Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania, the chairman of the subcommittee, for his hard work on this legislation and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) for introducing it and leading this bipartisan effort to address what I think is a serious problem. I rise today in support of the Federal Disaster Assistance Nonprofit Fairness Act of 2013. Churches, synagogues, and also houses of worship are essential to the fabric of communities throughout this great Nation. In times of need, it seems that faith and the charitable acts that faith inspire are essential to rebuilding and healing our communities. When disasters occur, like Hurricane Sandy in the Northeast, it's often houses of worship whose faith calls them to spring into action to help their fellow man, to feed the hungry and house the homeless. Faith inspires hope that communities can become whole again. Every Member of Congress has seen the good works and deeds that houses of worship and nonprofit organizations do in our communities. There is no reason that the Federal Government should treat churches, synagogues, and houses of worship differently than other nonprofits in times of disaster. I want to note that the so-called ``pervasively sectarian doctrine,'' which absolutely prohibited any aid to pervasively sectarian organizations such as churches, is no longer supported by Supreme Court precedent.…”