[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1823 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1823

     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
   Assistance Act to clarify that houses of worship are eligible for 
  certain disaster relief and emergency assistance on terms equal to 
  other eligible private nonprofit facilities, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 18, 2017

    Mr. Blunt (for himself, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Lankford, and Mr. Cruz) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
        Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
   Assistance Act to clarify that houses of worship are eligible for 
  certain disaster relief and emergency assistance on terms equal to 
  other eligible private nonprofit facilities, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Disaster Assistance 
Nonprofit Fairness Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, and other 
        houses of worship throughout communities nationwide play an 
        essential role in the daily lives of the communities.
            (2) The Federal Emergency Management Agency's (referred to 
        in this section as ``FEMA'') public assistance program provides 
        financial grants for the repair of various types of private 
        nonprofit facilities.
            (3) Among the types of nonprofits to which FEMA provides 
        such grants are those in which citizens gather and engage in a 
        variety of educational, enrichment, and social activities. 
        These activities are essential to community building and occur 
        in houses of worship.
            (4) Under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
        Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), FEMA's 
        disaster relief program is a general government program under 
        which assistance is provided in the wake of a natural disaster 
        using criteria that are neutral with regard to religion.
            (5) Congress has previously enacted legislation providing 
        financial assistance to religious nonprofit institutions, 
        including houses of worship, on terms equal to other eligible 
        nonprofit institutions.
            (6) Such legislation is consistent with recent precedents 
        of the Supreme Court of the United States and legal opinions 
        issued by the Office of Legal Counsel of the Department of 
        Justice.

SEC. 3. INCLUSION OF HOUSES OF WORSHIP AS PRIVATE NONPROFIT FACILITIES 
              ELIGIBLE FOR DISASTER RELIEF.

    (a) Definition of Private Nonprofit Facility.--Section 102(11)(B) 
of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5122(11)(B)) is amended to read as follows:
                    ``(B) Additional facilities.--In addition to the 
                facilities described in subparagraph (A), the term 
                `private nonprofit facility' includes any private 
                nonprofit facility that provides essential services of 
                a governmental nature to the general public (including 
                museums, zoos, performing arts facilities, community 
                arts centers, community centers, including houses of 
                worship exempt from taxation under section 501(c) of 
                the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, libraries, homeless 
                shelters, senior citizen centers, rehabilitation 
                facilities, shelter workshops, and facilities that 
                provide health and safety services of a governmental 
                nature), as defined by the President.''.
    (b) Repair, Restoration, and Replacement of Damaged Facilities.--
Section 406(a)(3) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5172(a)(3)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
                    ``(C) Houses of worship.--A church, synagogue, 
                mosque, temple, or other house of worship, and a 
                private nonprofit facility operated by a religious 
                organization, shall be eligible for contributions under 
                paragraph (1)(B), without regard to the religious 
                character of the facility or the primary religious use 
                of the facility.''.
    (c) Applicability.--This section and the amendments made by this 
section shall apply to the provision of assistance in response to a 
major disaster or emergency declared on or after October 28, 2012.
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