Trump Administration Proposes Changes in Rules for Funding Faith-Based Services

Trump Administration Proposes Changes in Rules for Funding Faith-Based Services

On January 17, 2020, the Trump administration proposed significant changes to the federal Equal Treatment regulations in major federal agencies. These regulations are designed to create an equal opportunity for faith-based organizations to compete for federal funding without minimizing their religious character. Several of the proposed changes further this aim, but others unnecessarily undermine the broad consensus in support of the regulations that has developed over two decades. Comments on the various NPRM are due no later than February 18, 2020, and can be easily submitted via http://www.regulations.gov. Consult each specific NPRM to find out how to make a comment on it.

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Why IRFA Supports the Fairness for All Act

Why IRFA Supports the Fairness for All Act

The Fairness for All Act (FAA) introduced into the House of Representatives on December 6, 2019, is intended to resolve ongoing conflicts between LGBT civil rights advocates and religious freedom advocates. FFA will add protections for LGBT people to federal civil rights laws while simultaneously strengthening protections for religious freedom and other rights. Dr. Stanley Carlson-Thies explains why FFA takes a pluralist approach and how that aligns with the Institutional Freedom Alliance.

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Possible New Federal Grants Rules Would Harm Faith-based Organizations

Possible New Federal Grants Rules Would Harm Faith-based Organizations

By Dr. Stanley Carlson-Thies Editor’s Note: In the wake of an agreement between President Trump and bipartisan congressional leaders on a two-year budget framework, the…

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The Do No Harm Act Would Undermine RFRA

The Do No Harm Act Would Undermine RFRA

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) has allowed courts to neutrally balance compelling government interests with religious beliefs ever since it was enacted in 1993 by a bipartisan Congress. Now, Democratic members of the House and Senate have reintroduced the Do No Harm Act, a bill that would disallow religious objections to key government actions, including LGBT inclusion and reproductive health. On June 25, 2019, the House Committee on Education and Labor held a hearing on the Do No Harm Act. Representative Joseph Kennedy, who introduced the Do No Harm Act in 2017 and has now reintroduced it, expressed his concern that RFRA “has morphed from a shield of protection to a sword of infringement.” Yet RFRA does not guarantee a victory for religious actors, only a fair weighing of their claims. To adequately protect religious freedom, RFRA should not be modified.

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How the Church Parking Tax Affects Faith-based Organizations

How the Church Parking Tax Affects Faith-based Organizations

The passage of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created the so-called “church parking tax,” a burdensome provision for nonprofits that has elicited strong protests from the sacred sector. The IRS has issued interpretive guidelines, and efforts in Congress are ongoing to eliminate the tax entirely, yet fixes are slow in coming. Given the Trump administration’s professions of support for religious freedom and the many congressional voices in favor of the work of charitable organizations, it is surprising that this provision was adopted in the first place and troubling that it has not yet been eliminated. Faith-based organizations need to be aware of this issue and understand how it affects them.

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