Sens. Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), the lead sponsors of the CARE Act, say that they are close to a unanimous consent agreement that would bring the CARE Act to a Senate floor vote with a limited number of amendments dealing with religious discrimination, proselytization, preemption of state and local laws and direct funding of pervasively religious groups. These have been the main points of controversy that have bogged down the legislation. Rep. J.C. Watts (R-OK), the main sponsor of the more controversial House version of the CARE Act (H.R. 7) has said that he would support the narrower Senate version if it passed, to increase the chances of the CARE Act's passing this year. Despite this, it remains unlikely that the Care Act will pass before the election. The four amendments proposed by the Democrats have not yet been accepted by the Republicans – a precursor for Senate Majority Leader Daschle (D-SD) to bring the bill to the floor. It is unclear whether the White House would be willing to agree since it would likely anger some supporters of charitable choice. One of the Democrats’ amendments would require non-discrimination of hiring for all federal grantees. Some faith-based groups feel that isn’t fair since federal law allows hiring discrimination when no government funds are involved – and that this should not be restricted just because they receive government funds. Also, as part of the Bush administration's full faith-based package, the Department of Health and Human Services announced the recipients of funds from the "Compassion Capital Fund" that was part of the Bush administration's faith-based and community initiative. Of the $30 million, $24.8 million is divided among 21 intermediary organizations to provide technical assistance and help faith-based and community organizations "effectively access funding sources, operate and manage their programs, develop and train staff, expand the reach of programs into the community and replicate promising programs." The intermediary organizations will also issue sub-grants to support start-up costs and operation or expansion of existing programs. Among the intermediary grantees, some are not surprising, including a United Way chapter, a Catholic Charities chapter and Volunteers of America. Several universities received grants including Clemson, Emory and the Universities of Nebraska and Hawaii. Several faith-based groups are represented as well, including The National Center for Faith Based Initiative, the Christian Community Health Fellowship and the Mennonite Economic Development Associates. Perhaps most surprising was a $500,000 grant to Pat Robertson's Operation Blessing. Robertson was an early opponent of the administration's faith-based plan, citing worries that religious "cults" would end up getting federal money. Operation Blessing was investigated by the Virginia Office of Consumer Affairs after Robertson raised money for the charity on the "700 Club," ostensibly to fund the use of cargo planes to aid Rwandan refugees in Zaire. According to a report cited by the (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot newspaper, the planes were instead being used to haul mining equipment in and out of Zaire for Robertson's for-profit mining company. Among the other awardees, Dare Mighty Things, a consultancy group that works with faith-based organizations and programs, was awarded a $2.2 million contract to establish a national resource center for technical assistance and training information. Branch Associates, a technical support and research provider was awarded a $1.35 million contract to evaluate innovative practices and promising approaches being used by faith-based and community organizations. Other research grants totaling $850,000 were also awarded.