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[actionDate] => 2013-02-08
[displayText] => Introduced in House
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Passed House
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[displayText] => Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 354 - 72 (Roll no. 39).(text: CR H465)
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[description] => Passed House
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PDF(PDF provides a complete and accurate display of this text.)Tip?
Shown Here: Referred in Senate (03/13/2013)
113th CONGRESS 1st Session
H. R. 592
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED
STATES
February 14, 2013
Received
March 13, 2013
Read twice and referred to the
Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs
AN ACT
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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1.Short title.
This Act may be cited as the
“Federal Disaster Assistance Nonprofit
Fairness Act of 2013”.
SEC. 2. Findings.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Hurricane Sandy
inflicted catastrophic damage in the Northeastern United States.
(2) Houses of worship across the Northeast’s
many faiths and denominations were among the private nonprofit facilities that
sustained damage.
(3) Churches,
synagogues, mosques, temples, and other houses of worship throughout
communities in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and elsewhere play an
essential role in the daily lives of the communities.
(4) The Federal
Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) public assistance program provides
financial grants for the repair of various types of private nonprofit
facilities.
(5) Among the types of nonprofits to which FEMA
provides such grants are those in which citizens gather and engage in a variety
of educational, enrichment, and social activities. These activities are
essential to community building and occur in houses of worship.
(6) Under the Robert
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et
seq.), FEMA’s disaster relief program is a general government
program under which assistance is provided in the wake of a natural disaster
using criteria that are neutral with regard to religion.
(7) Congress has
previously enacted legislation providing financial assistance to religious
nonprofit institutions, including houses of worship, on terms equal to other
eligible nonprofit institutions.
(8) Such legislation
is consistent with recent precedents of the Supreme Court of the United States
and legal opinions issued by the Office of Legal Counsel of the Department of
Justice.
SEC. 3. Inclusion of
houses of worship as private nonprofit facilities eligible for disaster
relief.
(a) Definition of
private nonprofit facility.—Section 102(10)(B) of the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122(10)(B)) is amended
to read as follows:
“(B) ADDITIONAL
FACILITIES.—In addition to the
facilities described in subparagraph (A), the term ‘private nonprofit
facility’ includes any private nonprofit facility that provides
essential services of a governmental nature to the general public (including
museums, zoos, performing arts facilities, community arts centers, community
centers, including houses of worship exempt from taxation under
section
501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, libraries,
homeless shelters, senior citizen centers, rehabilitation facilities, shelter
workshops, and facilities that provide health and safety services of a
governmental nature), as defined by the
President.”.
(b) Repair,
restoration, and replacement of damaged facilities.—Section
406(a)(3) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance
Act (42 U.S.C.
5172(a)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
“(C) HOUSES OF
WORSHIP.—A church, synagogue,
mosque, temple, or other house of worship, and a private nonprofit facility
operated by a religious organization, shall be eligible for contributions under
paragraph (1)(B), without regard to the religious character of the facility or
the primary religious use of the
facility.”.
(c) Applicability.—This
section and the amendments made by this section shall apply to the provision of
assistance in response to a major disaster or emergency declared on or after
October 28, 2012.
Passed the House of
Representatives February 13, 2013.