Contact: Dane Rose, National Clergy Council, 202-546-8329 ext 106, 703-447-1072 cell

WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 /Christian Newswire/ -- The 5000 church leaders of the National Clergy Council (NCC) and its 20,000 lay affiliates commend House members who voted for the Public Expressions of Religion Protection Act. The measure passed last night 244 – 173.

NCC president Rev. Rob Schenck (pronounced SHANK), made this statement today:

“The ACLU has for too long terrorized communities by menacing them with law suits over nativity scenes and Ten Commandments displays, then profiting at the expense of taxpayers. The ACLU rolls out huge fundraising programs based on these suits, takes in millions of dollars to supposedly cover their costs, then uses the federal courts to double dip on reimbursements out of the public treasury. It’s a clever scam they’ve run for years. Finally, we have representatives brave enough to stand up to the ACLU’s extortion of the American people.”

The NCC is urging senators to act on the same measure, which has gone largely ignored by the upper house.