A summary of recent events relating to the Administration's Faith-Based Initiative In the opening skirmish of what is likely to be a protracted battle, the American Jewish Congress has filed suit seeking a permanent injunction against implementation of a state-funded job-training program in California that is open only to faith-based service providers. This suit comes on the heels of a confirmation by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that an HIV and drug abuse prevention program funded by HHS has also been restricted to faith-based groups.

Campaign finance reform legislation is scheduled to come to the House floor after July 4th, according to a statement from Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL), who also anticipates that hearings on the subject will be completed by the end of June. However, no hearings are currently scheduled.

A brief summary of the various provisions of S 27, the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill. (Full text and legislative updates on S. 27 are available from Thomas.)

1. Ban on Soft Money Contributions to Political Parties National parties, including congressional campaign committees, are banned from receiving soft money donations. State and local parties use of soft money is restricted when there is a federal candidate on the ballot.
2. Hard Money Contribution Limits for Federal Elections Increased

This talk will describe four types of research activities that OMB Watch has undertaken in the United States that can result in shaping public policy. It will be followed by a discussion of four issues that NPOs face when doing policy research that may be worthy of further discussion. Summary of Presentation by Gary D. Bass Executive Director, OMB Watch March 27 and 29, 2001 Tokyo and Nagoya, Japan Types of Policy Research Activities