In OMB Watch's last Watcher, we mentioned Chairman Sensenbrenner's Katrina Volunteer Protection Act, that was passed by voice vote in the House. href=" http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/KatrinavolunteerHousepass91405.pdf">H.R. 3736, the Katrina Volunteer Protection Act, authored by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI).The act establishes a uniform federal floor to protect ad hoc volunteers working in response to Hurricane Katrina. The legislation was enacted to protect volunteers who act in good faith and without compensation to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina from lawsuits unless the volunteer acts in a willful, wanton, reckless, or criminal manner or violate a State or Federal civil rights law. The current federal Volunteer Protection Act does not provide any protection to volunteers who are not working under the auspices of a nonprofit organization, and it provides no protection at all to nonprofit organizations themselves.Consequently, outside of Katrina relief efforts, there are few legal protections for volunteers or nonprofit organizations. Only an extremely small percentage of the some 1.4 million nonprofit organizations in the w:st="on">United States actually purchase liability insurance, due to excessive costs. As theLos Angeles Times recently reported, “The lack of liability protection was one of several concerns delaying some 900 churches from joining the evacuation network.” According to recent press accounts, the Red Cross feels constrained in giving out the names of refugees to those who want to offer their homes for shelter because of liability concerns. We hear that Sen. Ensign is pushing to get the Katrina Volunteer Protection Act over in the Senate. This would be good news to the many nonprofits that are utlizing much-needed volunteers in the disaster area.