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Compromise Squarely Faces Major Constitutional Objections Hailed by Americans United for Separation of Church & State Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Given the Bush administration's recent actions through executive order and proposed changes in a number of regulations, there was a growing concern that the bill's provisions would be used by the administration to undermine civil rights as well as religious liberty protections. Santorum says he and other sponsors of the bill are willing to remove those provisions, and he said he has assurances from House leaders that the provisions will not be added onto to the bill when it comes up there. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which has spearheaded opposition to the Bush administration's "faith-based" initiative, applauded the development. "This is a huge step in the right direction," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn. "This shows that members of Congress can increase aid to religious and secular charities without violating the Constitution. This is a wise compromise that will greatly increase this bill's chance of passage." Lynn warned, however, that the fight over the "faith-based" initiative is far from over. "Unfortunately, administration officials have indicated that they will continue to push for federal subsidies that promote religion and allow churches to discriminate in hiring on religious grounds," Lynn said. "That's completely unacceptable, and I hope that doesn't happen." |
Sen. Rick Santorum said that he now supports the removal of a provision of Bush's Faith Based Initiative that raised Constitutional concerns