    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
    [July 19, 2001]
    [Page 872]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 872]]

    Statement on House of Representatives Action on the Faith-Based and
    Community Initiative
    July 19, 2001

        Back at home, Congress has taken an important step toward building
    stronger and more caring communities.
        In a victory for progress and compassion, the House has acted to
    expand charitable giving, to increase the help available to poor
    Americans, and to end discrimination against churches, synagogues, and
    charities that provide social services. Our Faith-Based and Community
    Initiative levels the playing field so that all people and groups with a
    heart to serve have the chance to serve.
        I commend Members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats, and
    especially thank Congressmen J.C. Watts and
    Tony Hall for working together in a bipartisan
    way to enact this plan.
        I also want to thank countless supporters from across America who
    have taken this initiative to heart. From small religious congregations
    to large foundations and faith-based charities, the real support for our
    work has come from people and groups that put first the injunction to
    love and serve a neighbor in need. With their help, with the vote in
    Congress, and with support from major organizations like the Southern
    Christian Leadership Conference, the U.S. Catholic Conference of
    Bishops, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, momentum is on our side. Now
    the Senate must act, and I urge the Senate to join us to provide help
    and hope to those who so urgently need it.
        This fall, Members of the Senate can provide practical help to
    community organizations fighting for safer streets and a brighter future
    for our children.
        These groups work to prevent crime and drug abuse, provide help to
    the elderly, feed the hungry, care for abused women and children,
    shelter the homeless, and build hope in communities where hope is too
    often not a resident. We must all take their side. The Senate must take
    their side.
        I've talked with Senator Daschle about
    the critical importance of this legislation, and I urge him to bring it
    up promptly so we can get to work helping the people who need our help
    most.
        Back in January, Senators Rick Santorum
    and Joe Lieberman stood with me when our
    Faith-Based and Community Initiative was launched. I look forward to
    working with them, so we can stand together again when this bill is
    signed into law.
        One of the great goals of my administration is to rally America's
    armies of compassion and restore a spirit of caring, citizenship, and
    community. One of the things that makes America unique is the loving
    spirit of the many people in our great country who want to help those in
    need.
        Government should encourage them, and if these good people are
    acting based on the calling of their faith, we should respect and
    welcome them and never stand in their way.
        Churches, mosques, synagogues, and temples are in every neighborhood
    in America, and we can never have a Government bureaucracy big enough to
    extend a hand to every child who needs a mentor, to every adult who
    needs a friend, to every senior citizen who needs a hot meal and a human
    touch.
        No one can love a neighbor as well as a loving neighbor, and we must
    unleash good people of faith and works in every community in our
    country. By doing so, we can extend the hope and the promise and the
    opportunity that is at the heart of the American Dream to the heart of
    every child in America.
        I commend the United States House and urge the United States Senate
    to act quickly to unleash this enormous force for good.