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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release June 19, 1998

                      STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
       ON RELIGIOUS LIBERTY AND CHARITABLE DONATION PROTECTION ACT

I was very pleased to sign today S.1244, the Religious Liberty and Charitable Donation Protection Act. This bill protects the religious and charitable contributions made by people who later declare bankruptcy.

As Americans, we value the important role religious and charitable institutions play in the daily life of this nation. Indeed, we know that fiscal responsibility for these institutions is fundamental to their efforts to meet the spiritual, social and other concerns of our nation. It is a great loss to all of our citizens for creditors to recoup their losses in bankruptcy cases from donations made in good faith by our citizens to their churches and charitable institutions.

As Americans we also know that giving, whether to one's church, temple, mosque or other house of worship or to any charitable organization, fosters and enriches our sense of community. We need to encourage, not discourage, that sense of community. The Religious Liberty and Charitable Donation Protection Act does just that.

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