"On the eve of our nation's Independence Day, this is the perfect time to honor our veterans by protecting the religious freedom for which they fought and sacrificed," he said. "The Supreme Court recently upheld the constitutionality of religious displays with historic roots such as those commonly found in VA facilities," he added.
The policy change drew criticism from Mikey Weinstein, founder and president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.
In a July 3 statement, Weinstein said the policy change was "nothing more than a transparent and repugnant attempt to further buttress and solidify fundamentalist Christianity as the insuperable official religion of choice for the VA, our Armed Forces, and this country."
Weinstein claimed the VA announcement was "both tragic and predictable in this hyper-dangerous era of an ignorant, fundamentalist Christian lapdog cum coward as our Commander in Chief."
He objected that the policies were "clearly based" on the Supreme Court's "idiotic decision" regarding the Peace Cross.
The VA's new policy announcement linked to news stories about various restrictions and bans that have drawn controversy.
A VA hospital in Georgia barred high school Christmas carolers from singing religious songs. The hospital required them to sing from a list of 12 Christmas songs its pastoral service deemed appropriate. The ban was enacted on the grounds that each veteran had the right to be protected from unwelcomed religious material.
In other facilities across the country, VA officials have barred gifts wrapped with wrapping paper or gift bags that used the words "Merry Christmas."
A Dallas VA medical center refused a delivery of children's handwritten Christmas cards because they used phrases like "Merry Christmas" and "God Bless You," Fox News reported in 2014.
In November 2015, a VA medical center in Virginia backed away from an earlier announcement that it would not allow Christmas trees in public areas. It said it would allow the trees "so long as they were accompanied by the respective symbols of the two other faiths that celebrate holidays during this holiday season - namely symbols commemorating Hanukkah and Kwanzaa," the Salem VA Medical Center public affairs officer said, according to the Virginia NBC television affiliate WSLS.
The controversies had already resulted in some changes.
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Department of Veterans Affairs guidance released in 2016 said that once a VA facility director allows holiday singing in a designated location, the department "must remain neutral regarding the views expressed by the group or individual generally or in its holiday songs."
The 2016 guidance said that Veterans Health Administration facilities may receive cards and gifts with religious messages for distributions to patients and residence in accordance with their individual preferences.
It also allowed veterans' groups to set up displays with religious items on VA property.