Faith-based Initiative

Faith-based Initiative: News Background Analysis Correspondence Gov Docs

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News

Past, Future of Faith-Based Initiative in the News 07/08/2008
A late June conference sponsored by the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (OFBCI) featured a speech by President Bush praising the faith-based initiative as "one of the most important initiatives of this Administration." On July 1, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama announced his plan to restructure the program, criticizing lack of funds for the current effort and promising to bar religious hiring discrimination for federally funded positions. The next day, Republican presidential candidate John McCain issued a statement disagreeing with Obama on the hiring issue. Read More

Comments Blast Proposed Affiliation Rule for HIV/AIDS Grantees 05/28/2008
A proposed U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) rule for international HIV/AIDS grantees has generated criticism and calls for change. If implemented, the proposed rule would force such grantees to choose between adopting government policy for their entire organizations or setting up completely separate affiliated organizations. Comments from OMB Watch, the Brennan Center for Justice, and two members of Congress contrast the harshness of the proposed separation requirements with the much more flexible standards the agency has adopted for its faith-based initiative. Read More

Committee Votes Down Faith-Based Hiring Amendment to Head Start Bill 03/20/2007
On March 14, the House Education and Labor Committee approved the Improving Head Start Act of 2007 (H.R.1429) after defeating an amendment that would have allowed faith-based organizations to hire teachers for the Head Start program based on religion. Attempts to insert such language into Head Start were unsuccessful in the past. This is the first time the issue has come up in the 110th Congress. The controversial provision was defeated 26-19 on a party line vote, and the overall bill passed 42-1. However, the amendment could be brought up again when the bill is considered on the House floor, which may occur before Congress' April recess. Read More

Appeals Court Upholds USAID Pledge Requirement for HIV/AIDS Grantees 03/20/2007
On Feb. 27, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Columbia overturned a lower court ruling that voided a USAID requirement that grantees under an HIV/AIDS program adopt certain policies on prostitution. The ruling in DKT International v. USAID is the first decision in two cases in separate federal appeals courts that involve the same issue. DKT expects to seek a re-hearing before the entire Circuit Court. An appeal from another lower court ruling that overturned the same requirement is pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York. Conflicting rulings in the two appeals courts could increase the likelihood the issue will reach the Supreme Court. Read More

Courts Defining When Government Funds Cannot Support Faith-Based Programs 02/06/2007
The U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear oral arguments about whether taxpayers have the right to challenge the constitutionality of government funding for conferences supported by the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives that are alleged to promote religious groups over secular ones. Meanwhile, several recent court decisions involving separation of government-funded and religious programs provide some clarity to vague federal regulations. Read More

Federal Court Allows Salvation Army to Consider Employees' Faith 10/18/2005
A federal court opinion permitting the Salvation Army to consider the faith of employees hired for government- funded projects is being touted as a victory by proponents of President Bush's faith-based initiative, claiming it legitimizes the administration's stance. Yet, opponents of the Bush faith-based initiative are not entirely sure the court decision is a loss. Read More

Early Reports of FEMA Reimbursement Policy Misleading 10/04/2005
Early reports about the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reimbursements to faith-based groups for their hurricane relief services were misleading and lacked essential details. At a press conference last week, FEMA announced that it will reimburse churches and faith-based groups; however, this is simply an extension of its Public Assistance Program that currently provides funding to private nonprofit groups that have provided food, shelter and supplies to victims of Hurricane Katrina at the agency's request. A Sept. 27 Washington Post story gave the impression that only faith-based groups would receive such reimbursements, prompting some protest.

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Debate Over Grants Rules Heats Up as Groups Lose Funds, Challenge Policy 09/06/2005
DKT International, a Washington-based charitable organization, has filed suit against the U.S. government over a grant condition that dictates organizations adopt a specific policy statement, while a second organization has lost federal funding as a result of a suit brought for noncompliance with grants rules for faith-based organizations. Both developments point to important issues in federal grants rules, the first challenging the degree to which government may dictate privately funded speech, the other demonstrating the practical problem of separating privately funded religious content from publicly funded programming. Read More

Study Finds Little Oversight of Religious Content or Client Choice in Gov't-Funded Programs 08/08/2005
An Urban Institute study of the Bush administration's Faith Based Initiative, found that, while many faith-based organizations (FBOs) are integral service providers, they often lack established benchmarks and have little oversight at the state, local and federal levels, regarding religious content and the ability of clients to choose an alternative provider. Read More

Bill Would Make Faith-Based Offices Permanent 05/18/2005
Legislation introduced in the House of Representatives on March 2 would make the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (H.R. 1054) and ten similar federal agency offices a permanent part of the federal government. The Tools for Community Initiatives Act, sponsored by Rep. Mark Green (R-WI), establishes the offices and outlines their responsibilities. It does not include portions of current regulations that address how religious groups handle federal grants. Instead, these issues are included in a non-binding “Sense of Congress” section, which does not address the issue of hiring on the basis of religion for federally funded jobs. Read More

Court Says AmeriCorps Teachers in Catholic Schools Allowed to Receive Subsidies 03/21/2005
On March 8, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that taxpayer funds can subsidize volunteer instructors that teach in religious schools. The ruling reversed a July 2, 2004 decision by U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler, who admonished the government for failing to monitor programs sufficiently to ensure compliance with the law and called the line between secular and religious activities "completely blurred." The American Jewish Congress (AJC) may appeal the decision. Read More

Faith-Based Roundup 03/07/2005

House Vote on Jobs Act Would Codify Religious Discrimination, Opponents Await Senate Vote

On March 3, the House approved H.R. 27, the Job Training Improvement Act, which would allow publicly funded religious agencies to hire and fire workers based on their religious beliefs. A coalition of organizations had urged the House to reject the bill unless it was amended to ensure that workers could not be discriminated against on religious grounds in federally supported social service programs. Read More

Court Rules on Key Issues on Funding Faith-Based Groups 01/24/2005
A Jan. 11 ruling by a federal district court judge in Wisconsin in a complex case challenging the federal faith-based initiative has blocked funding to a program that incorporated religious content into government funded activities, but dismissed a claim that another program discriminated against secular nonprofits in awarding subgrants. Freedom From Religion Foundation v. Towey may be appealed by both sides. Read More

Congress Faces First Faith-Based Issues of 2005 01/24/2005

A Quarter of HUDÕs Budget Slashed in BushÕs Budget

The Bush administration, in a drastic reversal of election promises, plans to cut $8 billion in funding at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), in programs often administered by faith-based organizations, resulting in a reduction of the agencyÕs $31 billion budget by almost a quarter. Read More

Administration Will Step Up Faith-Based Efforts 01/10/2005
Despite budget cuts for social service programs, Jim Towey, director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives told a recent Pew Charitable Trusts conference on religion and social policy that the administration will push its faith-based agenda in the 109th Congress. Read More

AU Sues to Block Funding for California Missions 12/13/2004
On Dec. 2, Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) filed a lawsuit in federal court to block taxpayer funding for restoration of mission churches in California. The suit charges that the recently passed “California Missions Preservation Act” is tantamount to taxpayer-supported religion. Read More

Court Narrows Faith-Based Suit 11/30/2004
A law suit claiming sweeping constitutional problems with the Bush administration's faith-based initiative has been largely defanged by a court's decision that the plaintiff does not have standing to file the suit. The dismissal of all but a small portion of a lawsuit means the merits of the case remain undecided in the courts. Read More

New Rules, Empty Pockets: Funding Faith-Based Services in a Time of Fiscal Uncertainty 11/02/2004
Three executive orders have created centers for the Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in many federal agencies. Booklets have been published which provide guidance to faith-based groups on how to get federal funding, and the government has held a series of educational conferences and a catalog of grant opportunities. Recently, both USAID and HUD published final rules implementing a policy ensuring that faith-based organizations are able to compete on equal footing with other organizations for funding. So why has funding for faith-based organizations in the social service system at the state and local levels deteriorated recently? A new report by the Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy details the funding problems of the "Faith-Based Initiative." Read More

Bush Expands Faith-Based Initiative to Vouchers, State Control 09/21/2004
In an effort to further weaken the wall separating church and state, President Bush is seeking to expand his faith-based initiative to the state and local levels. He is pushing state and local governments to adopt rules and policies similar to federal regulations that favor faith-based groups in government-funded programs. Read More

Bush Pushes Faith-Based Initiative Without New Authority 08/23/2004
The absence of new legislative authority has not deterred the Bush administration from using its executive powers to widely implement its Faith-Based Initiative throughout the federal government. That is the finding of a new report by the Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy documents. Read More

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