FAITH in Small Business Act

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R MannSponsor

4 cosponsors · 4 R

2 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.

Fair Assistance and Impartial Treatment of Help In Small Business Act

What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in House · Jan 16, 2025

Fair Assistance and Impartial Treatment of Help In Small Business Act

This bill implements a proposed rule by the Small Business Administration (SBA) that allows certain faith-based organizations to access business loan and disaster assistance programs.

The programs include the Intermediary Lending Program (ILP), Business Loan programs (7(a), microloan, and 504 programs), Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan (MREIDL) program, and Immediate Disaster Assistance Program (IDAP).

Current SBA regulations generally prohibit access to these programs if an organization is principally engaged in teaching, instructing, counseling, or indoctrinating religion or religious beliefs.

Recent Supreme Court opinions have found it unconstitutional to deny an otherwise qualified recipient access to a public benefit based solely on the organization's religious character (e.g., Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer, 582 U.S. 449 (2017)).

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov

About this bill and sources

Official title: FAITH in Small Business Act

Also known as: Fair Assistance and Impartial Treatment of Help In Small Business Act

Latest action (Jan 16, 2025): Referred to the House Committee on Small Business.

Policy area: Commerce · Origin: House · Introduced: Jan 16, 2025

Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)

No recorded floor vote found.