II 

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. 

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 ‘‘Federal Disaster As5 sistance Nonprofit Fairness Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, 

2 and other houses of worship throughout communities 

3 nationwide play an essential role in the daily lives of 

4 the communities. 

5 (2) The Federal Emergency Management Agen6 cy’s (referred to in this section as ‘‘FEMA’’) public 

7 assistance program provides financial grants for the 

8 repair of various types of private nonprofit facilities. 

9 (3) Among the types of nonprofits to which 

10 FEMA provides such grants are those in which citi11 zens gather and engage in a variety of educational, 

12 enrichment, and social activities. These activities are 

13 essential to community building and occur in houses 

14 of worship. 

15 (4) Under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re16 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 

17 et seq.), FEMA’s disaster relief program is a general 

18 government program under which assistance is pro19 vided in the wake of a natural disaster using criteria 

20 that are neutral with regard to religion. 

21 (5) Congress has previously enacted legislation 

22 providing financial assistance to religious nonprofit 

23 institutions, including houses of worship, on terms 

24 equal to other eligible nonprofit institutions. 


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1 (6) Such legislation is consistent with recent 

2 precedents of the Supreme Court of the United 

3 States and legal opinions issued by the Office of 

4 Legal Counsel of the Department of Justice. 

5 SEC. 3. INCLUSION OF HOUSES OF WORSHIP AS PRIVATE 

6 NONPROFIT FACILITIES ELIGIBLE FOR DIS7 ASTER RELIEF. 

8 (a) DEFINITION OF PRIVATE NONPROFIT FACIL9 ITY.—Section 102(11)(B) of the Robert T. Stafford Dis10 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

11 5122(11)(B)) is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL FACILITIES.—In addi13 tion to the facilities described in subparagraph 

14 (A), the term ‘private nonprofit facility’ in15 cludes any private nonprofit facility that pro16 vides essential services of a governmental na17 ture to the general public (including museums, 

18 zoos, performing arts facilities, community arts 

19 centers, community centers, including houses of 

20 worship exempt from taxation under section 

21 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

22 libraries, homeless shelters, senior citizen cen23 ters, rehabilitation facilities, shelter workshops, 

24 and facilities that provide health and safety 


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1 services of a governmental nature), as defined 

2 by the President.’’. 

3 (b) REPAIR, RESTORATION, AND REPLACEMENT OF

4 DAMAGED FACILITIES.—Section 406(a)(3) of the Robert 

5 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

6 (42 U.S.C. 5172(a)(3)) is amended by adding at the end 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘(C) HOUSES OF WORSHIP.—A church, 

9 synagogue, mosque, temple, or other house of 

10 worship, and a private nonprofit facility oper11 ated by a religious organization, shall be eligible 

12 for contributions under paragraph (1)(B), with13 out regard to the religious character of the fa14 cility or the primary religious use of the facil15 ity.’’. 

16 (c) APPLICABILITY.—This section and the amend17 ments made by this section shall apply to the provision 

18 of assistance in response to a major disaster or emergency 

19 declared on or after October 28, 2012. 

Æ 


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