# Plain Language Summary: Eliminating the HHS Discrimination Division Act of 2021

This bill would shut down a specific government office called the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division, which operates within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This division was created to handle complaints and issues related to religious freedom and conscience protections in healthcare. If this bill became law, that office would be eliminated 30 days after the law takes effect, and the government would be prohibited from creating any similar replacement office doing the same work.

The practical effect is that people who believe they've experienced discrimination based on their religious beliefs or conscience in healthcare settings would no longer have this particular HHS division to turn to for help. Instead, their complaints would presumably need to go through other existing civil rights channels within the government, though the bill doesn't specify exactly where these cases would be handled. The bill also requires the HHS Secretary to transfer any employees, files, and financial resources from this division to other parts of the department before it closes down.

The supporters of this bill view the division as problematic, which is why they named it the "Discrimination Division" in the bill's title—suggesting they believe the office itself enables discrimination rather than prevents it. Those who oppose eliminating it argue that it serves an important function protecting people's religious freedom rights in healthcare. This is fundamentally a disagreement about whether this particular office helps protect people's rights or harms them, and the bill reflects one side of that ongoing debate.

Eliminating the HHS Discrimination Division Act of 2021

Hayes, Jahana

Eliminating the HHS Discrimination Division Act of 2021 This bill eliminates the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division in the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and prohibits the use of federal funds to establish or operate a similar entity with respect to HHS programs and activities.