As part of the congressional push to overhaul the nation's tax code, there is a push by republicans to roll back an amendment that would allow churches to endorse political candidates, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
"No pastor should be targeted by the IRS for practicing their faith or expressing their religious views which the Constitution protects," Congressman Kevin Brady tells Newsradio 1200 WOAI.
The Houston Republican, who chairs the powerful Ways and Means Committee, sees the so-called Johnson Amendment as a violation of church's First-Amendment rights.
Signed in 1954, the provision prohibits all religious institutions and 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations from endorsing or opposing political candidates.
But the push to repeal the amendment is not sitting well with a group of about 100 democratic congressmen, who have signed on to a letter, urging congress to preserve limits on political activity by nonprofits.
Texas Congressman Beto O'Rourke (D-El Paso) says the separation of church and state is foundational for our country's success.
"There's a basic choice to make. You can have a tax-exempt status and play by the rules, or you can pay taxes and participate in political giving and endorsement of candidates. Now is the wrong time to end that when we already have too much money in politics and it's too hard for the average American to have a voice in the democracy."
But Congressman Brady argues that supporters of the current tax code have it wrong.
"The federal government doesn’t need to be protected from faith leaders, our faith leaders need to be protected from the federal government."
President Trump also weighed in on the debate, in May, when he signed the "Presidential Executive Order Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty," which eases enforcement
.“Under my administration, free speech does not end at the steps of a cathedral or synagogue or any other house of worship,” Trump said at the time.