II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4340 

To ensure that a State or local jurisdiction is ineligible to receive or use 

funds allocated, appropriated, or authorized to address COVID–19 if 

that State or jurisdiction discriminates against religious individuals or 

religious institutions, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 28, 2020 

Mr. CRUZ introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To ensure that a State or local jurisdiction is ineligible 

to receive or use funds allocated, appropriated, or authorized to address COVID–19 if that State or jurisdiction 

discriminates against religious individuals or religious institutions, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safeguarding Ameri5 cans from Coronavirus and Religious Exercise Discrimina6 tion Act’’ or the ‘‘SACRED Act’’. 


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•S 4340 IS

1 SEC. 2. PREVENTING DISCRIMINATION AGAINST RELI2 GIOUS INDIVIDUALS AND INSTITUTIONS. 

3 (a) INELIGIBILITY FOR FUNDS.—A State or local ju4 risdiction shall be ineligible to receive or use funds allo5 cated, appropriated, or authorized to address COVID–19 

6 (referred to as ‘‘covered funds’’) if that State or local ju7 risdiction is committing a violation described in subsection 

8 (b). 

9 (b) VIOLATIONS.—A State or local jurisdiction com10 mits a violation under this subsection if that State or local 

11 jurisdiction— 

12 (1) enforces, or announces the intent to enforce, 

13 any law, regulation, policy, order, proclamation, or 

14 decree related to COVID–19 that discriminates 

15 against religious individuals or religious institutions; 

16 or 

17 (2) provides, or shows an intention to provide, 

18 covered funds to a separate State or local jurisdic19 tion that is ineligible to receive or use those funds 

20 because the State or local jurisdiction has committed 

21 a violation described in paragraph (1). 

22 (c) DETERMINATION OF INELIGIBILITY.—The Attor23 ney General shall make a determination of whether a State 

24 or local jurisdiction is ineligible to receive or use covered 

25 funds in accordance with subsection (a). 

26 (d) ENFORCEMENT.— 


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•S 4340 IS

1 (1) FUNDS NOT YET DISBURSED.—If, before 

2 the covered funds are disbursed, the Attorney Gen3 eral determines that a State or local jurisdiction is 

4 ineligible to receive such funds, the covered funds 

5 shall not be disbursed until the Attorney General 

6 certifies that the State or local jurisdiction is no 

7 longer in violation of subsection (b) and is eligible to 

8 receive covered funds. 

9 (2) FUNDS ALREADY DISBURSED.—If, after 

10 covered funds have been disbursed, the Attorney 

11 General determines that a State or local jurisdiction 

12 was not, or is no longer, eligible to receive those cov13 ered funds, the applicable Federal agency that would 

14 otherwise disburse such covered funds shall identify 

15 and withhold from the State or local jurisdiction 

16 funds otherwise authorized to be allocated to that 

17 State or local jurisdiction from that Federal agency 

18 in an amount not to exceed the amount the State or 

19 local jurisdiction received in covered funds from that 

20 Federal agency, until the Attorney General certifies 

21 that the State or local jurisdiction is no longer in 

22 violation of subsection (b) and is eligible to receive 

23 such covered funds. 

24 (3) FUNDS TRANSFERRED.—If a State or local 

25 jurisdiction transferred covered funds to another 


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•S 4340 IS

1 State or local jurisdiction that is in violation of sub2 section (b)(1), the applicable Federal agency shall 

3 identify and withhold from the State or local juris4 diction funds otherwise authorized to be allocated to 

5 that State or local jurisdiction from that Federal 

6 agency in an amount not to exceed the amount of 

7 covered funds the State or local jurisdiction trans8 ferred in violation of subsection (b)(2) that were dis9 bursed from that Federal agency, until the Attorney 

10 General certifies that the State or local jurisdiction 

11 that received transferred covered funds is eligible to 

12 receive and use those funds, or the covered funds are 

13 returned from the recipient to the transferring State 

14 or local jurisdiction. 

Æ 


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