,i #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #hig ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,january #cj1 #bjai,mr4 ,kelly of ,pennsylvania 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,peterson1 ,mr4 ,aderholt1 ,mr4 ,cole1 ,mrs4 ,hartzler1 ,mr4 ,biggs1 ,mr4 ,carter of ,texas1 ,mr4 ,comer1 ,mr4 ,duncan1 ,mr4 ,fortenberry1 ,mr4 ,flores1 ,mr4 ,gaetz1 ,mr4 ,gianforte1 ,mr4 ,gibbs1 ,mr4 ,gohmert1 ,mr4 ,grothman1 ,mr4 ,hice of ,georgia1 ,mr4 ,johnson of ,louisiana1 ,mr4 ,jones1 ,mr4 ,lamborn1 ,mrs4 ,lesko1 ,mr4 ,loudermilk1 ,mr4 ,meadows1 ,mr4 ,mooney of ,west ,virginia1 ,mr4 ,palmer1 ,mr4 ,posey1 ,mr4 ,david ,p4 ,roe of ,tennessee1 ,mr4 ,rooney of ,florida1 ,mr4 ,smith of ,new ,jersey1 ,mr4 ,stewart1 ,mr4 ,walker1 ,mr4 ,weber of ,texas1 ,mr4 ,wilson of ,south ,carolina1 ,mr4 ,wittman1 ,mr4 ,norman1 ,mr4 ,collins of ,new ,york1 ,mr4 ,allen1 and ,mr4 ,rutherford7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means ,a ,,bill ,to ensure that organizations with religious or moral convictions are allowed to continue to provide services for children4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,child ,welfare ,provider ,inclusion ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,findings and purposes 7a7 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,child welfare service providers1 both individuals and organizations1 have the inherent1 fundamental1 and inalienable right to free exercise of religion protected by the ,united ,states ,constitution4 7#b7 ,the right to free exercise of religion for child welfare service providers includes the freedom to refrain from conduct that conflicts with their sincerely held religious beliefs4 7#c7 ,most ,states provide government-funded child welfare services through various charitable1 religious1 and private organizations4 7#d7 ,religious organizations1 in particular1 have a lengthy and distinguished history of providing child welfare services that predates government involvement4 7#e7 ,religious organizations have long been and should continue contracting with and receiving grants from governmental entities to provide child welfare services4 7#f7 ,religious organizations cannot provide certain child welfare services1 such as foster-care or adoption placements1 without receiving a government contract1 grant or license4 7#g7 ,religious organizations display particular excellence when providing child welfare services4 7#h7 ,children and families benefit greatly from the child welfare services provided by religious organizations4 7#i7 ,governmental entities and officials administering federally funded child welfare services in some ,states1 including ,massachusetts1 ,california1 ,illinois1 and the ,district of ,columbia1 have refused to contract with religious organizations that are unable1 due to sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions1 to provide a child welfare service that conflicts1 or under circumstances that conflict1 with those beliefs or convictions2 and that refusal has forced many religious organizations to end their long and distinguished history of excellence in the provision of child welfare services4 7#aj7 ,ensuring that religious organizations can continue to provide child welfare services will benefit the children and families that receive those federally funded services4 7#aa7 ,states also provide government-funded child welfare services through individual child welfare service providers with varying religious and moral convictions4 7#ab7 ,many individual child welfare service providers maintain sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions that relate to their work and should not be forced to choose between their livelihood and adherence to those beliefs or convictions4 7#ac7 ,because governmental entities provide child welfare services through many charitable1 religious1 and private organizations1 each with varying religious beliefs or moral convictions1 and through diverse individuals with varying religious beliefs or moral convictions1 the religiously impelled inability of some religious organizations or individuals to provide certain services will not have a material effect on a person's ability to access federally funded child welfare services4 7#ad7 ,the activities of funding and administering these child welfare services substantially affect interstate commerce4 7#ae7 ,taking adverse actions against child welfare service providers that are unable1 due to their sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions1 to provide certain services 7or provide services under certain circumstances7 substantially affects interstate commerce4 7#af7 ,the provisions of this ,act are remedial measures that are congruent and proportional to protecting the constitutional rights of child welfare service providers guaranteed under the ,fourteenth ,amendment to the ,united ,states ,constitution4 7#ag7 ,congress has the authority to pass this ,act pursuant to its spending clause power1 commerce clause power1 and enforcement power under section #e of the ,fourteenth ,amendment to the ,united ,states ,constitution4 7b7 ,purposes ,the purposes of this ,act are as follows3 7#a7 ,to prohibit governmental entities from discriminating or taking an adverse action against a child welfare service provider on the basis that the provider declines to provide a child welfare service that conflicts1 or under circumstances that conflict1 with the sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions of the provider4 7#b7 ,to protect child welfare service providers' exercise of religion and to ensure that governmental entities will not be able to force those providers1 either directly or indirectly1 to discontinue all or some of their child welfare services because they decline to provide a child welfare service that conflicts1 or under circumstances that conflict1 with their sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions4 7#c7 ,to provide relief to child welfare service providers whose rights have been violated4 #c4 ,discrimination and adverse actions prohibited 7a7 ,the ,federal ,government1 and any ,state that receives ,federal funding for any program that provides child welfare services under part ,b or part ,e of title ,,iv of the ,social ,security ,act 7and any subdivision1 office or department of such ,state7 shall not discriminate or take an adverse action against a child welfare service provider on the basis that the provider has declined or will decline to provide1 facilitate1 or refer for a child welfare service that conflicts with1 or under circumstances that conflict with1 the provider's sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions4 7b7 ,subsection 7a7 does not apply to conduct forbidden by paragraph 7#ah7 of section #dga7;a7 of such ,act4 #d4 ,funds withheld for violation ,the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services shall withhold from a ,state #ae percent of the ,federal funds the ,state receives for a program that provides child welfare services under part ,b or part ,e of title ,,iv of the ,social ,security ,act if the ,state violates section #c when administering or disbursing funds under such program4 #e4 ,private right of action 7a7 ,a child welfare service provider aggrieved by a violation of section #c may assert that violation as a claim or defense in a judicial proceeding and obtain all appropriate relief1 including declaratory relief1 injunctive relief1 and compensatory damages1 with respect to that violation4 7b7 ,a child welfare service provider that prevails in an action by establishing a violation of section #c is entitled to recover reasonable attorneys' fees and costs4 7c7 ,by accepting or expending ,federal funds in connection with a program that provides child welfare services under part ,b or part ,e of title ,,iv of the ,social ,security ,act1 a ,state waives its sovereign immunity for any claim or defense that is raised under this section4 #f4 ,severability ,if any provision of this ,act1 or any application of such provision to any person or circumstance1 is held to be unconstitutional1 the remainder of this ,act and the application of the provision to any other person or circumstance shall not be affected4 #g4 ,effective date 7a7 ,the amendments made by this ,act shall take effect on the #ast day of the #ast fiscal year beginning on or after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and the withholding of funds authorized by section #d shall apply to payments under parts ,b and ,e of such ,act for calendar quarters beginning on or after such date4 7b7 ,if legislation 7other than legislation appropriating funds7 is required for a governmental entity to bring itself into compliance with this ,act1 the governmental entity shall not be regarded as violating this ,act before the #ast day of the #ast calendar quarter beginning after the first regular session of the legislative body that begins after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 ,for purposes of the preceding sentence1 if the governmental entity has a #b-year legislative session1 each year of the session is deemed to be a separate regular session4 #h4 ,definitions ,the following definitions apply throughout this ,act3 7#a7 ,the term child welfare service provider includes organizations1 corporations1 groups1 entities1 or individuals that provide or seek to provide1 or that apply for or receive a contract1 subcontract1 grant1 or subgrant for the provision of1 child welfare services4 ,the provider need not be engaged exclusively in child welfare services to be considered a child welfare service provider4 7#b7 ,the term child welfare services means social services provided to or on behalf of children1 including assisting abused1 neglected1 or troubled children1 counseling children or parents1 promoting foster parenting1 providing foster homes or temporary group shelters for children1 recruiting foster parents1 placing children in foster homes1 licensing foster homes1 promoting adoption1 recruiting adoptive parents1 assisting adoptions1 supporting adoptive families1 assisting kinship guardianships1 assisting kinship caregivers1 providing family preservation services1 providing family support services1 and providing time-limited family reunification services4 7#c7 ,the term ,state includes any of the several ,states1 the ,district of ,columbia1 any commonwealth1 territory or possession of the ,united ,states1 and any political subdivision thereof4 7#d7 ,the terms funding1 funded1 or funds include money paid pursuant to a contract1 grant1 voucher1 or similar means4 7#e7 ,the term adverse action includes1 but is not limited to1 denying a child welfare service provider's application for funding1 refusing to renew the provider's funding1 canceling the provider's funding1 declining to enter into a contract with the provider1 refusing to renew a contract with the provider1 canceling a contract with the provider1 declining to issue a license to the provider1 refusing to renew the provider's license1 canceling the provider's license1 terminating the provider's employment1 or any other adverse action that materially alters the terms or conditions of the provider's employment1 funding1 contract1 or license4