Rubio. We have plenty of other issues to argue with this president about. We have plenty of other issues to take to the American people throughout the year and in the next November election. This does not have to be one of them. And all the president has to do is basically reconsider the decision they made and acknowledge that maybe they went too far and maybe they did not think about it all the way when they made it. And I hope that is what will happen.

If it doesnt, then I hope that this Senate and that House will act on it, as well, because the American people are asking us to, and I think thats an important issue, Rubio said.