FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 1, 2025

Contact: Court Beyer, cbeyer@americanhumanist.org

WASHINGTON – The American Humanist Association condemns today’s passage of the Senate reconciliation bill. The legislation establishes a national, federally-subsidized private school voucher program. 77% of private schools are religious.

Fish Stark, Executive Director of the American Humanist Association, had this to say:

“The Senate majority just proved what we’ve suspected this whole time: that they couldn’t care less about the needs of the American public. This bill – with its abhorrent cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, environmental protections, and reproductive health access – is as un-American as it is un-humanist.

“This 900-page mess is chock-full of provisions that run contrary to the will of the American people – particularly the provision to establish a national federally-subsidized school privatization program. Whenever school vouchers have been on the ballot in the last 50 years, voters have resoundingly opposed them. Americans know that the best education is a publicly-funded secular one that educates all children regardless of faith, class, gender, or ability. And yet, the Senate is moving forward with this absurd plan, championed by Christian Nationalists, who are relentless in their campaign to dismantle public education.

“Thank you to the public school champions in the Senate, led by Senators Hirono and Sanders, for doing everything in their power to rein in this proposal. This fight is not over. We will continue working with humanists across the country and partners in Washington to protect every student’s right to secular public education.”

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The American Humanist Association (AHA) works to protect the rights of humanists, atheists, and other nontheistic Americans. The AHA advances the ethical and life-affirming worldview of humanism, which—without beliefs in gods or other supernatural forces—encourages individuals to live informed and meaningful lives that aspire to the greater good of humanity.