Public Aid to Faith-Based Organizations (Charitable Choice): Background and Selected Legal Issues

Publication Date: March 2003

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

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Research Area: Banking and finance

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Abstract:

Frustrated by the failure of its charitable choice proposal in the 107th Congress, the Bush Administration on December 12, 2002, announced a number of administrative initiatives to promote the involvement of religious entities in federally funded social services programs. The initiatives included an executive order extending a number of the most salient principles of charitable choice to most federally funded social services programs, a significant proposed revision in the rules governing the participation of religious organizations in the federal government's housing and community development programs, and the issuance for the first time of proposed regulations to implement existing charitable choice statutes.

In part because of these initiatives, the 108th Congress does not appear likely to consider or enact any charitable choice legislation as sweeping as H.R. 7 in the 107th Congress. But several related bills are moving. The Senate may soon take up the CARE Act (S. 272/S. 476), introduced on January 30, 2003, by Senators Santorum and Lieberman. The House Committee on Education and Labor has approved a reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (H.R. 1261) which exempt religious providers of services from religious nondiscrimination in employment requirements currently in the statute. The House has again approved a bill (H.R. 4) re-authorizing and modifying the welfare reform program enacted in 1996 that would create a program to support healthy marriages which would be subject to the existing charitable choice rules.

Although enacted into law in four previous statutes, charitable choice has been the subject of persistent controversy; and President Bush's initiative in the 107th Congress "to rally the armies of compassion" led the controversy to become highly visible. This report provides background and analysis on a number of the salient factual and legal issues about charitable choice in a question-and-answer format as well as an Appendix comparing the four charitable choice statutes with the Housepassed version of H.R. 7 and Executive Order 13279: