WASHINGTON, D.C. (WordNews.org) May 10, 2013 — Months after the House approved a bill seeking to put houses of worship on the same level playing field as other nonprofit organizations seeking disaster assistance, the bill remains “mired” in the Senate.
The Federal Disaster Assistance Nonprofit Fairness Act of 2013 was drafted as a result of many houses of worship that were damaged by Superstorm Sandy.
The measure 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).
“These houses of worship are conduits of healing and rebuilding in the community, while lacking the resources to address their own structural damage,” he said. “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.”
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.
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