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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill who wrote (155597)	6/25/2001 10:19:10 AM
From: Tom Clarke	Respond to of 769670

Rosa Parks Endorses Bush's Faith Based Initiative Plan Bush gets an ally on faith plan Rights pioneer joins push Rebecca Carr - Staff Monday, June 25, 2001 Washington --- Facing legislative hurdles on Capitol Hill, President Bush's faith-based initiative is expected to receive a boost today when civil rights leader Rosa Parks endorses his plan to expand partnerships between the government and religious groups. "She is supporting it because she feels it will give churches an opportunity to access funding that has not been possible before in poor neighborhoods," said Elaine Eason Steele, a friend who will deliver a letter from Parks to the president today before Bush addresses a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Detroit. In her letter, Parks endorses allowing churches to deliver social services to the poor. "Churches led the way in the civil rights movement when we had nowhere else to meet. They must never be forgotten when it comes to helping those in need," she wrote. The endorsement from Parks, a symbol of the civil rights movement since she refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery bus 46 years ago, is a coup for the White House, because key members of the Congressional Black Caucus are opposed to legislation that closely mirrors the president's initiative. Parks wrote that legislation introduced by House Republican Conference Chairman J.C. Watts (R-Okla.) and Rep. Tony Hall (D-Ohio), offers an opportunity to show young people the strength of America's political process. "We have an important opportunity to demonstrate to our youth the strength of America's bipartisan political process. The benefits of a bipartisan victory and the passage of HR 7 (the House bill) can be a bridge builder allowing all religions and political persuasions access to funding which will strengthen their communities," Parks wrote. Another key civil rights leader, Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), who is an ordained minister, and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) fear the initiative would tear down walls between religious organizations and government and allow churches to discriminate in hiring to staff government-funded programs based on a person's religious convictions. A section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 permits religious organizations to discriminate in hiring based on a person's religious beliefs. That law has been upheld by Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court. Bush is expected to tell the conference of mayors that despite criticism, the legislation would help pull people out of poverty and bring hope to lost neighborhoods. Aides say he will build on a speech he delivered at the University of Notre Dame last month in which he called on houses of worship to wage a new war on poverty. Bush's speech comes at a critical time on Capitol Hill. House legislation embracing his initiative has been criticized by members of both parties in both chambers. The legislation is controversial because it calls for expanding a provision in the Welfare Reform Act of 1996 known as "charitable choice" to 11 new social service programs. Charitable choice gives faith-based organizations the right to compete for federal grants without requiring them to remove religious art or other ceremonial symbols of God as a condition of receiving money. But charitable choice also states that government aid may not be used for sectarian worship, instruction or proselytization. Outside of welfare reform, Congress voted to extend charitable choice to three other programs: Welfare-to-Work in 1997; Community Services Block Grants in 1998 and substance abuse services in 2000. Last week, White House officials met with lawmakers and staffers on Capitol Hill who have expressed support for the President's idea in an effort to craft a bill that can command broad support. The White House is optimistic that after three days of negotiations, the bill is now more palatable to its critics and ready for votes as early as this week in the Judiciary and Ways and Means committees. "Those who thought this was delayed or dead are going to learn about resurrections," John DiIulio Jr., head of the White House Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives, said Sunday. As a result of the congressional negotiations, the legislation is being altered to address concerns. For example, the charitable choice provision passed in the 1996 Welfare Reform Act stated that churches did not have to create a separate account for federal grant money. The language in the Watts-Hall legislation would require separate accounts for the funds to prevent mixing church funds and federal money. "There is no scaling back, but discussions are underway to improve the bill and to find ways to get everyone on the same page," DiIulio said. > ON THE WEB: More on Rosa Parks: www.rosaparksinstitute.org accessatlanta.com