A Quarter of HUDÕs Budget Slashed in BushÕs Budget The Bush administration, in a drastic reversal of election promises, plans to cut $8 billion in funding at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), in programs often administered by faith-based organizations, resulting in a reduction of the agencyÕs $31 billion budget by almost a quarter. The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) is one of the programs that would be drastically reduced, greatly affecting state and local faith-based and community programs. CDBG, a $4.7 billion program, gives money to state and local governments to fund a variety of programs, including day care centers, literacy programs and housing development. Many of the faith-based organizations that provide these programs get their money through CDBG grants. The White House rationale for the funding cuts is the lack of accountability in the programs. According to a White House spokesman, many of the programs have not been able to demonstrate effectiveness and have experienced fraud. However, the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives has not set benchmarks for the recipients of its grants and the program has long lacked any standards of accountability. Instead of funding cuts, it is indicative of a need to institute benchmarks and standards of accountability for grant recipients. The funding cuts are surprising to some, as campaign rhetoric indicated an increase of money into the faith-based program. Additionally, a White House analysis of HUD funding to faith-based groups indicated that the agency awarded a greater percentage of grants to faith-based organizations than secular organizations. WIA Reauthorization Would Codify Discrimination in Hiring On Jan. 4, Reps. Howard ÒBuckÓ McKeon (R-CA) and John Boehner (R-OH) introduced the Job Training Improvement Act, legislation that aims to strengthen and improve AmericaÕs job training system to help states and communities ensure workers get the training they need to find good jobs. The bill is a reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), and would ensure access to job training, counseling and search information to help individuals get back on their feet. However, this legislation also seeks to codify discrimination in hiring for federally funded positions by religious organizations. The bill repeals longstanding civil rights protections designed to protect workers against this kind of religious discrimination. Since their inception in 1982, these job training programs have included important civil rights protections against employment discrimination based on religious beliefs in programs that receive federal funding. The original 1998 Workforce Investment Act consolidated 60 federal job training programs into three block grants to the states. It instituted a voucher program for job training services and provided direct services to displaced workers such as job training and employment search assistance. Importantly, it re-codified the nondiscrimination provision included in the Job Training Partnership Act of 1982. The 1998 legislation received strong bi-partisan support from both the Senate and House in the 105th Congress. This twenty-one year old provision has been successfully implemented since the inception of the job training program, allowing religious organizations to provide essential government services while maintaining a commitment to protecting civil rights and religious liberty.