{ "id": "RL31043", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "RL31043", "active": false, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 100465, "date": "2003-08-19", "retrieved": "2016-04-08T14:39:44.695544", "title": "Public Aid to Faith-Based Organizations (Charitable Choice) in the 107th Congress: Background and Selected Legal Issues", "summary": "Soon after taking office in 2001, President Bush put forward an agenda \"to enlist, equip, enable,\nempower, and expand the heroic works of faith-based and community groups across American.\" \nThat agenda included a substantial expansion of tax incentives for charitable giving and an extension\nof charitable choice to most of the federal government's social services programs. But the 107th\nCongress refused to adopt these initiatives. The House adopted a modified version of the President's\ninitiative; but H.R. 7 bogged down in the Senate due to concerns about the\nconstitutionality and desirability of the government funding entities that employ religious faith in\ncarrying out their programs and that discriminate on religious grounds in their employment practices. \nA bipartisan compromise proposal that included tax incentives for charitable giving and certain other\nprovisions paralleling those in H.R. 7 but that excluded most of H.R. 7 's\ncharitable choice provisions ( S. 1924 ) also failed of adoption.\n As a consequence, the Bush Administration on December 12, 2002, announced a series of\nadministrative initiatives to put in place many of the most salient features of charitable choice which\nhad failed of adoption in the 107th Congress. The initiatives included an executive order applying\ncharitable choice to most federally funded social services programs, a significant proposed revision\nin the rules governing the participation of religious organizations in the federal government's\nhousing and community development programs, and the issuance for the first time of proposed\nregulations to implement the four existing charitable choice statutes. \n Although enacted into law in four previous statutes, charitable choice has been the subject of\npersistent controversy; and President Bush's initiative led the controversy to become highly visible.\nThis report (which will not be updated) provides background and analysis on a number of the salient\nfactual and legal issues about charitable choice in a question-and-answer format as well as an\nAppendix comparing the four charitable choice statutes with the House-passed version of\n H.R. 7 and Executive Order 13279. The questions addressed are as follows:\n (1) What is charitable choice?\n (2) Aren't religious organizations already eligible to receive public funds?\n (3) What charitable choice proposals have been enacted into law?\n (4) What is President Bush's faith-based initiative and what steps has the Administration\ntaken to implement it?\n (5) What hearings have been held on charitable choice?\n (6) What action took place on H.R. 7 and related measures in the 107th\nCongress?\n (7) What did the charitable choice title of H.R. 7 provide and how did it differ\nfrom previous charitable choice statutes? \n (8) What legal framework governs the civil rights concerns that have been raised about\ncharitable choice?\n (9) Does charitable choice violate the establishment of religion clause?\n (10) What court suits involving charitable choice or similar programs have been filed or\ndecided so far?", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL31043", "sha1": "c3b743b17ef9ea6d7e02232602b19bf18507f4f1", "filename": "files/20030819_RL31043_c3b743b17ef9ea6d7e02232602b19bf18507f4f1.pdf", "images": null }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20030819_RL31043_c3b743b17ef9ea6d7e02232602b19bf18507f4f1.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc824455/", "id": "RL31043_2003Mar28", "date": "2003-03-28", "retrieved": "2016-04-04T14:48:17", "title": "Public Aid to Faith-Based Organizations (Charitable Choice): Background and Selected Legal Issues", "summary": "This report provides background on ten selected questions related to public aid for faith-based organization. Despite the ongoing controversy about charitable choice, not until the 107th Congress were there full hearings and extended debates on its constitutionality, efficacy, and public policy implications.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20030328_RL31043_87217fe1fe1f64d26bdd0331b6a54881c549dcbf.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20030328_RL31043_87217fe1fe1f64d26bdd0331b6a54881c549dcbf.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Budgets", "name": "Budgets" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Charities", "name": "Charities" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Federal aid programs", "name": "Federal aid programs" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Social services", "name": "Social services" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs2199/", "id": "RL31043 2002-02-20", "date": "2002-02-20", "retrieved": "2005-06-10T20:12:24", "title": "Public Aid and Faith-Based Organizations (Charitable Choice): Background and Selected Legal Issues", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20020220_RL31043_28c4772eb716487a87622377b8ef1bacd680d5bd.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20020220_RL31043_28c4772eb716487a87622377b8ef1bacd680d5bd.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Budgets", "name": "Budgets" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Charities", "name": "Charities" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Federal aid programs", "name": "Federal aid programs" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Social services", "name": "Social services" } ] } ], "topics": [ "American Law", "Constitutional Questions", "Health Policy" ] }