President Trump's Religious Liberty Commission, led by Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, held its latest hearing in Dallas on Wednesday.  

Members of the commission discussed concerns over religious liberty in the military. 

Some retired and current members of the armed forces testified that during the Obama administration, military chaplains were de-emphasized. Other veterans testified that during the Biden administration, they could not receive religious exemptions for declining the COVID vaccine, and as a result, they lost some of their benefits. 

Retired and active armed services members and representatives of the Sikh, Hindu, Jewish and Catholic faiths said the military was not making the necessary accommodations for them under the law.

The commission is an extension of the U.S. Department of Justice. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward addressed the hearing. 

"Religious liberty and military service have a unique connection," Woodward said. "The American military has, from the beginning, shown that readiness and religious liberty strengthen each other. Our goal is simple: to restore religious liberty to its rightful place as a fundamental pillar for generations to come."

During a news conference after the hearing, the Commission's Vice Chairman, Dr. Ben Carson, expressed his surprise at what he heard. 

"The kinds of things that we've talked about are actually going on in the home of the brave and land of the free," Carson said. "How could this be going on? But I think a lot of it is, people don't know. They're surprised and astonished to hear the kind of things going on. You'd expect that in a socialist country or a Marxist country. You wouldn't expect it here."

The hearing in Dallas served as the fourth meeting of this commission since its formation on the National Day of Prayer, May 1. Patrick said they will submit a report to President Trump by early May that will contain recommendations that came from this hearing and the other hearings they've held on similar topics involving religious liberty. 

Patrick said the president may want Congress to take action as well, "I would like to see Congressional action on a number of these issues. I believe from a bipartisan standpoint, most of these issues that we're talking about, most of them will have bipartisan support." 

He said the commission will meet at least three, possibly four more times before it submits its report to Trump.