FAITH in Small Business Act

Bill: 119-hr-522
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Mann, Tracey [R-KS-1]
Introduced: 2025-01-16
Policy area: Commerce
Latest action: action_date: 2025-01-16
text: Referred to the House Committee on Small Business.

Summaries:
action_date: 2025-01-16
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><strong>Fair Assistance and Impartial Treatment of Help In Small Business Act</strong></p><p>This bill implements a proposed rule by the Small Business Administration (SBA) that allows certain faith-based organizations to access business loan and disaster assistance programs.&nbsp;</p><p>The programs include the Intermediary Lending Program (ILP), Business Loan programs (7(a), microloan,&nbsp;and 504 programs), Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan (MREIDL) program, and Immediate Disaster Assistance Program (IDAP).&nbsp;</p><p>Current SBA regulations generally prohibit access to these programs if an organization is&nbsp;principally engaged in teaching, instructing, counseling, or indoctrinating religion or religious beliefs.</p><p>Recent Supreme Court opinions have found it unconstitutional to deny an otherwise qualified recipient access to a public benefit based solely on the organization's religious character (e.g., Trinity Lutheran Church of&nbsp;Columbia, Inc. v. Comer, 582 U.S. 449 (2017)).</p>

tv_txt: I 119th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 522 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January 16, 2025 Mr. Mann (for himself, Mr. Schmidt , and Mr. Babin ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business A BILL To ensure equal treatment for certain faith-based organizations in certain Small Business Administration programs.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Fair Assistance and Impartial Treatment of Help In Small Business Act or the FAITH in Small Business Act . 2. Ensuring equal treatment for certain faith-based organizations in certain Small Business Administration programs The proposed rule of the Small Business Administration titled Ensuring Equal Treatment for Faith-Based Organizations in SBA’s Loan and Disaster Assistance Programs issued January 19, 2021, shall have the force and effect of law.