|
March 22, 2004
Union Of
Orthodox Jewish Congregations To Testify Before U.S. House
Committee On Faith-Based Initiative’s Progress And Peril
Tomorrow, the
Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America will present
testimony to a House of Representatives subcommittee, chaired by
Rep. Mark Souder, assessing the “progress, promise and peril” of
the “faith-based initiative” – a set of legislative and regulatory
initiatives championed by the Bush Administration to expand the
long-existing partnership between government and faith-based
institutions in the delivery of social and civic services in the
United States.
The testimony, presented by Nathan J. Diament – director of public
policy for the UOJCA – addressed several issues. First, Mr.
Diament noted the “significant progress” made by Bush
Administration initiative “in reforms which have not only opened
up federal grant programs which support social welfare projects to
faith-based groups, but have brought real equity to an array of
critical federal programs throughout the government’s activities.”
As examples, Diament cited decisions opening up federal disaster
aid, administered through FEMA, to stricken religious
institutions, as well as making historic religious buildings, such
as the Touro Synagogue, eligible for federal historic preservation
grants.
Second, Diament presented the Subcommittee with an analysis of
recent U.S. Supreme Court opinions, including the decision in
Locke v. Davey issued last month, demonstrating that the
faith-based initiative is constitutional, because the latest Court
rulings clearly show that “the principle of government neutrality
toward religion is the animating principle of the First
Amendment’s Establishment Clause.
Third, Diament warned the Subcommittee that there “peril facing
America’s faith-based social welfare agencies” recently brought
“into sharp relief” by lower court decisions siding with “the
logic of the critics” of the initiative. In particular, Diament
pointed to a March 1 ruling by the California Supreme Court
holding that Catholic Charities did not qualify as a religious
employer such that it could enjoy a statutory exemption from
providing its employees with contraceptive services as part of
their health insurance. Diament cited “the fact that this ruling
was advocated by the critics who have presented their objections
to the legislative and regulatory steps undertaken to advance the
faith-based initiative as limited and nuanced”as evidence “that,
if they had their way, they would accept not only the reversal of
the progress made under the current and previous Administration,
but would seek to roll back long established liberties and
privileges accorded America’s religious institutions including tax
exemptions and other legal accommodations to a degree at odds with
mainstream American jurisprudence or popular consensus.”
Finally,
Diament urged House members to embrace the “hope” the initiative
sought to foster, rather than the cynicism and fear fostered by
its critics.
A complete text of Diament’s testimony is available
here.
###
|
