July 2001

The Initiative in Washington 

The criticism from religious conservatives, who had supported Bush's run for office, reportedly surprised the administration. On March 14, however, the president asserted, "The reports about our charitable choice legislation not going full steam ahead [are] just simply not true." The initiative, he maintained, was "moving on a timetable that we're comfortable with."

The public dialogue led one of the plan's key supporters, Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), to recommend postponing Senate action on charitable choice while going forward with the tax changes intended to stimulate charitable giving. The White House agreed.

On March 21, Santorum introduced the Savings Opportunity and Charitable Giving Act of 2001 (S. 592) in the Senate. The bill included provisions allowing nonitemizers to take charitable deductions, enabling IRA holders to make tax-free charitable contributions from their IRAs, and extending "special rule" tax deductions to all business taxpayers making food donations. Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), Al Gore's running mate in the recent presidential election, was the bill's other primary sponsor.

Lieberman and Santorum had appeared with Bush when the president launched his initiative on January 30. Lieberman, however, had made it clear that he could not support the charitable choice proposal until the constitutional and discrimination issues were resolved. He had publicly posed several specific questions about the program, explaining at one point, "This is one case where, if you'll allow me to put it this way, the devil really is in the details."

Nonetheless, when the Savings Opportunity and Charitable Giving Act was submitted to the Senate, Lieberman contended that the president's overall plan had more support than might be readily apparent. Santorum speculated that he and Lieberman would introduce a charitable choice bill in a couple of months.

Proponents in the House of Representatives took a different approach. On March 29, Representatives J.C. Watts (R-Okla.) and Tony Hall (D-Ohio) and Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) introduced the Community Solutions Act of 2001 (H.R. 7) in the House. In addition to the tax provisions found in the Senate bill, the Community Solutions Act included language expanding charitable choice.

On April 23, Congress received a petition advocating separation of church and state. It was signed by 850 religious leaders. The following day, a House Judiciary subcommittee began hearings on the Community Solutions Act. Discussion quickly divided along party lines, with Republicans supporting the initiative and Democrats opposing it.

April 25 found House and Senate Republicans attending a summit intended to show support for the president's plan. Some 400 invited guests, mostly African-American clergy whose churches were already receiving government funds, also participated.

The legislators included the president's proposals for stimulating charitable giving in a larger tax-reform package. At the end of May, however, the White House consented to removing those measures in order to get the rest of the bill, which provided for a $1.35 trillion tax cut, adopted.

Opponents also attacked the charitable choice components of other legislation. In April, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), a cosponsor of the Drug Abuse Education, Prevention, and Treatment Act, complained about the inclusion of charitable choice in that bill. Around the same time, reports noted that the ranking minority member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, George Miller (D-Calif.), wanted charitable choice removed from the No Child Left Behind Act.

Although a June Supreme Court decision permitting a Christian children's club to meet at a New York state school may improve the legal climate for charitable choice, the legislative forecast is less bright. Senator James Jeffords's (I-Vt.) defection from the Republican Party has given Democrats control of the Senate, causing some political pundits to predict the demise of charitable choice.

The president and his allies are not giving up, however. In May, Michael Joyce, head of the conservative Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, announced that he was establishing a new organization in Washington, D.C., to support the president's initiative. On June 5, Senator Santorum stated, "If we are serious about battling poverty, we must not discriminate against faith-based groups merely because of their religious character."

Bush in particular has taken up the standard. On several occasions in May and June, he urged support not only for his program but also for volunteering and charitable corporate giving in general. In May, he announced that in the fall the White House would sponsor a summit where corporate and philanthropic leaders can discuss ways to help both secular and religious groups.

Although the Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on the faith-based initiative in mid-June, there is no indication when, if ever, the issue will reach the Senate floor. The House Ways and Means Committee also heard testimony on the Community Solutions Act in June. On June 21, however, House majority leader Dick Armey speculated that the legislation would not be debated in the House until after the July 4 recess. In the meantime, the administration is urging House Republicans to replace the bill's charitable choice provisions with less sweeping language that Congress has adopted in the past.