New $1 Trillion Infrastructure Bill Includes ‘Gender Identity’ As Protected Class

Senators released the full text of a proposed infrastructure bill on Sunday after weeks of negotiations. The “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act” clocks in at 2,702 pages and will spend roughly $1 trillion dollars.

Of concern for Christians is a provision which includes “gender identity” as a protected class.

Page 2,149 includes the following stipulation:

“No individual in the United States may, on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, or disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity that is funded in whole or in part with funds made available to carry out this title” (Emphasis added).

Provisions similar to this are often referred to as SOGI laws (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity laws).

These types of laws are like a Trojan Horse. Though their purpose is ostensibly to prevent discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, often, their real result is coercion, permitting discrimination against Christians who hold to historic Christian teachings on sexual morality.

As The Heritage Foundation explains, SOGI laws “penalize many Americans who believe that we are created male and female and that male and female are created for each other.”

Also, they “violate the privacy and safety of women and girls, the conscience rights of doctors and other medical professionals, and the free speech and religious liberty rights of countless professionals.”

The Daily Citizen previously noted that SOGI laws “result in the harassment and punishment of people with deeply held religious beliefs.”

One example is Jack Phillips, who was sued by the Colorado Civil Rights Commission for violating the state’s SOGI law.

Now, the infrastructure bill will allocate “$550 billion in new spending over five years above projected federal levels [to be spent on] bridges, waterworks, broadband and the electric grid.”

Additionally, the bill will provide “$110 billion for roads and bridges, $39 billion for public transit and $66 billion for rail. There’s also to be $55 billion for water and wastewater infrastructure as well as billions for airports, ports, broadband internet and electric vehicle charging stations.”

Another bill that will be under consideration over the next few months is a $3.5 trillion spending package that “encompasses the president’s policies on child care, health care, education and the environment.”

AP News reports that the bill will only require a majority of Senators to vote in favor of the bill, since congressional Democrats will use a process called “reconciliation” to pass it.

Though the Senate is likely to vote on the infrastructure bill by the end of this week, according to Politico, “Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has publicly and privately committed to holding the physical infrastructure bill until the House receives the $3.5 trillion social spending package.”

Therefore, the House likely won’t vote on the infrastructure bill until later this fall.

Related articles:

Responding to “SOGI” Laws—Tone and Truth

SOGI Laws: Trampling Privacy, Safety And Religious Freedom

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