Among the biggest changes for higher education is the outright elimination of a $3.5 billion “higher education facilities modernization fund” designed to be divided among states to finance renovations of “shovel ready” campus buildings (the House bill contains $6 billion for such a fund). College officials, anticipating the injection of funds, have been dusting off proposals for facilities that have gone wanting because their states couldn’t finance them or they couldn’t raise outside money for them.

Which must be very sad news for college administrators, but at least religious students don’t have to worry about being kicked out of buildings. David French over at Phi Beta Cons explains very clearly why the provision was troublesome to many:

Here’s how the prohibition might work in the real world: A university dusts off an old modernization project for a large and aging classroom building. Prior to submitting its funding proposal to the government, the university counsel’s office works to ensure that the building complies with all applicable regulations, and in so doing finds that a Christian student group uses the building for its Friday-night Bible study. This is clearly “use” of the building for “sectarian instruction,” so—to be on the safe side, since millions of dollars are at stake—he issues a notice that the group move its activities to another building. The process is repeated as other buildings are made eligible for funding.

We appear to be in the clear for now, but there’s no telling how the stimulus package will end up in its final form after countless rounds of compromises and revisions. The provision could get slipped back in or appear in some other form. Who knows? This is the federal government we’re talking about, after all.

Hat tip to FIRE.

(2) 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. [Emphasis added.]

As FIRE goes on to note, this could very well cause problems, not necessarily from the federal government denying funds, but from college administrators banning religious groups from using facilities for fear of losing their stimulus money. And that would be unconstitutional per the Supreme Court case of Widmar v. Vincent, 454 U.S. 263 (1981).

There has already been one attempt to remove the provision from the bill, but it failed 43-54. FIRE suggests not striking the provision but merely amending it to make exceptions for religious groups using facilities. Either way, the language as it currently stands is unacceptable. You can get in touch with your state Senators and let them know you oppose the provision (or, y’know, the giant stimulus bill in general).