Legislation introduced in the House of Representatives on March 2 would make the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (H.R. 1054) and ten similar federal agency offices a permanent part of the federal government. The Tools for Community Initiatives Act, sponsored by Rep. Mark Green (R-WI), establishes the offices and outlines their responsibilities. It does not include portions of current regulations that address how religious groups handle federal grants. Instead, these issues are included in a non-binding “Sense of Congress” section, which does not address the issue of hiring on the basis of religion for federally funded jobs. Currently the federal faith-based offices operate under the authority of Executive Orders, which could be rescinded by new administrations. H.R. 1054 would establish the offices until Congress acted to eliminate them. Funding would come from overall budget of the Executive Office of the President. The bill provides that the President appoint a Director for the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and that each designated agency appoint a liaison to coordinate with the White House office and submit annual reports to it. The designated agencies are the Departments of Education, Labor, Justice, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture, International Development, Commerce and Veterans Affairs. The Office is charged with developing and coordinating policies regarding faith-based and community initiatives, including:

• expand the their role through executive action, regulation, legislation and private funding
• encourage private charitable giving
• eliminate unnecessary legal barriers that hamper faith-based and community initiatives and
• monitor implementation by federal agencies.

The Sense of Congress section is focused primarily on ensuring the right of religious organizations to maintain their religious character when they become federal grantees, and states that federal funds cannot be used for inherently religious activity. It requires that religious activities be offered “separately in time or location from any program or service supported with direct Federal financial assistance, and that participation in any such religious activity must be voluntary for any beneficiary.” By limiting this protection to “direct” federal funds, the bill legalizes religious discrimination and proseltyzation for beneficiaries using vouchers. The bill does not have a definition section to clarify what is meant by terms such as “faith-based” or “community” organization, “inherently religious activity” or “separate in time or location”. The Dept. of Labor has defined small faith-based and community organizations as those with social service budgets under $450,000 per year that are governed by local boards. Some features of the bill are similar to proposals made by nonprofits in The Nonprofit Agenda: Recommendations to President George W. Bush to Strengthen the Nonprofit Sector. For example, Recommendation IIIB calls for nonprofit liaisons in each federal agency. It recommends that the President:

• Strengthen the White House Nonprofit Liaison program and assign a White House staff member involved in domestic policy matters to oversee the program
• Establish a collaborative relationship between nonprofits and Federal agencies similar to that enjoyed by small businesses so that agencies assess the impact of regulations on nonprofits and their constituencies.
• Involve nonprofits in the selection of agency performance measures that are required under the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA).
• Designate or create support centers at the state and national level to provide nonprofits with research and technical assistance to help in commenting on government regulatory and programmatic proposals. This idea should be included in budget supplements submitted by the President.
• Use electronic communications to make information available and to facilitate nonprofit participation in agency proceedings.

Recommendation VIB, Provide Federal Funding to Community Based Organizations addresses capacity building, as follows: "Introduction of legislation creating a national endowment for grassroots community-based organizations dedicated to improving the quality of life in urban and rural communities, emphasizing the needs of disadvantaged and disenfranchised populations, including low-income and working families. Existing funds dedicated to the operating support costs of particular kinds of grassroots nonprofits (Community Housing Development Organizations through HUD, Community Development Financial Institutions through Treasury, etc.) should be maintained, protected, and expanded." These recommendations differfrom H.R. 1054 in that they focus on assisting small nonprofits, without regard to their religious character, and are not limited to federal grantees.