[lit-ideas] Re: Faith Based Bucks

Hi,
It wasn't really charity, then, was it?  
 
Will the faith groups (esp the Red Cross) be reimbursing the public for their 
funds, then? 
 
Thanks for posting this!  It will definitely generate discussion on a different 
list that I'm on--we have someone who is fairly high up in the Salvation Army 
on it and so it will be great to hear from that perspective (of course, the Red 
Cross gave quite a bit to the Republican Party last year, though, didn't they?)
 
Wishing people would give freely and generously--and disliking stinginess esp 
under the guise of being what they are not (though I know it is often hard to 
do if you live in lack and limitation...) 
Best,
Marlena 

-----Original Message-----
From: M.A. Camp <macampesq@xxxxxxxxx>
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Thu, 29 Sep 2005 05:24:51 -0500
Subject: [lit-ideas] Faith Based Bucks


FEMA Plans to Reimburse Faith Groups for Aid
As Civil Libertarians Object, Religious Organizations Weigh Whether to Apply
Washington Post ^ | September 27, 2005 | Alan Cooperman and Elizabeth Williamson

After weeks of prodding by Republican lawmakers and the American Red Cross, the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency said yesterday that it will use taxpayer 
money to reimburse churches and other religious organizations that have opened 
their doors to provide shelter, food and supplies to survivors of hurricanes 
Katrina and Rita.

FEMA officials said it would mark the first time that the government has made 
large-scale payments to religious groups for helping to cope with a domestic 
natural disaster.

"I believe it's appropriate for the federal government to assist the faith 
community because of the scale and scope of the effort and how long it's 
lasting," said Joe Becker, senior vice president for preparedness and response 
with the Red Cross.

Civil liberties groups called the decision a violation of the traditional 
boundary between church and state, accusing FEMA of trying to restore its 
battered reputation by playing to religious conservatives.

"What really frosts me about all this is, here is an administration that didn't 
do its job and now is trying to dig itself out by making right-wing groups 
happy," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for 
Separation of Church and State.

FEMA officials said religious organizations would be eligible for payments only 
if they operated emergency shelters, food distribution centers or medical 
facilities at the request of state or local governments in the three states 
that have declared emergencies -- Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. In those 
cases, "a wide range of costs would be available for reimbursement, including 
labor costs incurred in excess of normal operations, rent for the facility and 
delivery of essential needs like food and water," FEMA spokesman Eugene 
Kinerney said in an e-mail.

For churches, synagogues and mosques that have taken in hurricane survivors, 
FEMA's decision presents a quandary. Some said they were eager to get the money 
and had begun tallying their costs, from electric bills to worn carpets. Others 
said they probably would not apply for the funds, fearing donations would dry 
up if the public came to believe they were receiving government handouts.

"Volunteer labor is just that: volunteer," said the Rev. Robert E. Reccord, 
president of the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board. 
"We would never ask the government to pay for it."

When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, religious 
charities rushed in to provide emergency services, often acting more quickly 
and efficiently than the government. Relief workers in the stricken states 
estimate that 500,000 people have taken refuge in facilities run by religious 
groups.

In the days after the disaster, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) and 
other Republicans complained that FEMA seemed reluctant to pay church groups. 
"There are tons of questions about what is reimbursable, what is not 
reimbursable," DeLay said Sept. 13, noting that Houston alone had "500 or 600 
churches that took in evacuees, and they would get no reimbursement."

Becker said he and his staff at the Red Cross also urged FEMA to allow 
reimbursement of religious groups. Ordinarily, Becker said, churches provide 
shelter for the first days after a disaster, then the Red Cross takes over. But 
in a storm season that has stretched every Red Cross shelter to the breaking 
point, church buildings must for the first time house evacuees indefinitely.

Even so, Lynn, of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said 
that federal reimbursement is inappropriate.

"The good news is that this work is being done now, but I don't think a lot of 
people realize that a lot of these organizations are actively working to obtain 
federal funds. That's a strange definition of charity," he said.

Lynn added that he accepts the need for the government to coordinate with 
religious groups in a major disaster, but not to "pay for their good works."

"We've never complained about using a religious organization as a distribution 
point for food or clothing or anything else," Lynn said. But "direct cash 
reimbursements would be unprecedented."

FEMA outlined the policy in a Sept. 9 internal memorandum on "Eligible Costs 
for Emergency Sheltering Declarations." Religious groups, like secular 
nonprofit groups, will have to document their costs and file for reimbursement 
from state and local emergency management agencies, which in turn will seek 
funds from FEMA.

David Fukitomi, infrastructure coordinator for FEMA in Louisiana, said that the 
organization has begun briefings for potential applicants in the disaster area 
but that it is too early to know how many will take advantage of the program.

"The need was so overwhelming that the faith-based groups stepped up, and we're 
trying to find a way to help them shoulder some of the burden for doing the 
right thing," he said, adding that "the churches are interested" but that "part 
of our effort is getting the local governments to be interested in being their 
sponsor."

A spokeswoman for the Salvation Army said it has been in talks with state and 
federal officials about reimbursement for the 76,000 nights of shelter it has 
provided to Katrina survivors so far. But it is still unclear whether the 
Salvation Army will qualify, she said.

The Rev. Flip Benham, director of Operation Save America, an antiabortion group 
formerly known as Operation Rescue, said, "Separation of church and state means 
nothing in a time of disaster; you see immediately what a farce it is."

Benham said that his group has been dispensing food and clothing and that 
"Bibles and tracts go out with everything we put out." In Mendenhall, Miss., he 
said, he preached to evacuees while the mayor directed traffic and the sheriff 
put inmates from the county jail to work handing out supplies.

Yet Benham said he would never accept a dime from the federal government. "The 
people have been so generous to give that for us to ask for reimbursement would 
be like gouging for gas," he said. "That would be a crime against heaven."

For some individual churches, however, reimbursement is very appealing. At 
Christus Victor Lutheran Church in Ocean Springs, Miss., as many as 200 
evacuees and volunteer workers have been sleeping each night in the sanctuary 
and Sunday school classrooms. The church's entrance hall is a Red Cross 
reception area and medical clinic. As many as 400 people a day are eating in 
the fellowship hall.

Suzie Harvey, the parish administrator, said the church was asked by the Red 
Cross and local officials to serve as a shelter. The church's leadership agreed 
immediately, without anticipating that nearly a quarter of its 650 members 
would be rendered homeless and in no position to contribute funds. "This was 
just something we had to do," she said. "Later we realized we have no income 
coming in."

Harvey said the electric bill has skyrocketed, water is being used 
round-the-clock and there has been "20 years of wear on the carpet in one 
month." When FEMA makes money available, she said, the church definitely will 
apply.
-- 
Cheers,
M.A. Camp, Esq.

Other related posts: