Bush pressures senate to take action on `faith-based initiative'. (People & Events).

Seeking to spark action on his controversial "faith-based initiative," President George W. Bush in November wrote to Senate leaders, urging them to move forward on several provisions of the measure this year.

In his Nov. 7 letter to Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and Minority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.), Bush said Americans have contributed generously to groups offering assistance related to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks but asserted that other charities may suffer a drop-off in donations. As a result, Bush insisted that an "Armies of Compassion" bill should be passed before the end of this congressional session.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which has spearheaded opposition to unconstitutional provisions in the Bush faith-based scheme, urged the Senate to exercise extreme caution in drafting such legislation.

"The last thing the nation needs at this critical time is a controversial proposal that divides Americans," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United.

Bush's letter calls for legislation offering tax incentives for charitable donations, as well as "equal treatment of community and faith-based charities." AU's Lynn said that while Americans United has no objections to the tax incentives, the president's use of the term "equal treatment" is troubling because it is usually code language for direct tax funding of sectarian organizations.

"When the president talks about `equal treatment' for religious groups, I am concerned that he means `special treatment,'" continued Lynn. "The administration has repeatedly urged Congress to fund religious groups without requiring them to play by the same rules that other groups play by."

It remains unclear if Bush will settle for a compromise package that removes some of the initiative's most troubling church-state language. Last month Agape Press, an evangelical news service, reported that Bush hopes to work with Sens. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) on a "consensus bill" that focuses on tax incentives and mentoring programs for the children of prison inmates.

The president's initiative passed the House of Representatives in July. It has stalled in the Senate, however, over concerns that the so-called "charitable choice" components of the initiative violate the First Amendment. Those provisions undercut civil rights laws by allowing religiously based employment discrimination with tax dollars, pit houses of worship against each other in a contest for federal funding and could subject needy Americans to unwanted proselytism.

In his letter to the Senate, Bush indicated that contributions to New York relief efforts will leave other charities without needed donations. There is evidence, however, that he is mistaken. A poll commissioned last month by Independent Sector found that 59 percent of those who contributed to Sept. 11-related assistance said they plan to continue with their normal charitable donations to other groups. An additional 14 percent of respondents indicated they will increase their giving.

The day after the release of the Bush letter, 28 religious organizations wrote to Bush to urge him to drop the "charitable choice" provisions of the bill.

"Mr. President, any effort by the White House to advance charitable choice in the foreseeable future has the potential to turn the national sentiment away from feelings of unity and patriotism and back to the contentiousness and partisanship that were so evident before September 11," the groups argued. "As people of faith, we are particularly concerned about the following unintended consequences of having a debate on charitable choice at this time."

Endorsing organizations include the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Congress of National Black Churches, the Association of United Hindu and Jain Temples of Metropolitan Washington, the General Board of Church & Society of the United Methodist Church, the Interfaith Alliance, the Presbyterian Church (USA) Washington Office, the Sikh Council on Religion and Education, the Unitarian Universalist Association and the American Jewish Committee.

In other news about the faith-based initiative:

* Don Eberly has been named acting director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, succeeding John J. DiIulio, a University of Pennsylvania professor who resigned from the position in September.

The appointment of Eberly is expected to appease the Religious Right, which never warmed to DiIulio, a Roman Catholic and a Democrat. Eberly, an evangelical with strong ties to the Religious Right, formerly ran the National Fatherhood Initiative, a group that extols the traditional family.

Eberly is apparently going to use the same arguments DiIulio relied on in trying to win over the religious community. Speaking at Baptist-affiliated Campbellsville University in Kentucky in October, Eberly insisted that the plan will not damage the independence and integrity of churches. "We would argue," he said, "that this is operating comfortably within the existing boundaries of church-state separation."