Bid to defund faith-based groups fails
 
By James G. Lakely
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
 
    The House Appropriations Committee approved three
more spending bills yesterday after Republicans beat
back Democratic efforts to cut off faith-based
organizations' access to federal funds. 
   
 Rep. Chet Edwards, Texas Democrat, offered a hastily
crafted amendment to the Labor, Health and Human
Services, and Education spending bill that would
ensure that none of the funds appropriated in the bill
would go to any group that "discriminates in job
hiring based on religion." 
  
  Mr. Edwards' amendment was defeated by a vote of
32-27. Every Democrat voted for the amendment, along
with two Republicans, Reps. Mark Steven Kirk of
Illinois and Donald L. Sherwood of Pennsylvania. 
  
  The measure was a response to a White House position
paper sent to Capitol Hill Tuesday that argued that
faith-based organizations that receive federal funds —
an effort that President Bush champions — "should
retain their right to hire those individuals who are
best able to further their organizations' goals and
mission." 
  
  A Catholic church that operates a soup kitchen
funded partly through federal grants, for instance,
should be allowed to hire only fellow Catholics,
according to Mr. Bush. Such "religious hiring rights,"
said the White House document, are part of a religious
organization's basic civil rights. 
    
But allowing that to happen, Mr. Edwards said, would
mean Congress would "legalize racial discrimination in
this country," imagining a Jewish or Catholic
organization refusing to hire a black Southern
Baptist. 
   
 "Do you or do you not think that Americans should be
discriminated against in a federal program based on
their religion?" Mr. Edwards said. "One shouldn't have
to choose between a job and their faith." 
   
 Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, Rhode Island Democrat,
warned the United States could begin going down "a
slow road" to the theocracy of Iran. 
 
   "You start putting religion and government money
together, and you are going to have real problems,"
Mr. Kennedy said. 
  
  Republicans sharply rebuked those characterizations,
pointing to the long record of good works by
faith-based organizations, and stressing that groups
that receive federal dollars know they can't use it to
proselytize. 
   
 "The reason people are in faith-based groups is
because of their faith," shouted Rep. Frank R. Wolf,
Virginia Republican. 
  
  Rep. Jack Kingston, Georgia Republican, called the
amendment a "poison pill," and Rep. Zach Wamp,
Tennessee Republican, said it "would not chill the
involvement of faith based groups, it would kill it." 
  
  "I hate to question the motives of anyone," Mr. Wamp
said. "But [Mr. Edwards] is a person who is vehemently
opposed" to Mr. Bush's faith-based initiative. 
 
   "This is a rear-guard effort to kill it, and that's
the truth," Mr. Wamp said. 
  
  Mr. Edwards withdrew another amendment that would
bar federal funds from being used to restore historic
churches if they are still active. He said he plans to
bring it up on the House floor later this year. 
 


__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month!
http://sbc.yahoo.com