House Passes Bill to Give Disaster Relief to Religious Groups

The House on Feb. 13 overwhelmingly passed a bill to allow places of worship to receive federal aid to repair their buildings damaged during Hurricane Sandy, the Religion News Service reports. The bill, which garnered strong bipartisan support, is also expected to pass the Senate, and would address what its sponsors consider a discriminatory practice that keeps federal disaster money from religious groups. Currently, the Federal Emergency Management Agency excludes religious organizations but assists privately owned nonprofits. If the bill becomes law, it would make houses of worship eligible for relief on the same terms as other nonprofits. It would cover houses of worship affected not only by Hurricane Sandy, which struck Mid-Atlantic states in October, but also future natural disasters.