Lieberman Has Faith

Sen. Joseph Lieberman said Sunday he is developing his own version of legislation passed by the House last week that would expand federal funds for religious charities.

The House bill, supported by President Bush, faces opposition from Lieberman and other Democrats because it would pre-empt state and local laws barring discrimination in hiring.

"That's not right. It's not necessary. And it's going to stop a bipartisan agreement on this very good idea," Lieberman, D-Conn., told Fox News Sunday. "I've always believed that religion is a source of unity in America, not division. Right now, this bill is framed in a way that seems to have divided us."

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said he would allow the Bush-supported plan to come up for debate despite deep reservations about it

"I don't want to be tied to a specific time frame, but I clearly will give the president his opportunity, his day in court, and we'll have that debate," Daschle, D-S.D., told NBC's Meet the Press.

Based on the Senate workload, Daschle said "it'd be difficult to get it done this year."

Lieberman said he would write his own initiative to encourage religious-based organizations to help solve society's problems "in a constitutionally appropriate way." Such a measure would compete with the bill passed by the House.

Lieberman, an Orthodox Jew who ran for vice president last year as Al Gore's running mate, often spoke during the campaign of an expanded role for religion in society.

Like Lieberman, Daschle is concerned that the House bill, in its current form, would allow discrimination against homosexuals and others.

"I do think that we've got to put in place some criteria by which we judge any organization's eligibility for federal resources, and I do believe that it's within our rights as a Congress and as a community to expect a certain level of tolerance," he said.

It is designed to redeem Mr. Bush's campaign pledge to "rally the armies of compassion" to attack the nation's social ills.

Religious charities are permitted to receive grants in a small number of federal programs under current law. The legislation would expand the list significantly to areas such as housing, domestic violence and hunger relief.

Recipients of aid would not be required to attend worship services or religious instruction. The organizations themselves would be permitted to retain religious names, charters and symbols on building walls.

The House bill has a small version of Mr. Bush' proposal for those who don't itemize to deduct charitable donations, allowing a deduction on a maximum yearly donation of $25, rising to $100 by the end of the decade.

The measure passed by a margin of 233-198, mainly along party lines.

Federal law does not prohibit discrimination in hiring on the basis of sexual orientation, but some state and local laws do.

While the 1964 civil rights law generally bars discrimination on the basis of race, gender, national origin and religion, it also gives religious groups an exemption from the prohibition on religion.

Supporters said religious organizations needed to retain their essential character and should be permitted to take religious views into account in hiring. Supporters said they had merely retained the exemption in the 1964 law.

Opponents said the bill went much further, and could potentially undo all of the protections built into the 37-year-old law. They said the introduction of federal funds dramatically changed the situation.

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