Bush Proposes Millions To Remodel Churches.President George George, river, c.345 mi (560 km) long, rising in a lake on the Quebec-Labrador boundary, E Canada. It flows N through Indian Lake (125 sq mi/324 sq km) to Ungava Bay (an arm of Hudson Strait). W. Bush has proposed spending $10 million in federal matching funds Noun 1. matching funds - funds that will be supplied in an amount matching the funds available from other sources cash in hand, finances, funds, monetary resource, pecuniary resource - assets in the form of money to make houses of worship accessible to the handicapped. Bush unveiled the plan during a Feb. 1 announcement in the East Room of the White House. At the time, he did not mention a price tag, but his website during the campaign proposed spending $10 million to "aid religious and civic groups in making their facilities more accessible." A background paper about the proposal notes that houses of worship are not required to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act Americans with Disabilities Act, U.S. civil-rights law, enacted 1990, that forbids discrimination of various sorts against persons with physical or mental handicaps. (ADA Ada, city, United States Ada (ā`ə), city (1990 pop. 15,820), seat of Pontotoc co., S central Okla.; inc. 1904. It is a large cattle market and the center of a rich oil and ranch area. ), a 1990 law that requires most public accommodations to be handicapped accessible. The Act exempts houses of worship partly due to a lobbying campaign some religious groups mounted 11 years ago. At the time, they argued that requiring them to make accommodations for the handicapped would amount to government interference with religion. Bush aides insist that the proposal is constitutional because it would allow some secular Secular An adjective used to describe a long-term time frame, usually at least 10 years. Notes: For example, in his book "Stocks For the Long Run", Jeremy Siegel (finance professor at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania) argues that equity securities organizations that are exempt from the ADA to apply for the government funds as well as religious groups. The proposal is the latest in a string of Bush initiatives designed to funnel tax money into church coffers. Shortly after taking office, Bush proposed giving vouchers to religious and other private school patrons, and he has also introduced a plan to give houses of worship up to $10 billion in direct grants and tax breaks to provide social services social services Noun, pl welfare services provided by local authorities or a state agency for people with particular social needs social services npl → servicios mpl sociales . (See details about these proposals elsewhere in this issue of Church & State.) |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion