All that subjective and metaphysical stuff on top of apples and carrots is going to give you heartburn. Here's something else to chew on.
Wednesday January 31, 1:16 pm Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: American Jewish Congress
AJCongress Asks California Court to
Invalidate Job Training Program
Limited to Faith-Based Providers Only
NEW YORK, Jan. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Declaring that a California requirement that a
government-funded job training program may be carried out only by a faith-based provider, the
American Jewish Congress has filed suit in the San Francisco County Superior Court demanding
an invalidation of this ``charitable choice'' program as an unconstitutional preference for
religion.
In the case of American Jewish Congress vs. Michael Bernick et. al., AJCongress is challenging
a ``faith-based initiative'' to be administered by the California Department of Employment
Development under the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program; Bernick is
the Department's Director.
Last August, the Department issued a ``Faith-Based Initiative Solicitation Proposal'' to provide
work force development programs aimed at ``high risk individuals,'' with the proposal restricted
to ``interested nonprofit faith-based organizations (or their nonprofit affiliates).'' According to
AJCongress' complaint, ``no non-faith based organization may participate in this solicitation.''
This contradicts the requirement in the TANF program of equal treatment of faith and non-faith
based providers, not ``special treatment,'' as provided by the initiative.
``The proposal and the budget item authorizing that it prefer religiously affiliated providers over
non-religious providers and make religion relevant to an organization's standing in the
community, is in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States,'' declared AJCongress President Jack Rosen. ``Moreover, by
discriminating in favor of religion and demonstrating a preference for religiously affiliated
organizations, the initiative is in violation as well of the California Constitution (Article I,
Section 4, and Article XVI, Section 5). Whatever other limits apply to charitable choice -- and
we think that they are substantial -- it is certain that faith-based providers may not be preferred
over secular competitors,'' Rosen said.
AJCongress is asking the Court for a declaration that ``the eligibility limitation to faith-based
providers both in the proposal and in the budget item are unconstitutional,'' as well as the
issuance of an injunction prohibiting government funding of the project and requiring that the
``proposal be rebid without a faith-based limitation.''
The complaint was filed by AJCongress officer Fred Blum, a partner in the San Francisco law
firm of Jaffe, Martini & Blum. He was assisted by Marc Stern, Co-Director of AJCongress'
Commission on Law and Social Action.
SOURCE: American Jewish Congress |
