March 11, 2002

New version of Bush faith-based
initiative drawing mixed reviews
___By Adelle Banks
___Religion News Service
___WASHINGTON (RNS)--As President Bush takes his new proposal on welfare reform on the road, it is drawing mixed reaction from religious groups, with some saying more needs to be done to help the working poor and others saying it is headed in the right direction.
___Overall, the 37-page plan, "Working Toward Independence" makes a commitment of about $22 billion per year to welfare payments, job training and child care through federal programs.
___One of the key programs, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, or TANF, must be reauthorized by Congress this year in order for it to continue. Bush recommends funding TANF at $16.6 billion annually for fiscal years 2003-2007, maintaining the current level of funding.
___But the president urged that the continuation of welfare reform should include new initiatives, including increased efforts to promote marriage and abstinence and greater emphasis on moving more people from welfare to work.
___"We need to make sure that work is an integral part of any welfare reauthorization, that the cornerstone of a good bill understands that when we help somebody find work ... that leads to more independence, more self-esteem, and more joy and hope," he said in remarks in Charlotte, N.C., Feb. 27, the day after he unveiled his proposal at a Roman Catholic church in Washington.
___Brenda Girton-Mitchell, associate general secretary for public policy for the National Council of Churches, said more needs to be done to address "the greater number of people who are experiencing poverty since 1996," the year welfare reform legislation was passed by Congress.
___"We are hoping we can lead the Congress and the president to a view that the goal of TANF would be to lift people out of poverty," she said. "We respect work, but it's the working poor who are the clearest example that people are still suffering."
___Richard Cizik, vice president for governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals, praised the changes the president is proposing in welfare reform, especially his proposal to spend millions on promoting "healthy marriages" and abstinence education. Bush hopes such efforts will reduce the number of poor children by increasing the number of two-parent families.
___"The president is making the changes that I think move this whole debate forward. ... It's not everything that needs to be done in order to lift the poor out of poverty, but it's a step in the right direction," he said.
___The proposal includes up to $200 million in federal money--$100 million of which must be matched by state dollars--to develop faith-based and secular projects that help encourage people to get or stay married. He also has proposed $135 million for abstinence-education programs.
___"President Bush clearly has the well-being of America's youth at heart, and we applaud him for reaffirming his administration's commitment to abstinence education," said Ken Connor, president of the Family Research Council.
___Bush has proposed "transforming welfare" by requiring every state to have 70 percent of its welfare recipients at work within five years. He also hopes to help states have more flexibility in how they spend welfare money.
___Jim Wallis, convener of Call to Renewal, a national group of faith-based organizations working to overcome poverty, questioned whether this is the time to ask more of state governments.
___"Placing increased demands on states to meet higher work requirements in the midst of a recession with rising unemployment is not the way to move families out of poverty," Wallis said.

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