ACLU Action Alert on the Bush Faith-Based Initiative: “Despite repeated controversies and reports that President

Bush’s faith-based initiative has lost its momentum, the full

House of Representatives is expected to vote as early as

Wednesday on legislation that would implement the

President’s fundamentally flawed plan.

The legislation, (H.R. 7,), the “Community Solutions Act,” includes

provisions that sharply attack one of the oldest civil rights

principles — that tax dollars not fund discrimination. Because the

proposal removes restrictions on how religious organizations

incorporate their beliefs into the delivery of social services,

discrimination would be permitted in hiring decisions and in the

delivery of services.

The President has repeatedly claimed that the bill would include

sizable tax incentives for charitable giving and new funding for

social service programs, both are absent from the bill that will

be voted on-only the government-funded religion provisions

remain. Further, the legislation now includes a provision that

allows Cabinet Secretaries to turn any social service program

into a voucher program. This unprecedented move would allow

longstanding grant programs to be converted to voucher

programs without Congressional approval and would remove

legal barriers that now stop religious organizations from

proselytizing beneficiaries.” Send a free fax to your Congressional representatives in two clicks from this ACLU site. An added option is to send a fax to Li’l George to tell him how you feel about this issue. Feel free to customize the message they suggest for you, which is IMHO too diplomatic.