Faith-Based Initiative CARE Act of 2003 (S. 272)

April 1, 2003

Bill Introduction

Senator Santorum (R-PA) introduced the CARE Act of 2003 on January 30.  Some of the main points of the original bill include 1) allowing a deduction for a portion of charitable contributions to individuals who do not itemize; 2) allowing tax-free distributions from individual retirement accounts for charitable purposes; 3) repealing the grassroots expenditure limit for charitable organizations; 4) restoring funds for the Social Services Block Grant; and 5) restoring authority to transfer up to ten percent of TANF funds to the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG).  In addition, the original version of the bill included language that prohibits the government from requiring that faith based organizations remove religious art, icons, or scripture, alter their charters, and/or alter religious qualifications for board membership in order to receive federal funds.  This language would make participating faith-based organizations exempt from anti-discrimination hiring laws.

Current Status

In order to move the bill forward, Senator Santorum and Senator Lieberman (D-CT) have agreed to a compromise that removes the “equal treatment” language from the CARE Act.  In other words, the bill that will be considered by the Senate will not contain language that protects faith-based organizations, which choose to accept federal funds, from anti-discrimination laws.  However, President Bush has already signed an Executive Order which offers this protection through federal regulations, therefore, the removal of the language from the bill will only keep it from becoming a part of federal statute. 

A major plus of the CARE Act of 2003 is the inclusion of language that restores funding for the Social Services Block Grant.  The CARE Act seeks to restore SSBG funding to $2.8 billion.  SSBG is a flexible block grant that addresses the needs of children and families, the elderly, and other vulnerable adults and helps them to avoid more expensive government assistance by assisting them in their efforts to remain in the community in the most independent setting possible. 

It is likely that the Senate will consider this bill later this week.  The House has yet to introduce its version of the bill. 

To view the CARE Act, please refer to the Library of Congress’ Thomas System at www.congress.gov.   Once there type in S. 272 at the prompt for a bill number.

To view NASW’s “Priorities on the Faith-Based Initiative,” please refer to: https://www.socialworkers.org/advocacy/issues/faith.asp

For more information regarding the Faith-Based Initiative, please contact Ann Bradford, Senior Government Relations Associate, at 202-336-8237 or abradford@naswdc.org.