Stimulating Discrimination

Many Democrats and their allies  complain of writing discrimination in to the Constitution/law when Republicans take action that supports and endorses traditional values. However, in H.R. 1 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act they have written in to the law discrimination of their own. They ban funding from going to institutions or portions of institutions that teach courses with sectarian content at the Post-Secondary level.


Sec. 803 (3) reads as follows:

(3) PROHIBITED USES OF FUNDS- No funds awarded under this section may be used for–
(A) the maintenance of systems, equipment, or facilities, including maintenance associated with any permissible uses of funds described in paragraph (1);

(B) modernization, renovation, or repair of stadiums or other facilities primarily used for athletic contests or exhibitions or other events for which admission is charged to the general public;

(C) modernization, renovation, or repair of facilities–

(i) used for sectarian instruction, religious worship, or a school or department of divinity; or


(ii) in which a substantial portion of the functions of the facilities are subsumed in a religious mission; or

(D) construction of new facilities.

This language can be applied in a discriminatory fashion to disallow the funding from being received to modernize or renovate any building where sectarian instruction occurs. Sectarian instruction is any instruction that relates to or has characteristics of a sect or sectarian (Merriam Webster’s Dictionary).  This would not only limit actual sectarian schools but also secular universities that offer sectarian courses of study.
An application of this section to funding would for example deny stimulus funding to renovate or modernize certain buildings on the campus of my alma mater, DePaul University because of the sectarian nature of the Catholic Studies Department and therefore the course work taught.


Photo Credit: DePaul University

For example, the Catholic Studies Department is on the fourth floor of Schmitt Academic Center, which is the same building that houses the School of Education as well as the the departments of History and Mathematical Sciences. This is mainly an administrative building.


Photo Credit: DePaul University

Levan Hall which is the main academic hall for Liberal arts would also be excluded under this language because this is where Catholic and Religious Studies courses are generally taught. O’Connell Hall the other wing of the building is where the math and science courses are taught. Under this language these buildings could be denied funding if renovations or modernization were needed.

Many schools public and private offer Religious Studies programs and under this language certain buildings where the Religion/Religious Studies department are located and the buildings where the courses are taught could be denied funding under this language. This language needs to be stripped from the bill before it goes to President Obama for his signature.