The Orthodox Union is praising Barack Obama’s appointment of Melody Barnes as director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, as well as his choice for DPC deputy director, Heather Higginbotham. From the OU’s director of public policy, Nathan Diament:
The Orthodox Union is pleased with President-Elect Obama’s appointment of Ms. Melody Barnes to be director of the White House Domestic Policy Council.
As Mr. Obama noted in introducing her, Ms. Barnes worked on many critical issues when she served on the staff of Senator Kennedy from 1995-2003 – including key religious freedom initiatives such as the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act ("RLUIPA") on which the OU worked with Ms. Barnes intensively.
The Orthodox Union is also pleased to welcome the appointment of Ms. Heather Higginbottom as the DPC’s deputy director. The OU was pleased to work closely with Ms. Higginbottom during her tenure with Senator Kerry to try to advance the Workplace Religious Freedom Act – a top priority of the OU and many other faith groups.
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