Several religious, civil rights, labor, education, health and advocacy organizations wrote a letter to express their opposition to the "Charitable Choice" provisions in the Watts-Hall bill, H.R. 7. OPPOSE THE "CHARITABLE CHOICE" PROVISIONS IN THE WATTS-HALL BILL, H.R. 7 April 11, 2001 Dear Representative: We, the undersigned religious, civil rights, labor, education, health and advocacy organizations are writing to express our strong opposition to the "Charitable Choice" provisions in H.R. 7, the "Community Solutions Act," introduced by Reps. J.C. Watts (R-OK) and Tony Hall (D-OH). "Charitable Choice" is an unconstitutional and dangerous proposal that will harm religion, authorize government-funded discrimination, undermine the accountability of taxpayer dollars, foster litigation against state and local governments and violate the personal religious rights of Americans seeking help. "Charitable Choice" is not necessary to foster partnerships between religiously affiliated groups and the government. For decades, there has been an effective relationship between government and religiously affiliated institutions for the provision of community-based social services. These partnerships have allowed religiously affiliated organizations to provide invaluable social services in communities throughout the nation while maintaining critical safeguards. These organizations, such as Catholic Charities, Lutheran Services, United Jewish Communities and numerous others, separate religious activities from their social services offerings, follow all civil rights laws, follow all state and local rules and standards and do not discriminate in staffing. There is no reason to remove these effective safeguards. There are many reasons we oppose the "Charitable Choice" provisions in the Watts-Hall bill, including the following: The Watts-Hall Bill Authorizes Government-Funded Employment Discrimination - While religious organizations, including houses of worship, are permitted -- with their own private funds -- to limit their hiring to people of their religion or religious beliefs under the religious exemption to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, religious institutions must not engage in discrimination when using taxpayer funds to administer government services. The underlying premise of "Charitable Choice" is that religious institutions -- such as houses of worship -- that utilize the Title VII exemption from the prohibition on religious employment discrimination should be able to both receive government funding and be able to discriminate in government-funded positions. Taxpayer dollars should not be used to discriminate against someone because of their religion or religious beliefs. It is both unconstitutional and morally wrong. The Watts-Hall bill tries to obfuscate this issue by listing other civil rights laws that would apply to the religious institutions, but it cannot hide the fact that this bill constitutes a huge step backwards on civil rights protections in our country. The Watts-Hall Bill Allows Proselytization of People Seeking Help - While the Watts-Hall bill says "no funds" should be expended for sectarian worship, instruction or proselytization, it still allows for proselytization of government beneficiaries in the program by privately paid employees of the institution. For example, a victim of domestic violence who seeks help through a government-funded religious program could be proselytized or coerced into staying with the spouse (due to the tenets of that religion) as long as the employee engaging in the activity is paid with private funds. The Watts-Hall Bill May Undermine the Role of Religion in Society -- Many people of faith have expressed serious concern that "Charitable Choice" will undermine the traditional role of religion as a prophetic critic of government. "Charitable Choice" will make houses of worship dependent on tax dollars, and like every other government-subsidized group, religion will be less likely to bite the hand that feeds it. "Charitable Choice" presents the serious risk of undermining the independence and autonomy of our nation's houses of worship by making them an arm of the state. The Watts-Hall Bill's Special Accounting Requirements and Legal Fictions Will Harm Houses of Worship - The Watts-Hall bill would impose a number of burdensome accounting mandates on houses of worship. The bill would also place houses of worship on shaky legal ground by setting up an illusory "legal fiction" that the funds provided to religious organizations are "not aid to the religious organizations" but rather "constitutes aid to individuals." This will only create yet another legal peril for houses of worship that may attempt to make use of the "Charitable Choice" proposal. The Watts-Hall Bill Distracts Attention from the Real Issue of Providing Adequate Federal Resources to Address the Problems of Poverty -- The Watts-Hall bill will pit religious institutions, secular nonprofit charities and public agencies against each other in a competition for a declining share of federal funding for human services programs. It will divert funds away from public agencies and current nonprofit providers; undermine current programs; and create a false illusion of "doing more with less." The Watts-Hall Bill Authorizes New Lawsuits Against State & Local Government - The Watts-Hall bill authorizes new lawsuits against city, county and State governments and their officials -- available for religious organizations who believe that they were denied funding opportunities because of their "religious character." Of course, this ignores the reality that current Supreme Court case law prohibits the direct government funding of "pervasively sectarian" institutions. This will put city and county attorneys and their state attorneys general in a legal Catch-22 - whatever decision they make about funding a house of worship directly will result in a wave of litigation. "Charitable Choice" is a frontal assault on the First Amendment and religious liberty, and was wisely left out of the Senate companion bill, S. 592. Until the dangerous "Charitable Choice" provisions are removed from H.R. 7, we ask you to oppose the Watts-Hall bill. Sincerely, American Association of School Administrators American Association of University Women American Federation of State, County And Municipal Employees American Federation of Teachers American Humanist Association American Jewish Committee American Jewish Congress Americans for Religious Liberty Americans United for Separation of Church and State Anti-Defamation League Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs Catholics for a Free Choice Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers) Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America Jewish Council for Public Affairs Justice and Witness Ministries, United Church of Christ National Association of Social Workers National Council of Jewish Women National Education Association NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund OMB Watch People for the American Way Service Employees International Union The Interfaith Alliance Union of American Hebrew Congregations Unitarian Universalist Association Women of Reform Judaism