Faith-based aid in Senate

Faith-based initiative in the Senate

From our Presbyterian Washington Office:

Faith based initiatives in the Senate

dated 2/11/02; posted here 2-11-02

UPDATE - You may have read in your local papers that the Senate version of the Charitable Choice bill, also called Faith Based Initiatives, was agreed to by the Bush White House and Senator Lieberman. It is called the C.A.R.E ACT (CHARITY AID, RECOVERY, AND EMPOWERMENT). The Senate version is not at all like the House version. We will have to wait to see if the CARE version passes the full Senate and if there is an attempt to bring compromise with the controversial House bill passed last year (HR7). Or, if an entirely new bill is introduced in the House that would be similar to the Senate CARE version. The CARE bill appears to have avoided the possibility of putting religious services at odds with civil rights laws. In the meantime, please find below the NCC statement and letter as well as Senator Lieberman's press statement.

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NCC's Edgar commends Bush, endorses faith-based partnership plan

February 8, 2002, NEW YORK CITY - General Secretary Bob Edgar of the National Council of Churches has written to President Bush expressing support for the "Charity Aid, Recovery and Empowerment" (CARE) bill advancing the President's faith-based initiative in Congress, and commending President Bush for his leadership on the issue.

At the same time, Dr. Edgar cautioned that the plan must receive adequate funding for the public-private partnership to succeed.

"We will encourage others to support the 'CARE' proposal and will work for its passage and implementation," Dr. Edgar wrote, adding that "those in need must not be made to wait. Religious and community agencies offer great gifts to the provision of social services*and charitable giving can be fostered in their support."

D. Edgar, a former six-term member of Congress, and NCC Deputy General Secretary for Research and Planning Dr. Eileen Lindner were both participants in the bi-partisan consensus group organized by Senator Rick Santorum and former Senator Harris Wofford to study the complex issue of tax support for private and religious social services. Many of the group's 29 recommendations are incorporated in the proposed legislation.

The letter underlined what Dr. Edgar had emphasized in a meeting at the White House with President Bush last week: the importance of "an overall increase in the funding available for this public-private partnership to assure its capacity to address the concerns of those on the margins of society." Dr. Edgar said he is encouraged by the projection of modest increases but, "in the present economic climate the prestige and leadership of the White House will be required to secure more federal resources to provide adequate services to the needy."

"We know how to work with the unemployed, the poor and many of the disabled in their struggles to gain employment, to fully support their families and to be productive citizens. It would be tragic if we lacked the vision and the nerve to make that investment. We look to you for the leadership to enable this partnership to flourish in ways that strengthen all of us as a people and a nation," Dr. Edgar concluded in his letter to President Bush.

The National Council of Churches is the nation's largest ecumenical organization, with 36 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican member communions comprising 50 million adherents in 140,000 local congregations.

The full text of Dr. Edgar's letter to President Bush follows.

February 8, 2002
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

On behalf of the National Council of Churches -- 36 communions, 140,000 churches and 50,000,000 Americans - I write with gratitude for your leadership in bringing forward the Charity Aid, Recovery and Empowerment Act of 2002.

A year ago your faith-based initiative stimulated a broad, national debate on the role and efficacy of religious and community-based organizations in the provision of social services. From the perspective of many in the religious community, the stakes included this nation's treasured guarantees on the separation of church and state and also the ability of religious bodies to critique public policies with integrity.

These important issues have been addressed in a number of venues in recent months. We have worked hard to contribute to those discussions, particularly within the bi-partisan process initiated by Senator Rick Santorum and former Senator Harris Wofford. We are especially pleased to see the fruits of this remarkable consensus group so fully reflected in the proposed legislation.

Mr. President, we salute you and your administration for encouraging the democratic process to work. As a result, the present bill should enjoy the broad support of Americans concerned both for those in need and for the independence and integrity of religious bodies.

We will encourage others to support the "CARE" proposal and will work for its passage and implementation. Those in need must not be made to wait. Religious and community agencies offer great gifts to the provision of social services that empower recipients, and charitable giving can be
fostered in their support.

As a former member of Congress, I know how difficult it can be to craft legislation that will address a pressing need and engage the most effective mechanisms to get the job done. The CARE bill is an example of such leadership.

In our meeting with you last week, Mr. President, I noted the importance of an overall increase in the funding available for this public-private partnership to assure its capacity to address the concerns of those on the margins of society. I am encouraged by the projection of modest increases but know that in the present economic climate the prestige and leadership of the White Huse will be required to secure more federal resources to provide services to the neediest among us.

We know how to work with the unemployed, the poor and many of the disabled in their struggles to gain employment, to fully support their families and to be productive citizens. It would be tragic if we lacked the vision and the nerve to make that investment. We look to you for the leadership to enable this partnership to flourish in ways that strengthen all of us as a people and a nation.

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SENATOR LIEBERMAN --PRESS STATEMENT

Lieberman, Santorum Announce Bipartisan Compromise on President's Faith-based Initiative

Unveil consensus charity bill at White House event

WASHINGTON - Senators Joe Lieberman (D-CT) and Rick Santorum (R-PA) joined President Bush today in announcing a bipartisan agreement on a bill that will build on the President's Faith-based and Community Initiative and help America's charities to help more people in need.

Following a meeting at the White House, Lieberman and Santorum introduced the Charity Aid, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Act. The bill aims to better harness the enormous potential of charitable organizations to help the Federal Government solve pressing social problems, by leveraging more public and private support for these groups and making it easier for smaller social service providers to qualify for Federal aid.

"After many months of discussion, debate, and disappointments, I am proud to report that we have finally reached a balanced, bipartisan agreement -- one that avoids the controversies that have to date bogged down the President's plan in Congress, and that advances our common interest in turning the growing good will in our country into more good works in our communities," Lieberman said.

"We can not lose focus that our ultimate goal is helping the hopeless and the destitute," Santorum said. "This compromise represents a critical step foward in empowering those smaller faith and community-based groups who give so much to care for so many."

Bill Summary

Among other things, the CARE ACT would:

	Create new targeted tax incentives, including a deduction for non-itemizers, to spur more charitable contributions and provide immediate relief to charitable groups post-September 11th.
	Increase funding for the Social Services Block Grant, which underwrites many critically important local programs, by more than $1 billion over the next two years.
	Establish a $150 million "Compassion Capital Fund" to expand technical assistance for smaller charitable organizations and help them better compete for Federal grants and contracts.
	Knock down documented barriers that unfairly prevent faith-based social service providers from qualifying for Federal funding.
	Expand the use of innovative Individual Development Accounts to help low-income working families save and build assets and achieve self-sufficiency.

The bill has not been officially scored yet. But it is projected to cost somewhere between $11 billion and $13 billion, with the charitable giving tax incentives accounting for most of the cost.

Joining Lieberman and Santorum in attending the White House announcement were Senators Evan Bayh (D-IN), Sam Brownback (R-KS), Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Charles Grassley (R-IA), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), and Bill Nelson (D-FL). Original cosponsors of the bill include Senators Bayh, Brownback, Clinton, Nelson, Jean Carnahan (D-MO), and Thad Cochran (R-MS).