[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.