One can be deeply religions – and oppose ill-conceived programs that undermine separation of church and state. The Bush Administration "Faith-Based Initiative" is a threat to the First Amendment guarantees that Congress shall make no law respecting establishment of religion or abridging freedom thereof. It may also prove insidious to religious institutions themselves, since government oversight and regulation almost inevitably follow federal funding. Moreover, the manner in which the Administration is implementing this program, by executive fiat in defiance of Congressional resistance, constitutes an affront to our Constitutional system of checks and balances. Our Congressional representative, Katherine Harris, has taken every opportunity to support President Bush in implementing faith-based policies.
The concept of "faith-based initiatives" (or "charitable choice," a frequent alternate euphemism) involves using tax dollars to fund social services provided by religious institutions. It gained an initial toehold in our legislative framework through introduction by then-Senator John Ashcroft in connection with the 1996 Welfare Reform Act. George W. Bush was one of the first governors to embrace the program at the state level, and now he is undertaking to foist it upon the nation.
Upon assuming the Presidency, George W. Bush sought to expand the faith-based concept so far beyond its original, highly limited application in connection with community bloc grants as to represent a change in kind, not merely in degree. One of the first things Mr. Bush did upon taking office was to create a White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, and he has since created such offices in seven federal agencies. Conferences have been held all around the country to help religious groups learn about applying for federal funds, and the Administration has even created a fund to provide technical assistance to small charities in this respect.
Congress, to its credit, declined fully to support the President in his crusade to erode First Amendment protections. The version of the Charitable Aid, Recovery and Empowerment Act (CARE) passed by the Senate omitted controversial provisions causing grave concerns over church/state separation and government funding of religious discrimination. The Administration has nevertheless proceeded with its faith-based initiatives program in at least two major ways. The first is by rewriting regulations governing contracts issued by several federal agencies responsible for providing social services, including the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Veterans Administration. Recently, the Administration announced new HHS regulations that could give up to $20 billion to religious groups to operate substance abuse and mental health programs and new HUD regulations that would allow such groups to compete for $8 billion in housing grants.
The second strategy has been to keep introducing legislative proposals funneling money to religious organizations and/or allowing them to discriminate on the basis of religion. In this effort, the Administration has been aided and abetted by the representative from the Florida 13th Congressional District.
Congresswoman, Katherine Harris has consistently taken positions in the House of Representatives contrary to those urged by Americans United:
– On direct faith-based initiatives, with regard to the School Readiness Act, Ms. Harris voted in favor of allowing discrimination on the basis of religion by organizations participating in federally-funded HeadStart programs. Ms. Harris likewise voted for the Workforce Reinvestment and Adult Education Act, which permits faith-based organizations to hire or fire employees based on religious affiliation.
- On a related subject, vouchers undermine principles of separation of church and state. Ms. Harris voted for the School Voucher Amendment to the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, which passed by just two votes; and she voted against a proposed amendment that would have reversed that decision, which failed by an even vote. She likewise voted for two voucher amendments to the Improving Education for Children With Disabilities Act, both of which fortunately failed to pass the House.
– Ms. Harris is also a cosponsor of the so-called House of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act, currently pending in Congress, which would allow churches to engage in campaigning.
– Separation of church and state issues also come before Congress in a variety of less direct forms. The positions taken by Ms. Harris are also generally antithetical to those of Americans United on such subjects as abortion, bioethics, constitutional equality, death penalty, and others.
Jan Schneider on Separation of Church & State
Jan Schneider is a committed advocate of separation of separation of church and state. It almost goes without saying that she would have voted the opposite way from Ms. Harris on each of the issue mentioned here (and countless others).
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