Congressman Blake Moore's Bill to Protect the Tax-Exempt Status of Religious Organizations Passes Committee
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The Fair Treatment of Religious Organizations Act ensures that faith-based organizations can continue applying religious standards to employees without jeopardizing their eligibility for federal funding and contracts. The legislation prevents federal agencies from conditioning tax benefits or funding eligibility on a religious organization’s willingness to modify its positions on marriage, sexuality, or gender identity. Additional co-sponsors of the bill include Representatives Ben Cline (VA-06), Claudia Tenney (NY-24), Nathaniel Moran (TX-01), Lance Gooden (TX-05), Burgess Owens (UT-04), Mike Kennedy (UT-03), Glenn Grothman (WI-06), Tracey Mann (KS-01), Greg Steube (FL-17), and Celeste Maloy (UT-02). “I’m immensely proud to represent one of the most religious and charitable states in the nation—and that overlap is no coincidence. Churches across our state and country contribute billions of dollars to the economy by providing health care, housing, and a wide range of social services. They also strengthen our communities by helping Americans find purpose and meaning,” Congressman Moore said. “The Fair Treatment of Religious Organizations Act protects religious beliefs and practices and prevents the government from weaponizing tax-exempt status or federal funding eligibility against these organizations.” “Faith-based organizations should not have their tax-exempt status threatened by federal regulators that disagree with one set of religious beliefs or another,” said Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08). “Representative Moore’s legislation is a proactive, principled defense of a basic Constitutionally protected freedom in America. I commend him for leading the charge on ensuring our government does not infringe on religious liberty.” Background: In 2025, the Trump administration initiated an IRS investigation to revoke the tax-exempt status of Harvard University, due in part to fostering an environment of antisemitism. The administration argued that the university should be required to follow its executive orders, including E.O. 14188, “Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism,” and froze $2.2 billion in the university’s federal grants and contracts. Regardless of the substance of the Harvard legal battle, these actions have created concern in the faith-based community. Future administrations could attempt to revoke the tax-exempt status of faith-based organizations over their adherence or non-adherence to executive orders that pertain to marriage and sexuality. For example, a future administration could reinstate former President Obama’s E.O. 13672, which protected federal contractors from discrimination in employment based on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) and attempted to strip a faith-based organization’s tax-exempt status or federal funding due to non-adherence to the executive order. In addition, in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020) , the Supreme Court held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Justice Gorsuch’s majority opinion acknowledged
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