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Evangelical leaders may be disappointed that many of the far-reaching provisions of last year's faith-based legislation passed by the U.S. House are gone from a compromise Senate version introduced February 7. But in the aftermath, they are waxing philosophical.

"Politics is the art of the possible, and HR-7 wasn't possible," says Rich Cizik, the National Association of Evangelicals' vice president for government affairs. "Does the good outweigh the bad? Probably."

While there may not be overwhelming enthusiasm for the Senate plan—the Charity Aid, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act—it has a better likelihood of passage. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) jointly introduced S-1924, which has a wide spectrum of cosponsors, from Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) to Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). "The bill aims to better harness the enormous potential of charitable organizations to help the federal government solve pressing social problems," Santorum says.

President Bush, who has made compassionate conservatism the center of his social agenda, says the bill will help faith-based groups treating drug addicts, aiding battered spouses, and rehabilitating gang members.

"The administration has done an intelligent job of what is politically possible and finding a consensus of what can be passed," says Barbara Elliott of the Center for Renewal, a Houston nonprofit that connects Christ-centered ministries with available resources.

The Senate bill allows tax deductions of up to $400 (for individuals) or $800 (for couples) for taxpayers who do not itemize their claims. But it removes a proposal to expand "charitable choice" provisions of the 1996 welfare reform law. These provisions would have allowed churches and groups to avoid local laws banning employment discrimination against homosexuals.

In January, Bush named Jim Towey, 45, as director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Towey says of the proposal, "If the debate stays on how we address the needs of the poor and how we unleash compassion in the country, we'll be okay." Towey says he hopes Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle puts it on the docket in the near future.

How soon the plan becomes law could depend on the backing of some conservatives and evangelicals. "We need to keep federal officials on notice that hiring protection is ground zero for religious freedom," Cizik says. "It won't be rushed through."

Towey told Christianity Today that Bush doesn't perceive the initiative in a vacuum. "This office isn't a … one-bill wonder," he says. "The president is committed to his compassion agenda."

Faith-based organizations are the only providers of social services in some inner-city areas, Elliott says. "There are quite a number of faith-based groups that work on shoestring budgets, but they are neighborhood healers," she says.

Such mustard-seed ministries will be empowered by the new bill, which contains a compassion capital fund of $150 million. The fund will pay for technical assistance to community-based organizations on topics such as retaining volunteers and writing grant proposals. "It's a rare combination to have a well-defined managerial background and a well-defined spiritual mission," Elliott says. Implementing various provisions of the legislation may cost $12 billion over two years.

The Senate version also adds "equal treatment" language saying that charities with religious symbols, titles, or mission statements cannot be discriminated against when competing with secular counterparts for government funding. "Just because you have a cross on the wall or a Star of David on the letterhead or a board with people of faith, it doesn't mean you're precluded from delivering federal services," Towey says.

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April 1 2002, Vol. 46, No. 4