Fwd: Bill to allow government-funded religious discrimination Passed

[Guest guest]

House Passes Bill Allowing Government-Funded Religious Discrimination

 

Immediate Release

 

The Interfaith Alliance

September 22, 2005

 

Contact: Jon Niven or Don Parker 202.639.6370

 

House Passes Bill Allowing Government-Funded Religious Discrimination

 

Washington, September 22 – Today, The U.S. House of Representatives

passed an amendment and a bill to allow government-funded religious

discrimination

 

The School Readiness Act (H.R. 2123), a bipartisan bill to

reauthorize the Head Start program, was passed 48-0 in committee.

However, during floor debate Thursday, Rep. Charles Boustany Jr. (R-

LA) added an amendment allowing Head Start providers to exercise

religious discrimination in choosing teachers and volunteers. As a

result, the final vote on the bill (231-184) was stripped of the

unanimous, bipartisan support displayed in committee.

 

" The Interfaith Alliance is very disappointed in the members of

Congress who insist on reacting to one crisis by beginning another

one, " said the Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, President of The Interfaith

Alliance. " The Boustany amendment is a prime example of political

opportunists taking advantage of a national tragedy to institute

policies that are unconstitutional and have been previously rejected

by the Congress. "

 

The Interfaith Alliance was joined by more than 50 organizations in

opposition to the bill's passage if it contained the Boustany

amendment. The National Head Start Association, which represents

more than 2.5 million children and families, program staff and

volunteers that comprise the Head Start and Early Head Start

community, came out against the entire bill if the Boustany

Amendment was attached saying:

 

" In spite of its positive provisions, if HR 2123 contains a

religious discrimination amendment, we must reluctantly oppose the

bill. "

 

This amendment will subsidize religious discrimination with tax

dollars, turning back civil rights protections that currently apply

to nearly 200,000 Head Start teachers and over 1.4 million parent

volunteers.

 

" In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the levees protecting

religious liberty are being breached, and the wall between church

and state is cracking, " Gaddy said. " If those in Congress who seek

to repeal religious liberty safeguards are successful, thousands of

children, teachers and parent volunteers who have dedicated

themselves to this program could find themselves no longer welcome

at religiously-affiliated Head Start programs because they are of a

different faith than the sponsoring organization. "

 

The Senate passed a similar bill, but without the Boustany

amendment, so the House version will now go to a House-Senate

conference committee. Members of The Interfaith Alliance will urge

Senators to strip the bill of the Boustany amendment in conference.

 

Initiated in 1965 in the wake of the landmark Civil Rights Act of

1964, Head Start has been widely recognized as one of the most

successful government programs ever created. It has provided early

childhood education and development programs that have helped

millions of low-income families overcome inequities for more than

forty years.

 

###

 

Founded in 1994, The Interfaith Alliance (TIA) is a non-partisan,

clergy-led grassroots organization dedicated to promoting the

positive and healing role of religion in a nation and challenging

those who manipulate religion to promote a narrow, divisive agenda.

With more than 150,000 members drawn from more than 75 faith

traditions and 47 local alliances, TIA promotes compassion, civility

and mutual respect for human dignity in our increasingly diverse

society.

 

www.interfaithalliance.org

 

9/22/2005