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July 27, 2001/Av 7, 5761, Vol. 53, No.42
House passes charitable choice bill
SHARON SAMBER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
BARRY COHEN
Editor
WASHINGTON - A charitable choice bill passed by the House of Representatives breaks down the separation between church and state and allows for religious-based hiring discrimination, many Jewish groups warn.
The bill, passed July 19 by a vote of 233-198, would let religious groups get direct federal funding for a range of social service programs.
Four of the six Arizona representatives voted for the bill: Jeff Flake (R - 1st district), J.D. Hayworth (R - 6th district), Jim Kolbe (R - 5th district) and John Shadegg (R - 4th district).
Ed Pastor (D - 2nd district) and Bob Stump (R - 3rd district) opposed it. Stump was only one of the four Republicans who opposed the charitable choice legislation.
Lisa Atkins, Stump's chief of staff, said his decision was based upon his concern for maintaining the separation of church and state.
"He opposed efforts whose unintended consequences could harm religious freedoms," she said.
Bill Straus, Arizona regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, called the bill "the most seriously flawed and constitutionally objectionable 'charitable choice' legislation that has ever reached the House floor."
Not all Jewish groups were opposed to the bill. Groups such as the Orthodox Union supported the legislation, which would provide direct government funding to churches and synagogues for their work in areas such as drug treatment and homeless services.
Backers argue that religious organizations should be permitted to take religious views into account in hiring.
Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, said charges that the charitable choice legislation will allow religious institutions to engage in discriminatory hiring practices are "a nonissue."
"Title 7 of the Civil Rights legislation makes religious organizations exempt from nondiscrimination requirements," said Brooks. As a result, religious groups receiving federal funding can discriminate in their hiring practices, he explained.
In addition, Brooks said the bill protects recipients against proselytizing because any program receiving federal funding must have a secular alternative.
But Rabbi Robert Kravitz, executive director of the American Jewish Committee area office in Phoenix, disagrees.
In the original bill, this stipulation existed, he noted. "But the (necessity for a) secular alternative is not written into the version that was recently passed," said Kravitz.
Another problem with the legislation, according to Kravitz, is that it may place additional strain on nonprofit institutions that are "barely getting by" most of the time. Government funding requires "some kind of reporting or auditing," he said. According to Kravitz, the new legislation will force recipients to hire new staff, such as a bookkeeper, to show money is being allocated properly.
ADL, Hadassah: the Women's Zionist Organization of America and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs claim the bill may open religious institutions to government scrutiny, and does not provide safeguards against proselytizing.
Also, the institutions that could qualify for federal funds may be cause for concern, said Straus.
"I see some extremist, racist, even hate groups receiving tax dollars," he said. "All they have to do is portray themselves as faith-based providers."
David Harris, deputy executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, said, "Every time this comes up, there is more and more opposition."
There has never been clearer partisan differences on an issue, he added. The "overwhelming majority" of Republicans voted for it and most Democrats voted against it, according to Harris.
"This shows that the Democratic party is the party that is most concerned about the separation of church and state," said Harris.
Following the close vote in the House, the Senate is likely to be tough on the bill, especially on the erosion of federal protections against hiring discrimination.
The Senate is expected to take up the issue in the fall.
Nancy Ives, press secretary for Sen. John McCain (R), said he would be supportive of the Senate version of the charitable choice legislation.
Sen. Jon Kyl (R) "has not yet signed on to any version," said Matt Latimer, Kyl's spokesman. However, Kyl has been supportive of the concept of charitable choice, he added.
In a statement, President Bush praised the House for its work and said government should encourage faith-based groups. Bush urged the Senate to support the bill.
The Democrats pushed a different bill they said would prohibit employment discrimination and protect recipients from religious coercion.
That substitute failed, as did the Democrats' motion to amend the bill to prohibit discrimination.
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