The two-minute invocations given in the House and Senate cost taxpayers at least $783,900 this year. H.R. 2029 authorized $436,886 to the Senate chaplain’s office in 2016. House Chaplain Patrick J. Conroy earned an annual salary of $172,500 per InsideGov.com (an Aerospace Engineer at NASA averages $95,000). Conroy has two staffers, whose salaries (added to Conroy’s) push the House total budget for invocations up to $347,000 before expenses.
Chaplain Conroy rejects requests by secular individuals to offer invocations in the U.S. House, in violation of the 2014 U.S. Supreme Court decision that invocation policies must be nondiscriminatory. Dan Barker of the Freedom From Religion Foundation is being forced to sue Congress. Conroy is discriminating against the 22.8 percent of Americans with no religious affiliation (PEW Research Center, 2015).
Contrast this to Clark County, where our county councilors are far more even-handed in their superstitions. Our councilors have repeatedly endured secular individuals giving invocations. Not once has a jealous god raised his or her hand against our county in revenge. These prayers are offered by eager citizens for free. Paperwork costs are so minimal it’s not worth suing over the few tax dollars wasted.
