House Republicans passed an amendment out of committee Wednesday that would protect adoption agencies that refuse services — such as turning away gay couples — based on their religious beliefs, putting the measure over an initial hurdle in Congress and bringing a state-level strategy to the national stage.

The House Appropriations Committee advanced the amendment, introduced by Alabama Rep. Robert Aderholt, that says adoption agencies declining a child welfare service based on “sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions” could not be punished.

Specifically, agencies that reject applicants, including gay couples and divorcées, based on religious objections, could not be denied federal funding. Nor could a state deny funding to agencies if it receives federal funding for child welfare services under the Social Security Act.

Further, the measure would punish LGBT-friendly states. The Department of Health and Human Services would withhold 15% of its annual adoption dispersals from states that don’t meet the same standards for protecting religious adoption groups. States could lose federal adoption funds, for instance, if they ban anti-LGBT discrimination — thereby tilting federal adoption funding toward states that allow religious recusals.

The amendment could have a strategic advantage. It will next be voted on by the full House of Representatives along with other critical elements of the federal budget, related to health, education, and labor priorities, rather than as a stand-alone bill. Opponents would need to vote against the entire package to kill the amendment.

But Democrats, who opposed the bill, and moderate Republicans could still jettison the measure. The House Rules Committee could nix the language, or potentially more likely, it could be killed on the House floor or rejected by the Senate.

Aderholt celebrated his victory on Twitter: