House Bill Passes giving Churches Same Status as Non-Profits for Disaster Help

Aimee Herd/Press Release : Feb 15, 2013
Christian Post

"The House has decisively acted to correct this blatant unfairness. We now need the Senate to act." -Rep. Chris Smith

(Washington, DC)—According to a report by the Christian Post, the "Federal Disaster Assistance Nonprofit Fairness Act of 2013" was passed in the US House of Representatives on Thursday. There were 354 voting in favor and only 72 who voted against the bill.

It will now move to the Senate for a vote, and if passed there, will continue to the president to be signed into law.

H.R. 592, the "Federal Disaster Assistance Nonprofit Fairness Act of 2013," is co-authored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ-04) and Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY-06), and co-sponsored by Peter King (R-NY-02), Eliot Engel (D-NY-16), Trent Franks (R-AZ-08), Michael Grimm (R-NY-11), Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ-02), Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY-04) and Bill Pascrell Jr.(D-NJ-09).

The Smith-Meng bill stipulates that the Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, which funds the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) disaster relief program, is a general government program under which federal assistance following a natural disaster can be rendered using criteria that are neutral with regard to religion. Congress has previously enacted laws providing financial assistance to religious nonprofit institutions, including houses of worship, on terms equal to other eligible nonprofit organizations. (Photo: AP)

"Throughout the disaster, faith communities served the needs of their devastated neighborhoods providing such things as hot food, warm clothes and shelter, even though many of those houses of worship were themselves severely damaged by Superstorm Sandy," said Smith, whose congressional district in Ocean and Monmouth counties were hit hard by Sandy. "These houses of worship are conduits of healing and rebuilding in the community, while lacking the resources to address their own structural damage. My bill would clarify that FEMA cannot unjustly and unreasonably discriminate against houses of worship in determining grant eligibility. Religious organizations have received federal support in other disasters and for homeland security upgrades, and helping in this disaster should be no different."

Thursday's passage of HR 592 is good news since, according to Rep. Meng, "Three-and-a-half months since the storm wreaked havoc on our region, houses of worship—and the millions of Americans who benefit from the social services these institutions provide—continue to be denied the same treatment that is afforded to other non-profit entities. This is unfair, wrong and must change. And it will change if this critical legislation becomes the law of the land."

"This legislation is long overdue," said King. "Organizations should not be denied federal assistance in times of need just because of their religious affiliations."

Congressman Engel said, "Religious organizations are a mainstay of our communities and they deserve our help in recovering from the devastation of Sandy. Many of them were the only shelter available to people who lost their homes. As the rest of the northeast recovers, these vital communal institutions must recover also."

There are precedents for federal aid to disaster-damaged houses of worship. After the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, Congress overruled FEMA's refusal to provide assistance to the damaged churches. In 2002, after an earthquake in Seattle, the Justice Department intervened to order FEMA to assist religious organizations damaged by the quake.

"The House has decisively acted to correct this blatant unfairness. We now need the Senate to act," said Rep. Chris Smith.