Sen. Ted Cruz and three other Republican senators have introduced a “Federal Disaster Assistance Nonprofit Fairness Act” which would make houses of worship eligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Public Assistance program grants. “Houses of worship provide vital support services during natural disasters, including food, comfort, shelter and much more,” said Roy Blunt, one of the proposers. “It is imperative that they have the resources they need to recover and rebuild. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and help ensure houses of worship are able to continue serving local communities when they need it most.”
Recently, three Texas churches damaged by Hurricane Harvey sued FEMA over their ineligibility and after that Trump himself tweeted that “churches in Texas should be entitled to reimbursement from FEMA Relief Funds for helping victims of Hurricane Harvey.” It seems that new legislation is a logical continuation of these events.
FEMA doesn’t give money to religious organizations to avoid any excessive entanglement between church and state. Once they make an exception, they will be expected to change the rules each time some religious institution needs money.
Under the Stafford Act, houses of worship are ineligible for FEMA Public Assistance program grants, which provide funding for the repair, reconstruction, or replacement of private nonprofit facilities. This legislation would put houses of worship on an even playing field with other non-profit organizations by allowing them to apply for disaster assistance on the exact same terms as other non-profit facilities.
“Equal treatment in FEMA grant programs for all nonprofits, including religious institutions, must be reached so these groups can continue to help communities in Texas and elsewhere recover,” Sen. John Cornyn said. The problem is that houses of worship are actually different from other nonprofits because they don’t have to report who’s funding them, for how much, and where that money is going.
“The government cannot compel taxpayers to support religious institutions,” said Larry T. Decker, Executive Director of the Secular Coalition for America. “True religious freedom is the right for all Americans to decide for themselves what houses of worship if any, they support with their money. This legislation violates this fundamental freedom, protected by the Establishment Clause, by using taxpayer money to literally build churches.” “This legislation crosses a dangerous new line by putting the government in the business of building churches,” he concluded.
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