[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 106 (Friday, July 29, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S9476]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SANTORUM:
  S. 1560. A bill to establish a Congressional Commission on Expanding 
Social Service Delivery Options; to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I rise to introduce a bill that would 
establish a Congressional Commission to explore the expansion of social 
services delivery options.
  The bipartisan and bicameral Congressional Commission would undertake 
a thoughtful review of existing federal social service programs and 
make recommendations for program areas that would be appropriate for 
beneficiary-selected or beneficiary-directed options. The goal is to 
expand consumer choice and to minimize Constitutional concerns while 
partnering with faith-based and community providers. The importance of 
this commission is highlighted by its inclusion in the Senate's anti-
poverty agenda.
  Expanding options for social services is essential to help those in 
need. I have advocated similar proposals in the past during my time in 
the United States Senate as it relates to the Corporation for National 
and Community Service. In 2001, I introduced the AmeriCorps Reform and 
Charitable Expansion Act. The goal of this legislation was to 
dramatically increase the scope of service opportunities and charitable 
locations that would be eligible for voucher recipients and to focus 
efforts more on assisting low-income communities.
  A current example of the success of this type of program is Section 8 
Housing vouchers. The largest federal program designed to provide 
affordable housing to low-income families is the Section 8 Housing 
Choice Voucher program serving over 2 million households. Low-income 
families use Section 8 vouchers tenant-based subsidies in the private 
market to lower their rental costs to 30 percent of their incomes. As 
you know, the modern program began in the early 1980s and has grown to 
replace public housing as the primary tool for subsidizing the housing 
costs of low-income families. This approach, has opened up more 
communities and housing options for low-income families.
  Since the 1996 welfare reauthorization, I have worked to ensure that 
faith-based and community organizations are full partners in social 
service delivery. Our nation needs more, not less, involvement from 
faith and community organizations. Faith-based organizations are many 
times the best-equipped institutions in their community to improve the 
lives of those in need, but have not always been able to receive any 
help from the government. This bill provides an opportunity to level 
the playing field for these providers by determining where we can 
engage the community and allow beneficiaries to be full participants in 
choosing their provider. The current discrimination against faith-based 
programs at the federal level prevents our communities from using all 
our resources to improve and even save lives. And for those are most in 
need, we need to use every resource we have.
  Expanding social service delivery options should be a simple matter 
of common sense. The formula is simple: the more opportunity 
organizations have to deliver aid, the more options people have to get 
services, the more people we can help. For this reason, I encourage my 
colleagues to support the creation of this commission.
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