This bill makes sure that faith-based organizations can receive the same support from Small Business Administration programs as other businesses. It helps ensure fair treatment in accessing loans and disaster assistance.
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)).