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AROUND THE WEB
WorkingForChange
February 12, 2002
Bill Berkowitz
Cautious 'compromise' treads dangerous territory
On February 7 President Bush, Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), announced that they had settled on a deal for legislation that would incorporate some of the president's proposals from his faith-based initiative. Whether the provisions will become law or not is still up in the air, because they must be approved by both the House and the Senate.
The most controversial provision in the proposed legislation would allow direct grants to religious based charities, which currently must setup non-sectarian branches of themselves in order to get federal money.
This provision is an extension of the so-called "charitable choice" provisions, first introduced into the 1996 welfare reform bill by then-Senator now-Attorney General John Ashcroft. It is not now clear whether these religious federal money recipients would have to abide by all other federal laws, such as civil rights laws, or laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of religion, or religious beliefs.
According to Rep. Bobby Scott, (D-Va), "The legislation does not make it clear that religious groups that discriminate in hiring will not be eligible. Rather, it will be up to the Bush administration to interpret the law..." Writes Berkowitz: "The result of this compromise is that the Bush Administration, stocked as it is with right-wing ideologues, will be the fox guarding the henhouse. And, at the risk of mixing metaphors, they've created a loophole you could drive a bunch of tractor-trailer trucks through."
Of course the Bush Administration is not to be trusted to deal even-handedly with religious charities that support it. Berkowitz recounts last year's ugly dustup over a backroom political deal between the Salvation Army and the Bush Administration that would have allowed the Salvation Army to receive federal funds and still discriminate against homosexuals, while providing the Bush Administration with a $1 million campaign touting it paid for by the Salvation Army.
Berkowitz also recounts how Marvin Olasky, the conservative philanthropy product who is the "godfather" of "compassionate conservatism" (and advisor to George W. Bush), reported last year in his World magazine that he had been given assuarances by the Bush Administration that its legislation-writer was a master at writing "vague language" that would create an opening for religious grant recipients to proselytize its beneficiares despite what appear to be restrictions against it.
Meanwhile, "Senator Lieberman praised the president for his 'leadership' and pointed out that he believes the legislation is 'a constitutionally appropriate' way to proceed...." Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, has a different take: "The White House claims this plan will offer equal treatment for all groups, but it actually gives special treatment to religious groups."
"It is simply wrong for a publicly funded job training facility to post a banner that reads, 'Only Jesus Saves,'" Lynn added. "If a religious group receives public funds, they should display an American flag, not a crucifix. The faith-based initiative still has a giant question mark hanging over it."
Concludes Berkowitz: "At the end of the day, the Bush faith- based team may not have gotten all it wanted, but it has certainly gotten a foot, a rather large one at that, in the door. From this point forward that door will continue to be nudged open inch by inch."
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