[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 2 (Thursday, January 4, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S43]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             FEMA Decision

  Mr. President, the other issue I want to speak about today very 
briefly is that I want to commend the administration and the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency for a decision they just made. That 
decision was to make houses of worship eligible for Federal disaster 
aid. This is in line with legislation that I introduced in September of 
last year. Senator Gillibrand and I introduced this legislation after 
the impact of Hurricane Sandy on houses of worship.
  FEMA's Public Assistance Program provides financial grants for the 
repair, reconstruction, and replacement of private nonprofit 
facilities--private nonprofit facilities. However, until yesterday, 
houses of worship were ineligible for FEMA public assistance grants.
  As we saw last year, houses of worship--churches, synagogues, 
mosques, and other places--are critical institutions within 
communities. They help feed people in need and, in trying to respond to 
disaster, they provide comfort and shelter during those disasters. FEMA 
not only did the right thing by making houses of worship eligible for 
disaster assistance, it did what our Constitution demands.
  According to FEMA officials, the change in policy was prompted by the 
Supreme Court's ruling in the case of Trinity Lutheran Church of 
Columbia, Inc. v. Comer. We have a provision in our constitution which 
I argued against and other Missouri elected officials filed amicus 
briefs against where we said our constitution was wrong in finding that 
religious, not-for-profit organizations couldn't be eligible for State 
programs simply because they were religious. That is not what the U.S. 
Constitution says. It is not what the Supreme Court determined State 
constitutions have a right to do.

  So FEMA has taken an important step. I think it is equally important 
now that we make this policy permanent law. It is the right thing to 
do. It deserves to be permanently the right thing to do. I am hoping 
that we see the legislation that I have introduced and that many have 
cosponsored in whatever is the next supplemental disaster funding. 
Money is going to be spent. Let's go ahead and properly authorize it, 
as the Supreme Court said we had every right to do and as FEMA has 
decided that it is the right thing to do.
  We are in a new year. We have new challenges. One of the goals we 
have is to be sure that we move forward in strengthening our economy, 
to help those responding to disasters and expanding opportunities for 
hard-working families. We have done that with regulatory reform, with 
judges who will determine what the law says, and with a tax bill where 
people will soon see in their paycheck that it is actually all about 
hard-working families.
  I have an editorial from the Joplin Globe today. A tornado struck a 
community in 2011, and over 100 people were killed. According to the 
Joplin Globe editorial--just to remind me of the numbers--some 28 
churches were either destroyed or damaged by the tornado that came 
through Joplin. A significant number were totally destroyed. I have 
been to a number of those buildings that have been replaced, but they 
were replaced without any of the kind of assistance that other not-for-
profits would have had.
  The Joplin Globe editorial ends with this:

       Floods, fires, tornadoes and hurricanes don't treat 
     churches differently. Neither should FEMA.

  Again, I congratulate FEMA for the decision they made on this topic.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Joplin Globe 
editorial be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                        [From the Joplin Globe]

                    Our View: FEMA Aid for Churches

       During Joplin's 2011 tornado, some 28 churches were either 
     destroyed or damaged. But those that were still standing 
     quickly opened doors and became centers for those left 
     homeless after this national disaster.
       That's why we applaud the Federal Emergency Management 
     Agency's announcement that houses of worship are eligible for 
     FEMA Public Assistance program grants, which provide funding 
     for the repair, reconstruction or replacement of private 
     nonprofit sites.
       That's thanks to U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., who introduced 
     the legislation in September to make houses of worship 
     permanently eligible for disaster assistance. Sen. Claire 
     McCaskill, the Democrat from Missouri, also added her name to 
     the bill in a show of bipartisan support.
       Both Blunt and McCaskill, in statements put out on 
     Wednesday, recognize the value churches can play in 
     disasters.
       ``I'm glad to see FEMA do the right thing by ensuring 
     houses of worship are eligible for disaster aid on the same 
     terms as other nonprofits,'' Blunt said. ``As we saw again 
     last year, houses of worship serve a vital role during 
     disasters, providing shelter, food and other services for 
     families who need it the most.''
       Previously, houses of worship were ineligible for FEMA 
     Public Assistance program grants. FEMA's announcement on 
     Wednesday means that churches, synagogues or mosques affected 
     by disasters declared on or after Aug. 23, 2017, and for 
     applications for assistance that were pending with FEMA as of 
     Aug. 23, 2017, are eligible for assistance.
       Blunt's right. Legislation is still needed to ensure houses 
     of worship remain eligible for disaster assistance under 
     federal law on a permanent basis. Floods, fires, tornadoes 
     and hurricanes don't treat churches differently. Neither 
     should FEMA.

  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Blunt). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.