HR8353Referred to Committee

FAITH Act

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Introduced
In Committee
3
Passed One Chamber
4
Passed Both
5
Signed into Law
119th
Congress
2026-04-16
Introduced
1
Cosponsors
HR
ⓘ
Type

Sponsor

Keith Self
Keith Self
Republican · TX · Representative
Votes with party: 84.8% (541 recorded votes)

Full profile: /officials/S001224

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

Cosponsors (1)

Members who have signed on to support this bill since introduction. Source: Congress.gov.

Latest Action

The most recent step in the bill's legislative path. Committee Activity below shows referrals and reports; the full action-by-action history including floor proceedings lives at Congress.gov →

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

2026-04-16

Source: Congress.gov

Committee Activity

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Plain-English Summary

This bill would ban organizations from charging fees or requiring payments as a condition for people to participate in religious activities or services. The law would apply to churches, religious nonprofits, and other faith-based organizations, protecting individuals from being denied access to worship, prayer, or other religious practices because they cannot afford to pay.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

Subjects

Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues

Full Bill Text

Verbatim text published on Congress.gov via GovInfo. Use Cmd+F / Ctrl+F to search within this excerpt.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 8353 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8353 To establish a prohibition on fees related to religious participation, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 16, 2026 Mr. Self introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To establish a prohibition on fees related to religious participation, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Freedom Against Imposed Theology Harms Act'' or the ``FAITH Act''. SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON FEES RELATED TO RELIGIOUS PARTICIPATION. (a) In General.--Chapter 13 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: ``Sec. 251. Prohibition on fees related to religious participation ``(a) Offense.--Whoever knowingly imposes, assesses, collects, or attempts to impose, assess, or collect any fee, fine, surcharge, penalty, or other financial obligation from any person based on that person's participation or membership in, or refusal to participate in or become a member of, any religious theology, denomination, or organization shall-- ``(1) in the case that the fee, fine, surcharge, penalty or other financial obligation does not exceed $1,000, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both; or ``(2) in any other case, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 3 years, or both. ``(b) Prohibiting Denial of Goods and Services.--Whoever knowingly denies goods, services, access, or opportunities to a person on the basis of nonpayment of any fee prohibited under subsection (a) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both. ``(c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict the ability of religious organizations and educational institutions to request or receive voluntary contributions from their members for internal purposes.''. (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 13 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: ``251. Prohibition on fees related to religious participation.''. SEC. 3. RICO OFFENSE. Section 1961(1) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting ``section 251 (relating to the prohibition on fees tied to religious participation),'' after ``section 224 (relating to sports bribery),''. SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act. <all>
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