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Traditional Values Coalition is the largest non-denominational, grassroots church lobby in America. Founded in 1980, by Rev. Louis P. Sheldon, Chairman, TVC has sought to empower people of faith through knowledge.
TVC speaks on behalf of over 43,000 churches bridging racial and socio-economic barriers and includes most Christian denominations. Churches across the United States and throughout Puerto Rico find a valuable resource in TVC.
With an emphasis on the restoration of the values needed to maintain strong, unified families, Traditional Values Coalition, focuses on such issues as religious liberties, marriage, the right to life, the homosexual agenda, pornography, family tax relief and education.
While Traditional Values Coalition is a lobbying organization, its sister organization, Traditional Values Coalition Education & Legal Institute, is a foundation dedicated to educating and supporting churches in their efforts to restore America’s cultural heritage.
TVC believes America’s strength is in her churches. Pastors and their churches are not barred by law from being involved in the making of public policy. Traditional Values Coalition provides a multitude of information for Christians and pastors, to equip them with the information they need to be educated on issues and on the representative form of government.
Rev. Sheldon and Andrea Lafferty, Executive Director, know what is at stake for America and they work hard to defend what is morally right. They bring a wealth of information to America’s churches and are a voice of reason in the media.
Rev. Sheldon served for 25 years as an ordained minister prior to founding TVC. Andrea, who served in both the Reagan and Bush Administrations, directs the day-to-day lobbying in Washington. They work regularly with members of the House and Senate and their staffs on a variety of pro-family issues of concern to churches and the grassroots.
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Louis P. Sheldon (born 1934 in Washington, D.C.) is an American Presbyterian pastor and chairman of the social conservative organization, the Traditional Values Coalition. He primarily speaks and writes about social issues such as abortion, religious liberty, and public acceptance of homosexuality and same-sex marriage.
Sheldon was born and raised in Washington, D.C., the son of a Jewish mother and a Protestant father. He earned a B.S. in History from Michigan State University in 1957 and a M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1960. Sheldon founded the Traditional Values Coalition in 1980 as a non-denominational, grassroots church lobby.
He has appeared as a guest commentator on the Fox News Channel, on programs such as Cavuto on Business, Hannity & Colmes, and The O'Reilly Factor. He has also appeared on CNBC, MSNBC, CNN, and PBS, and has also been featured in newspapers such as The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, as well as on numerous national radio talk shows.
Sheldon was married on August 24, 1957 and has four children.
Link to Jack Abramoff scandals
Sheldon was an associate of Jack Abramoff, the Republican lobbyist jailed for influence peddling. Sheldon worked with Abramoff to lobby members of the US Congress to kill the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act. Abramoff directed his client, eLottery, to direct $25,000 in payments to Sheldon's Traditional Values Coalition.
The TVC has also been linked to the Mariana Islands worker abuse scandal. The organization was used by Abramoff to pay for the trip of at least one member of Congress to visit the island, then-Congressman Bob Schaffer. The Denver Post reported that the TVC paid the $13,000 travel bill for the trip, organized by Abramoff's lobbying firm.[1]
Abramoff's lobbying team would prepare questions and "factual backup" for friendly lawmakers. Trips to the island for congressmen and staff would be a key tool to "build permanent friends," the memo said.
The congressional junkets to the Mariana Islands were designed to build support in Congress among Republican lawmakers to block labor and immigration reforms at the islands, which had been found to harbor worker abuse and forced abortions among immigrant workers. The trips involved hotel stays and parasailing trips.
