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. [...] 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.
[Will the government be reimbursing all volunteer efforts, or just religious efforts? Will the government reimburse religious efforts based on tallied costs just this one time, or will they do so on an ongoing basis? Rev. Robert E. Reccord, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board, said it best: "Volunteer labor is just that: volunteer." I am in favor of treating religious groups like all other non-profit groups, and granting them tax exemption to the degree they can prove they serve the public good.]
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