The Political Smackdown
Student political leaders face off on President Bush’s faith-based initiative grants

March 5, 2004
by Maralyn O’Brien
College Democrats president

The recently formed federal Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives grants government money to religious organizations to provide social services to the needy. Churches and other houses of worship compete for taxpayer money so that they may administer their faith-based programs. The problem? These outreaches are not secular. The government is creating problems that outweigh arguments in support of faith-based initiatives.

The constitutionality of this policy is questionable. The First Amendment prohibits government from sponsoring religion. In the general welfare clause (Article 1, Section 8), redistribution must be started in Congress. President George W. Bush used an executive order to force faith-based initiatives targeted to specific organizations that will only benefit some of those needing help.

Any attempts to truly regulate faith-based programs that accept federal funding can be labeled as an intrusion on religious privacy. This money has the capability to create interest groups that will lobby for more money and sell their political allegiance to the highest bidder. Religious groups should not even begin to form dependency on the government because of the danger of direct state control.

It is irresponsible for the administration to pass its social challenges to private groups. Our federal government has a deficit, and it is alarming that President Bush is guaranteeing grants to religious organizations when there is little money to fund this policy. It is not the business of the government to promote religion.

By selecting the charities, it appears that the government prefers certain religions for the country.

Grants are $500,000, and the Bush administration is acting on behalf a small number of religious groups. Out of 500 applicants, only 25 received funding. The money that is going to faith-based services belongs in secular public programs. Recall that these charities have a lot of private financial support—already Americans spend over $150 billion on them. There is nothing wrong with demanding that tax money should be used for the common good just as our beloved Constitution states.

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by Russell Croteau
College Republicans member

Twelve million is a large number. It is roughly equal to the populations of Nebraska, Nevada, Iowa, Kansas, Arkansas, and New Mexico combined.

It is also the number of children in the United States who live in poverty. Every day those children, along with another 20 million Americans, struggle with problems that most of us have never had to deal with.

Thankfully there are wonderful people who help those who cannot help themselves. Many times it is heart-wrenching work, yet these extraordinary folks keep coming back. Some work for organizations like the United Way and the Red Cross, while others choose to work through their church, mosque, or synagogue.

The president, members of both parties in Congress, and community leaders believe that the work done through faith-based charities is just as worthy of support as the work done by secular organizations. Unfortunately, some people out there do not feel that religious charities deserve public support.

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution says, in part, that, “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion.” The extremists on the left have twisted that one sentence to fit their own atheistic beliefs. What they fail to understand is that the Constitution gave the citizens of the United States the freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. Nowhere is it stated or implied that the government and religious institutions should have no contact with each other.

During one of his first press conferences as president, George W. Bush made it clear that while he would allow faith-based charities to be eligible for government funds, he would not fund religious activities. Yet despite these assurances, and strong support from prominent Democrats such as Joe Lieberman, left-wing supporters continue to oppose the work done by these venerable institutions.

Thankfully, fair-minded and compassionate Americans see the funding of faith-based charities for what it is: brother helping brother and American helping American. This is not a political issue, it is a humanitarian crusade that the best among us have taken up. I implore you to support them, the work they do, and those who help them.