Battling bias: effort to inject religions discrimination into head start fails in House of Representatives.As the House of Representatives prepared to deliberate Willful; purposeful; determined after thoughtful evaluation of all relevant factors; dispassionate. To act with a particular intent, which is derived from a careful consideration of factors that influence the choice to be made. reauthorizing Head Start this spring, the Bush administration wasted no time weighing weigh 1 v. weighed, weigh·ing, weighs v.tr. 1. To determine the weight of by or as if by using a scale or balance. 2. in on a burning question: Should participants in the publicly funded program be permitted to engage in religious discrimination when hiring staff and approving volunteers? Not surprisingly, the White House answered with a resounding re·sound v. re·sound·ed, re·sound·ing, re·sounds v.intr. 1. To be filled with sound; reverberate: The schoolyard resounded with the laughter of children. 2. , "Yes!" To make matters worse, the administration insisted that granting faith-based In the United States of America, the term faith-based is used to describe organizations that are religious in nature and distinguish those organizations from government, public or private secular organizations. groups a right to hire and fire based on religious criteria criteria (krītēr´ē  ),n. in a taxpayer-supported program protects religious freedom. The House, however, had other ideas. In a vote that may signal a new political climate for the Bush "faith-based" initiative, the effort to allow religious discrimination in Head Start programs failed 222-195 on May 2. (See "House Vote," page 14.) The vote was seen as an important test of the strength of advocates of faith-based initiatives in the Democratic-controlled Congress. When Head Start, a popular program that serves low-income low-in·come adj. Of or relating to individuals or households supported by an income that is below average. children and their families, came up for reauthorization, Republicans vowed to add an amendment to repeal The Annulment or abrogation of a previously existing statute by the enactment of a later law that revokes the former law. The revocation of the law can either be done through an express repeal a 35-year-old non-discrimination Noun 1. non-discrimination - fairness in treating people without prejudice fairness, equity - conformity with rules or standards; "the judge recognized the fairness of my claim" provision in order to allow religious groups that sponsor it to make hiring decisions-and even screen parent volunteers-on the basis of religion. The Head Start reauthorization bill (H.R. 1429, the Improving Head Start Act of 2007) became a battleground for faith-based amendments early on. During deliberations in the House Education and Labor Committee, U.S. Rep (programming) REP - A directive used in IBM object code card decks (and later PTF Tapes) to REPlace fragments of already assembled or compiled object code prior to link edit. . Luis LUIS Label Use Information System (US EPA) Fortuno (RPuerto Rico) offered an amendment allowing Head Start programs to engage in religious discrimination. That failed on a party line vote, and the bill passed the committee by a bipartisan vote of 42-1. Undaunted, Fortuno and his backers vowed to offer the amendment on the floor of the House as well. Democrats The List of notable Democrats is a list of prominent politicians, government officials, and organizational leaders of the Democratic Party of the United States. Prominent figures of the Democratic Party Currently notable Democrats
adj. Being or characteristic of a bigot: a bigoted person; an outrageously bigoted viewpoint. big . Al though some Head Start programs are operated by faith-based organizations, the program is tax funded and does not include religious content. It serves families of many different faiths and none. Faith-based groups are not excluded from Head Start. In fact, the program reportedly serves as the second-largest source of federal funds Federal Funds Funds deposited to regional Federal Reserve Banks by commercial banks, including funds in excess of reserve requirements. Notes: These non-interest bearing deposits are lent out at the Fed funds rate to other banks unable to meet overnight reserve for religiously affiliated af·fil·i·ate v. af·fil·i·at·ed, af·fil·i·at·ing, af·fil·i·ates v.tr. 1. To adopt or accept as a member, subordinate associate, or branch: organizations. These groups have operated programs for years while abiding a·bid·ing adj. Lasting for a long time; enduring: an abiding love of music. a·bid  ing·ly adv. by the non-discrimination requirements.
Not a single faith-based Head Start provider is on record asking for the
fight to discriminate dis·crim·i·nate v. dis·crim·i·nat·ed, dis·crim·i·nat·ing, dis·crim·i·nates v.intr. 1. a. . Staff members at Americans United's Legislative Department were all-too familiar with the issue. Twice in recent years the House has approved religious discrimination in Head Start. Although those provisions never made it through the Senate, AU wanted to strike an early blow against religious discrimination in the House version of the bill. Americans United quickly sprung into action. Working with allied groups in the Coalition Against Religious Discrimination (CARD), AU staffers rallied opposition to the amendment. Key players in the debate were the more than 40 new House members who had no history of dealing with the issue. AU coordinated efforts to educate these members and explain to them why Head Start programs should not promote religious discrimination in any form. Critical to the effort was the assistance of U.S. Reps. Robert C. Scott
One of the nation's most familiar antipoverty an·ti·pov·er·ty adj. Created or intended to alleviate poverty: antipoverty programs. initiatives, Head Start serves more than 900,000 children and their families all over America America [for Amerigo Vespucci], the lands of the Western Hemisphere—North America, Central (or Middle) America, and South America. The world map published in 1507 by Martin Waldseemüller is the first known cartographic use of the name. . It seeks parental involvement by encouraging volunteering and for 35 years has contained a provision barring hiring discrimination on the basis of race, sex or religion. Under the Fortuno proposal, Head Start staff and parent volunteers could have been kicked out of the program-even if their children were taking part in it-for being the "wrong" religion. Religious Right groups desperately tried to rally their base to support the Fortuno amendment. In one e-mail alert, Andrea Andrea ghost returns to the Spanish court to learn of the events that followed his death. [Br. Drama: The Spanish Tragedy in Magill II, 990] See : Ghost Lafferty Lafferty is a surname that can refer to a number of people:
adj. Of or relating to the Jews or their culture or religion. See Usage Note at Jew. Jew ish·ly adv. group running a Head Start program shouldn't should·n't Contraction of should not. shouldn't should not shouldn't should be expected to hire a Wiccan Wic·can adj. Of or relating to Wicca: the Wiccan religion; a Wiccan ritual. n. A believer or follower of Wicca. Noun 1. as an employee. A Muslim Muslim (mŭz`lĭm) [Arab.,=one who surrenders (himself to God), an agent form of the verb of which Islam is a verbal noun], one who has embraced Islam, a follower of Muhammad. Head Start program shouldn't be forced to hire a Jewish person. A Christian-run group should be free to hire Christians Christians, name taken by the followers of several evangelical preachers on the American frontier, notably James O'Kelley, Abner Jones, and Barton W. Stone, all of whom were antisectarian. ." Opponents pointed out that there is no such thing as "Jewish Head Start" or "Christian Christian flees the City of Destruction. [Br. Lit.: Pilgrim’s Progress] See : Escape Christian travels to Celestial City with cumbrous burden on back. [Br. Lit. Head Start." There is only Head Start. The program, which often operates in conjunction conjunction, in astronomy conjunction, in astronomy, alignment of two celestial bodies as seen from the earth. Conjunction of the moon and the planets is often determined by reference to the sun. with public schools, is legally non-sectarian. Head Start programs do sometimes occupy space in houses of worship WORSHIP. The honor and homage rendered to the Creator. 2. In the United States, this is free, every one being at liberty to worship God according to the dictates of his conscience. Vide Christianity; Religious test. WORSHIP, Eng. law. , but that does not make them religious. The program serves children on the basis of their socio-economic socio-economic adj → socioeconómico socio-economic adj → socioéconomique status, not their family's views about religion. Since Head Start does not include religious content, program defenders argued, there is no need for a church that houses a program to subject the staff to a religious litmus test litmus test n. A test for chemical acidity or basicity using litmus paper. . AU and its allies pointed out that the Head Start community does not favor religious discrimination in the program. "We are greatly concerned that removing civil rights protections for employees could have a negative impact on the children and families who participate in these programs," wrote Sarah M. Greene, president of the National Head Start Association, in an April 20 letter to Congress. The civil rights community also opposed op·pose v. op·posed, op·pos·ing, op·pos·es v.tr. 1. To be in contention or conflict with: oppose the enemy force. 2. the amendment, with national groups like the NAACP NAACP in full National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Oldest and largest U.S. civil rights organization. It was founded in 1909 to secure political, educational, social, and economic equality for African Americans; W.E.B. Du Bois and Ida B. and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) is an umbrella group of American liberal interest groups. Organizational history It was founded in 1950 by three leaders in the American civil rights movement: Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters founder A. speaking out against it. Many religious groups opposed the measure as well, including the Episcopal Church Episcopal Church, Anglican church of the United States. Its separate existence as an American ecclesiastical body with its own episcopate began in 1789. Doctrine and Organization USA, General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church United Methodist Church, in the United States, religious body formed by the union in 1968 of the Evangelical United Brethren Church and the Methodist Church (see Methodism). , the Presbyterian Church USA, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC) is an education and advocacy association in the United States with a number of Baptist denominations. It states that it seeks to promote religious liberty for all and to uphold the principle of church-state separation. and the American Friends Service Committee The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a Religious Society of Friends (Quaker) affiliated organization which works for social justice, peace and reconciliation, abolition of the death penalty, and human rights, and provides humanitarian relief. (Quakers Quakers: see Friends, Religious Society of. Quakers known for service to peace. [Am. Hist.: EB, 7: 743–745] See : Antimilitarism Quakers nonmilitant, gentle, religious sect. [Am. Hist. ). Nevertheless, the Bush administration was determined to ram the amendment through to advance its faith-based crusade and to please its Religious Right allies. (Ironically i·ron·ic also i·ron·i·cal adj. 1. Characterized by or constituting irony. 2. Given to the use of irony. See Synonyms at sarcastic. 3. , many of these groups don't don't 1. Contraction of do not. 2. Nonstandard Contraction of does not. n. A statement of what should not be done: a list of the dos and don'ts. even support Head Start. TV preacher Pat Robertson Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson (born March 22 1930)[1] is a televangelist from the United States.[2] He is the founder of numerous organizations and corporations, including the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), once blasted blast·ed adj. 1. Used as an intensive: I hate these blasted flies. 2. Slang Drunk or intoxicated. 3. Blighted, withered, or shriveled. the program as wasteful, dismissing concerns over the fate of at-risk at-risk adj. Being endangered, as from exposure to disease or from a lack of parental or familial guidance and proper health care: efforts to make the vaccine available to at-risk groups of children. kids by saying, "If you're you're Contraction of you are. you're you are you're be smart, you'll you'll Contraction of you will. you'll you will or you shall you'll will catch up anyway.") The amendment came up for a vote on a procedural maneuver maneuver /ma·neu·ver/ (mah-noo´ver) a skillful or dextrous method or procedure. Bracht's maneuver a method of extraction of the aftercoming head in breech presentation. called a "motion to recommit re·com·mit tr.v. re·com·mit·ted, re·com·mit·ting, re·com·mits 1. To commit again. 2. To refer (proposed legislation, for example) to a committee again. ," with debate taking up the greater part of an afternoon. Opponents did not hold their rhetorical rhe·tor·i·cal adj. 1. Of or relating to rhetoric. 2. Characterized by overelaborate or bombastic rhetoric. 3. Used for persuasive effect: a speech punctuated by rhetorical pauses. fire. During debate, Rep. Scott asserted, "[I]f we pass this, we will take action and turn the clock back to 1965." U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor Katherine Castor (born August 20, 1966 in Miami, Florida) is an American politician. She is the Democratic congresswoman for Florida's At-large congressional district. This district covers most of the city of Tampa, most of the southern section of the city of St. (D-Fla.) echoed that concern, remarking, "No citizen should have to pass a religious test to qualify for a publicly funded job." The victory ill the House, although important, does not mean the fight is over. The bill now moves to the Senate, where the Bush administration and its Religious Right allies are expected to press anew a·new adv. 1. Once more; again. 2. In a new and different way, form, or manner. [Middle English : a, of (from Old English of; see of) + new for a religious discrimination provision. In addition, Bush has taken the extraordinary step of opposing op·pose v. op·posed, op·pos·ing, op·pos·es v.tr. 1. To be in contention or conflict with: oppose the enemy force. 2. the entire bipartisan bill if it does not allow faith-based Head Start centers to hire and fire on the basis of religion. The administration has made it clear that leaving the measure out could jeopardize jeop·ard·ize tr.v. jeop·ard·ized, jeop·ard·iz·ing, jeop·ard·izes To expose to loss or injury; imperil. See Synonyms at endanger. enactment of the bill. Observers say Bush may be bluffing-Head Start is a popular program with a high degree of participant Participant A party of a funding. It usually refers to the lowest rank or smallest level of funding. satisfaction and vetoing it would be unprecedented- but members of AU's legislative team aren't aren't Contraction of are not. See Usage Note at ain't. aren't are not aren't be taking any chances. They and members of the CARD coalition will be working overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. Normal hours may be determined in several ways:
"This was a gratifying grat·i·fy tr.v. grat·i·fied, grat·i·fy·ing, grat·i·fies 1. To please or satisfy: His achievement gratified his father. See Synonyms at please. 2. win in the House," said Aaron Aaron (âr`ən), in the Bible, the brother of Moses and his spokesman in Egypt, and the first high priest of the Hebrews. He is presented as the instrument of God in performing many signs, such as the turning of his rod into a serpent and Schuham, AU's director of legislative affairs. "But our work is not done. We must press on to the Senate to make certain that Head Start remains free of taxpayer-funded religious discrimination." House vote on 'faith-based' discrimination in head start. On May 2, the U.S. House voted 222-195 against a measure that would have allowed faith-based Head Start discriminate in hiring based on religion. Key Y Voted for (yea) N Voted against (nay) X Not voting Democrats Republicans ALABAMA 1 Donner Y 2 Everett Y 3 Rogers Y 4 Aderholt Y 5 Cramer N 6 Bachus Y 7 Davis N ALASKA AL Young Y ARIZONA 1 Renzi Y 2 Franks Y 3 Shadogg Y 4 Pastor N 5 Mitchell N 6 Flake Y 7 Grijalva N 8 Giffords N ARKANSAS 1 Berry N 2 Snyder N 3 Bouzman Y 4 Ross N CALIFORNIA 1 Thompson N 2 Herger Y 3 Lungren Y 4 Doolittle Y 5 Matsui N 6 Woolsey N 7 Miller, George N 8 Pelosi N 9 Lee N 10 Tauscher N 11 McNerney N 12 Lantos N 13 Stark N 14 Eshoo N 15 Honda N 16 Lofgren N 17 Farr N 18 Cardoza N 19 Radanovich Y 20 Costa N 21 Nunes Y 22 McCarthy Y 23 Capps N 24 Gallegly Y 25 McKeon Y 26 Dreier Y 27 Sherman N 28 Berman N 29 Schiff N 30 Waxman N 31 Becerra N 32 Soils N 33 Watson N 34 Roybal-Allard N 35 Waters N 36 Harman N 37 Vacant X 38 Napolitano N 39 Sanchez, Linda N 40 Royce Y 41 Lewis Y 42 Miller, Gary Y 43 Baca N 44 Calvert Y 45 Bono Y 46 Rohrabacher Y 47 Sanchez, Loretta N 48 Campbell Y 49 Issa Y 50 Bilbray Y 51 Filner N 52 Hunter X 53 Davis N COLORADO 1 DeGette N 2 Udall X 3 Salazar N 4 Musgrave Y 5 Lamborn Y 6 Tancredo X 7 Perlmutter N CONNECTICUT 1 Larson N 2 Courtney N 3 DeLauro N 4 Shays N 5 Murphy N DELAWARE AL Castle Y FLORIDA 1 Miller Y 2 Boyd N 3 Brown N 4 Cranshaw Y 5 Brown-Waite Y 6 Steams Y 7 Mice Y 8 Keller Y 9 Bilirakis Y 10 Young Y 11 Castor N 12 Putnam Y 13 Buchanan Y 14 Mack Y 15 Weldon Y 16 Mahoney N 17 Meek N 18 Ros-Lehtinen Y 19 Wexler N 20 WassermanSchultz N 21 Diaz-Balart, L. Y 22 Klein N 23 Hastings N 24 Feeney Y 25 Diaz-Balart M. Y GEORGIA 1 Kingston Y 2 Bishop N 3 Westmoreland Y 4 Johnson N 5 Lewis N 6 Price Y 7 Linder Y 8 Marshall Y 9 Deal Y 10 Vacant X 11 Gingrey Y 12 Barrow N 13 Scott N HAWAII 1 Abercrombie N 2 Hirono N IDAHO 1 Gaff Y 2 Simpson X ILLINOIS 1 Rush N 2 Jackson N 3 Lipinski N 4 Gutierrez N 5 Emanuel N 6 Roskam Y 7 Davis N 8 Bean N 9 Schakowsky N 10 Kirk N 11 Weller Y 12 Costello N 13 Biggert Y 14 Hastert Y 15 Johnson Y 16 Manzulte Y 17 Hare N 18 LaHood Y 19 Shimkus Y INDIANA 1 Visclosky N 2 Donnelly N 3 Souder Y 4 Buyer Y 5 Burton Y 6 Pence Y 7 Carson N 8 Ellsworth N 9 Hill N IOWA 1 Braley N 2 Loebsack N 3 Boswell N 4 Latham Y 5 King Y KANSAS 1 Moran Y 2 Boyda N 3 Moore N 4 Tiahrt Y KENTUCKY 1 Whitfield Y 2 Lewis Y 3 Yarmuth N 4 Davis Y 5 Rogers Y 6 Chandler N LOUISIANA 1 Jindal Y 2 Jefferson N 3 Melancon N 4 McCrery Y 5 Alexander Y 6 Baker Y 7 Boustany Y MAINE 1 Allen N 2 Michaud N MARYLAND 1 Gilchrest Y 2 Ruppersberger N 3 Sarbanes N 4 Wynn N 5 Hoyer N 6 Bartlett Y 7 Cummings N 8 VanHollen N MASSACHUSETTS 1 Olver N 2 Neal N 3 McGovern N 4 Frank N 5 Meehan N 6 Tierney N 7 Markey N 8 Capuano X 9 Lynch N 10 Delahunt N MICHIGAN 1 Stupak N 2 Hcekstra Y 3 Ehlers Y 4 Camp Y 5 Kildee N 6 Upton Y 7 Walberg Y 8 Rogers Y 9 Knollenberg Y 10 Miller Y 11 McCoffer Y 12 Levin N 13 Kilpatrick N 14 Conyers N 15 Dingell N MINNESOTA 1 Walz N 2 Kline Y 3 Ramstad Y 4 McCollum N 5 Ellison N 6 Bachmann Y 7 Peterson N 8 Oberstar N MISSISSIPPI 1 Wicker Y 2 Thompson N 3 Pickering Y 4 Taylor N MISSOURI 1 Clay N 2 Akin Y 3 Carnahan N 4 Skelton N 5 Cleaver N 6 Graves X 7 Blunt Y 8 Emerson Y 9 Hulshof Y MONTANA AL Rehberg Y NEBRASKA 1 Fortenberry Y 2 Terry Y 3 Smith Y NEVADA 1 Berkley N 2 Heller Y 3 Porter Y NEW HAMPSHIRE 1 Shea-Porter N 2 Hodes N NEW JERSEY 1 Andrews N 2 LoBiondo Y 3 Saxtou Y 4 Smith Y 5 Garrett Y 6 Pallone N 7 Ferguson Y 8 Pascrell N 9 Rothman N 10 Payne N 11 Frelinghuysen Y 12 Holt N 13 Sires N NEW MEXICO 1 Wilson Y 2 Pearce Y 3 Udall N NEW YORK 1 Bishop N 2 Israel N 3 King Y 4 McCarthy N 5 Ackerman N 6 Meeks N 7 Crowley N 8 Nadler N 9 Weiner N 10 Towns N 11 Clarke N 12 Velazquez N 13 Fossella Y 14 Maloney N 15 Rangel N 16 Serrano N 17 Engel X 18 Lowey N 19 Hall N 20 Gillibrand N 21 McNulty N 22 Hinchey N 23 McHugh Y 24 Arcuri N 25 Walsh Y 26 Reynolds Y 27 Higgins N 28 Slaughter N 29 Kuhl Y NORTH CAROLINA 1 Butterfield N 2 Etheridge N 3 Jones Y 4 Price N 5 Foxx Y 6 Coble Y 7 McIntyre Y 8 Hayes Y 9 Myrick Y 10 McHenry Y 11 Shuler Y 12 Watt N 13 Miller N NORTH DAKOTA AL Pomeroy N OHIO 1 Chabot Y 2 Schmidt Y 3 Turner Y 4 Jordan Y 5 Gillmor Y 6 Wilson N 7 Hobson Y 8 Boehner Y 9 Kaptur N 10 Kucinich N 11 Jones N 12 Tiberi Y 13 Sutton N 14 LaTouratte Y 15 Pryce Y 16 Rogula Y 17 Ryan N 18 Space N OKLAHOMA 1 Sullivan Y 2 Boren N 3 Lucas Y 4Cole Y 5 Fallin Y OREGON 1 Wu N 2 Walden Y 3 Blumenauer N 4 DeFazio N 5 Hooley N PENNSYLVANIA 1 Brady X 2 Fattah X 3 English Y 4 Altmire N 5 Paterson Y 6 Gerlach Y 7 Sestak N 8 Murphy, P. N 9 Shuster Y 10 Carney N 11 Kanjorski N 12 Murtha N 13 Schwartz N 14 Doyle N 15 Dent Y 16 Pitts Y 17 Holden N 18 Murphy, T. Y 19 Platts Y RHODE ISLAND 1 Kennedy N 2 Langevin N SOUTH CAROLINA 1 Brown Y 2 Wilson Y 3 Barrett Y 4 Inglis Y 5 Spratt N 6 Clyburn N SOUTH DAKOTA AL Herseth-Sandlin N TENNESSEE 1 Davis, D. Y 2 Duncan Y 3 Wamp Y 4 Davis, L. Y 5 Cooper N 6 Gordon N 7 Blackburn Y 8 Tanner N 9 Cohen N TEXAS 1 Gohmert Y 2 Poe Y 3 Johnson, S. Y 4 Hall Y 5 Hensarling Y 6 Barton Y 7 Culberson Y 8 Brady Y 9 Green, A, N 10 Mccaul Y 11 Conaway Y 12 Granger Y 13 Thornberry Y 14 Paul X 15 Hinojosa N 16 Reyes N 17 Edwards N 18 Jackson-Lee N 19 Neugebauer Y 20 Gonzalez N 21 Smith Y 22 Lampson X 23 Rodriguez N 24 Marchant Y 25 Doggett N 26 Burgess Y 27 Ortiz X 28 Cuellar N 29 Green, G. N 30 Johnson, E. X 31 Carter Y 32 Sessions Y UTAH 1 Bishop Y 2 Matheson N 3 Cannon Y VERMONT AL Welch N VIRGINIA 1 Davis, J. X 2 Drake Y 3 Scott N 4 Forbes Y 5 Goode Y 6 Goodlatte Y 7 Cantor Y 8 Moran N 9 Boucher N 10 Wolf Y 11 Davis, T. Y WASHINGTON 1 Inslee N 2 Larsen N 3 Baird N 4 Hastings Y 5 McMorris Rodgers X 6 Dicks N 7 McDermott N 8 Reichert Y 9 Smith N WEST VIRGINIA 1 Mollohan N 2 Capito Y 3 Rahall N WISCONSIN 1 Ryan Y 2 Baldwin N 3 Kind N 4 Moore N 5 Sensenbrenner Y 6 Petri Y 7 Obey N 8 Kagen N WYOMING AL Cublin X |
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