KEANSBURG, N.J. – Whether it be an overdue rent bill, a warm coat or a bag full of groceries, Project Paul has been there for Bayshore residents for more than 30 years.

But when the Keansburg-based religious charity went to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for financial assistance after Superstorm Sandy caused tens of thousands of dollars in damages, officials say they got the run-around.

“We’ve always been a mini-FEMA for the community,” said Sal Cortale, the group’s executive director. “Now we’re the ones who need help.”

Despite working to help the region recover after Sandy, several faith-based groups in the area say FEMA has not sufficiently funded their own recovery efforts because of what the groups see as a misguided adherence to separating church and state.

“These groups have gotten the back of FEMA’s hand,” said Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., who sponsored a bill in the House of Representatives that would allow faith-based groups to follow the same FEMA reimbursement process as private nonprofit organizations.

In a rare example of bipartisanship, the House voted 354-72 in February to approve the bill. A Senate version awaits review by a subcommittee.

The bill has its critics.

Maggie Garrett, legislative director of the advocacy group Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said regardless of the good intentions of religious groups, taxpayer dollars should not be used for repairing or replacing houses of worship such as churches, synagogues or mosques.

After Hurricane Katrina, FEMA similarly did not provide money to organizations seeking to repair damaged religious structures, Garrett said. Changing the policy now could easily add tens of millions of dollars in annual costs to an already bloated federal budget, she said.

“Once you start handing out money, it can be hard to figure out when you’re paying for the religious and when you’re paying for the non-religious,” Garrett said. “Houses of worship should be maintained by the faithful, not by the taxpayer.”

FEMA generally does not comment on pending legislation, said Dan Watson, a spokesman for the agency.

In the Senate, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has been assigned to take a look at the bill. The committee’s chairman, Delaware Democrat Tom Carper, has voiced opposition to the bill.

Several of the damaged structures that FEMA is not funding are part of parishes that served as community centers or meeting places for volunteers in the days after the storm, said James Goodness, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Newark.

“The FEMA money has not been available,” Goodness said. “It would be extremely helpful. It would be a matter of justice.”

In the Diocese of Trenton, overall damage to dozens of structures and properties are expected to total somewhere between $12 million to $15 million, said Joe Cahill, a business consultant for the diocese who serves as its liaison to FEMA.

At St. Rose in Belmar, approximate damage totaled $4 million at the high school, $350,000 at the rectory and $250,000 at the church, Cahill said.

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