I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1552

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

Act to clarify that the religious status of a private nonprofit facility 

does not preclude the facility from receiving assistance under the Act. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 12, 2005

Mr. JINDAL (for himself and Mr. SOUDER) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to clarify that the religious status 

of a private nonprofit facility does not preclude the facility from receiving assistance under the Act.

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 ‘‘Disaster Relief Equity 

5 Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 
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1 (1) The Federal Emergency Management Agen2 cy (in this section referred to as ‘‘FEMA’’) provides 

3 critical assistance to all categories of facilities dam4 aged in natural disasters. 

5 (2) FEMA may contribute funds for the repair, 

6 restoration, reconstruction, or replacement of a pri7 vate nonprofit facility damaged or destroyed by a 

8 major disaster. 

9 (3) In February 2001, the Seattle Hebrew 

10 Academy, a private nonprofit educational facility for 

11 Jewish students, suffered damage to its facilities in 

12 the Nisqually Earthquake. 

13 (4) The Seattle Hebrew Academy applied to 

14 FEMA for Federal financial assistance to address 

15 the damage. 

16 (5) FEMA denied the Academy’s application on 

17 the basis that the facility was not ‘‘open to the gen18 eral public’’ and therefore was not a ‘‘private non19 profit facility’’ as defined by the Robert T. Stafford 

20 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

21 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.). 

22 (6) After reviewing its interpretation of the 

23 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

24 Assistance Act, FEMA concluded that the Act did 

25 not require educational facilities to be open to the 
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1 general public to be eligible for assistance under the 

2 Act. 

3 (7) The Department of Justice published a 

4 legal memorandum on whether the establishment 

5 clause of the first amendment of the Constitution 

6 would still require a religious nonprofit facility, such 

7 as the Seattle Hebrew Academy, to be denied Fed8 eral financial assistance to repair or restore disaster 

9 stricken facilities due to its religious status. 

10 (8) The Department of Justice memorandum 

11 properly concluded that FEMA aid is ‘‘made avail12 able on the basis of neutral criteria to a . . . class 

13 of beneficiaries defined without reference to religion 

14 and including . . . a host of... public and pri15 vate institutions . . .’’ and, therefore, the disburse16 ment of FEMA assistance to a religiously owned or 

17 operated private non-profit facility would not violate 

18 the establishment clause of the first amendment. 

19 SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY OF PRIVATE NONPROFIT FACILITIES 

20 FOR DISASTER ASSISTANCE. 

21 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 102(9) of the Robert T. 

22 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

23 (42 U.S.C. 5122(9)) is amended to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(9) PRIVATE NONPROFIT FACILITY.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘private 

2 nonprofit facility’ means private nonprofit edu3 cational, utility, irrigation, emergency, medical, 

4 rehabilitational, and temporary or permanent 

5 custodial care facilities (including those for the 

6 aged and disabled) and facilities on Indian res7 ervations as defined by the President. 

8 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL FACILITIES.—In addi9 tion to the facilities described in subparagraph 

10 (A), the term ‘private nonprofit facility’ in11 cludes any private nonprofit facility that pro12 vides essential services of a governmental na13 ture to the general public.’’. 

14 (b) REPAIR, RESTORATION, AND REPLACEMENT OF

15 DAMAGED FACILITIES.—Section 406(a)(3) of such Act 

16 (42 U.S.C. 5172(a)(3)) is amended by adding at the end 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(C) RELIGIOUS STATUS.—Notwith19 standing any other provision of this Act, the re20 ligious status of a private nonprofit facility, or 

21 the owner or operator of such a facility, shall 

22 not preclude its eligibility for contributions 

23 under this subsection.’’.

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