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Texas churches sue FEMA for disaster relief after Harvey

Wednesday, September 6, 2017 | Tag Cloud Tags: church, Federal Reserve, FEMA, Harvey, hurricane, News, religion, Supreme Court, Texas, Worthy News | Learn about our FREE SYNDICATION Service | Subscribe to the Worthy Brief! | Printer Friendly

(Worthy News) – The Federal Emergency Management Agency has been sued by three Texas churches severely damaged in Hurricane Harvey, over what they called its policy of refusing to provide disaster relief to houses of worship because of their religious status.

In a complaint filed on Monday in federal court in Houston, the churches said they would like to apply for aid but it would be “futile” because FEMA’s public assistance program “categorically” excludes their claims, violating their constitutional right to freely exercise their religion.

They said FEMA’s ban on providing relief where at least half a building’s space is used for religious purposes, a policy also enforced after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012, contradicts a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision making it easier for religious groups to get public aid. [ Source (Read More…) ]

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