I 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5285 
To ensure that organizations with religious or moral convictions are allowed 
to continue to provide services for children. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 30, 2014 
Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mr. PITTS, Mr. MULVANEY, Mr. 
HUELSKAMP, Mrs. BACHMANN, Mr. LATTA, Mr. BRADY of Texas, Mr. 
NUNNELEE, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. BARLETTA, Mr. PITTENGER, Mr. 
WEBER of Texas, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. 
SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. LONG, Mr. SOUTHERLAND, Mr. JONES, Mrs. 
BLACK, and Mr. JOLLY) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To ensure that organizations with religious or moral convic-
tions are allowed to continue to provide services for chil-
dren. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Welfare Provider 
Inclusion Act of 2014’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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moral convictions that relate to their work and 
should not be forced to choose between their liveli-
hood and adherence to those beliefs or convictions. 
(13) Because governmental entities provide 
child welfare services through many charitable, reli-
gious, and private organizations, each with varying 
religious beliefs or moral convictions, and through 
diverse individuals with varying religious beliefs or 
moral convictions, the religiously impelled inability 
of some religious organizations or individuals to pro-
vide certain services will not have a material effect 
on a person’s ability to access federally funded child 
welfare services. 
(14) The activities of funding and admin-
istering these child welfare services substantially af-
fect interstate commerce. 
(15) Taking adverse actions against child wel-
fare service providers that are unable, due to their 
sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions, 
to provide certain services (or provide services under 
certain circumstances) substantially affects inter-
state commerce. 
(16) The provisions of this Act are remedial 
measures that are congruent and proportional to 
protecting the constitutional rights of child welfare 
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service providers guaranteed under the Fourteenth 
Amendment to the United States Constitution. 
(17) Congress has the authority to pass this 
Act pursuant to its spending clause power, com-
merce clause power, and enforcement power under 
section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the 
United States Constitution. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol-
lows: 
(1) To prohibit governmental entities from dis-
criminating or taking an adverse action against a 
child welfare service provider on the basis that the 
provider declines to provide a child welfare service 
that conflicts, or under circumstances that conflict, 
with the sincerely held religious beliefs or moral con-
victions of the provider. 
(2) To protect child welfare service providers’ 
exercise of religion and to ensure that governmental 
entities will not be able to force those providers, ei-
ther directly or indirectly, to discontinue all or some 
of their child welfare services because they decline to 
provide a child welfare service that conflicts, or 
under circumstances that conflict, with their sin-
cerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions. 
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(3) To provide relief to child welfare service 
providers whose rights have been violated. 
SEC. 3. DISCRIMINATION AND ADVERSE ACTIONS PROHIB-
ITED. 
(a) The Federal Government, and any State that re-
ceives federal funding for any program that provides child 
welfare services under part B or part E of title IV of the 
Social Security Act (and any subdivision, office or depart-
ment of such State) shall not discriminate or take an ad-
verse action against a child welfare service provider on the 
basis that the provider has declined or will decline to pro-
vide, facilitate, or refer for a child welfare service that con-
flicts with, or under circumstances that conflict with, the 
provider’s sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convic-
tions. 
(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to conduct forbid-
den by paragraph (18) of section 471(a) of such Act. 
SEC. 4. FUNDS WITHHELD FOR VIOLATION. 
The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
withhold from a State 15 percent of the Federal funds 
the State receives for a program that provides child wel-
fare services under part B or part E of title IV of the 
Social Security Act if the State violates section 3 when 
administering or disbursing funds under such program. 
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SEC. 5. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION. 
(a) A child welfare service provider aggrieved by a 
violation of section 3 may assert that violation as a claim 
or defense in a judicial proceeding and obtain all appro-
priate relief, including declaratory relief, injunctive relief, 
and compensatory damages, with respect to that violation. 
(b) A child welfare service provider that prevails in 
an action by establishing a violation of section 3 is entitled 
to recover reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs. 
(c) By accepting or expending federal funds in con-
nection with a program that provides child welfare services 
under part B or part E of title IV of the Social Security 
Act, a State waives its sovereign immunity for any claim 
or defense that is raised under this section. 
SEC. 6. SEVERABILITY. 
If any provision of this Act, or any application of such 
provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be un-
constitutional, the remainder of this Act and the applica-
tion of the provision to any other person or circumstance 
shall not be affected. 
SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
(a) The amendments made by this Act shall take ef-
fect on the 1st day of the 1st fiscal year beginning on 
or after the date of the enactment of this Act, and the 
withholding of funds authorized by section 4 shall apply 
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to payments under parts B and E of such Act for calendar 
quarters beginning on or after such date. 
(b) If legislation (other than legislation appropriating 
funds) is required for a governmental entity to bring itself 
into compliance with this Act, the governmental entity 
shall not be regarded as violating this Act before the 1st 
day of the 1st calendar quarter beginning after the first 
regular session of the legislative body that begins after the 
date of the enactment of this Act. For purposes of the 
preceding sentence, if the governmental entity has a 2- 
year legislative session, each year of the session is deemed 
to be a separate regular session. 
SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 
The following definitions apply throughout this Act: 
(1) The term ‘‘child welfare service provider’’ 
includes organizations, corporations, groups, entities, 
or individuals that provide or seek to provide, or 
that apply for or receive a contract, subcontract, 
grant, or subgrant for the provision of, child welfare 
services. The provider need not be engaged exclu-
sively in child welfare services to be considered a 
child welfare service provider. 
(2) The term ‘‘child welfare services’’ means so-
cial services provided to or on behalf of children, in-
cluding assisting abused, neglected, or troubled chil-
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