FEMA's Banned Aid Ripped by Trump
September 11, 2017
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WA17I14&f=WU17I05
When Hurricane Harvey ripped through Texas, most people never dreamed it was the
beginning of a bigger storm over
religious freedom. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened when three Houston churches applied for FEMA funding -- only to be denied for being "too religious." Thanks to a 20-year-old policy guidance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, any institution that spends more than half of its space on "religious programming" isn't eligible for aid. That's
ridiculous, argues the churches' attorneys at the Becket Fund,
especially since two of these congregations sheltered victims and distributed more than 8,000 meals to the community.
"The churches are not seeking special treatment; they are seeking equal treatment. And they need to know now whether they have any hope of counting on FEMA or whether they will continue to be excluded entirely from these FEMA programs."
That hope came Friday in the form of a tweet from President Donald Trump. "Churches in Texas should be entitled to reimbursement from FEMA Relief Funds for helping victims of Hurricane Harvey (just like others)," he insisted. I
t was the latest sign that this White House is committed to cleaning up the mess -- not just from the hurricane, but
from Obama's two terms of religious hostility.
Trump's position ought to go a long way to righting this 1998 wrong,
especially now that Congress is piling on. In a letter to FEMA Administrator Brock Long, Senator Ben Sasse (R-Nebr.) calls out the
injustice.
"This policy discriminates against people of faith. It sends the message that communities of worship aren't welcome to participate fully in public life... It reduces the facilities and volunteers time, talent, and effort available to support the broader community. And it is inconsistent with the Supreme Court's recent 7-2 ruling in Trinity Lutheran... In other words, it is unconstitutional. It is unreasonable. And it is impeding ongoing recovery efforts."
"When disasters strike," he pointed out, "it's our churches, synagogues, mosques, and other religious organizations that spring into action, offering crucial facilities, manpower, and numerous other forms of support to affected communities." And, as
USA Today explains, that isn't one conservative's opinion.
It's a fact. "Faith groups provide the
bulk of disaster recovery, in coordination with FEMA," reads the
headline. Crediting the churches'
"unique expertise" in disaster relief, they explains what
"integral partners" these institutions have been in helping the hurting, applauding the sophistication of these groups -- especially Samaritan's Purse -- in getting volunteers, food, clothes, and money
quickly to the victims who need it.
By USA Today's count, at least 75 percent of the volunteer army is faith-based – making FEMA's policy all the more
outrageous. I can personally attest to how churches are increasingly on the front lines of relief in these natural disasters.
Why would the government turn away humanitarian assistance from one of the biggest pools of support? Could it be that Big Government doesn't like competition? In Louisiana, we saw something very similar with Hurricane Katrina.
Instead of partnering with local churches, FEMA kept faith-based groups at arm's length, leaving a less effective and more expensive government to fill the void. Yet churches kept on, reacting spontaneously to the needs they saw around them....