{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=362963", "Rep. Smith Statement on Supreme Court Decision to Hear Religious Freedom Cases", "2013-11-26", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "NJ", "Christopher Smith", "S000522", "chrissmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), Co-Chairman of the Congressional Pro-life Caucus, today released the following statement on the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s decision to take up Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood\u2019s Religious Freedom cases. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cPresident Obama\u2019s use of the coercive power of the state to force people of faith and people of conscience to violate their fundamental convictions or suffer severe penalty is unconscionable and violates the basic principles of religious freedom that are so central to our Constitution,\u201d Smith said. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThe Supreme Court\u2019s decision to take up the Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood cases gives reason to hope that they will provide much needed relief for family-owned businesses who find themselves in the impossible position of being forced to violate their moral or religious beliefs or face ruinous fines.\u201d \r\n\u00a0\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=362963"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9966050274670124, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}