February 28, 2005

 Protect the Rights of Faith-Based Institutions; Support the Job Training Improvement Act (H.R. 27) 

Dear Colleague:

 On Wednesday, the House will vote on the Job Training Improvement Act (H.R. 27), which would strengthen and improve America’s job training system.  A critical component of this measure would restore hiring protections for faith-based institutions willing to lend a helping hand in federal job training programs and give them the same protections they already have in other federal initiatives.   

Our nation’s faith-based institutions have proven track records in meeting the training and counseling needs of our citizens.  What is it that makes a faith-based organization so effective?  It’s the shared beliefs and common faith that give faith-based organizations their indelible character.  Their very nature, their call to service, is defined by their faith. 

For this reason, it’s easy to understand why faith-based organizations have the protected right, under the historic 1964 Civil Rights Act, to make staffing decisions that take into account their faith-based character.  Without that right, faith-based organizations would lose their very identity.  That’s why when faith-based organizations make hiring decisions that take religion into account, it is not “discrimination.”  Pure and simple, the 1964 Civil Rights Act makes clear that when faith-based institutions hire on a religious basis, they are exercising their civil liberties. 

Former Democratic President Bill Clinton recognized the vital contribution faith-based groups make to federal assistance programs when he signed four laws ensuring religious organizations retain their right to hire staff on a religious basis.  Unfortunately, barriers still remain that prevent faith-based groups from fully participating in a wide variety of federal assistance programs, such as federal job training initiatives and early childhood Head Start education programs, unless they relinquish their religious identities.  

By maintaining these protections, and restoring them where they have been stripped, we will answer the call of President Bush to rally the armies of compassion and allow faith-based service providers to compete on a level playing field as they seek to make a difference in communities across the nation.  We hope you will join us in protecting the longstanding Civil Rights Act hiring protections of faith-based institutions and supporting the Job Training Improvement Act (H.R. 27). 

Sincerely,

 /s/                                                                                 /s/

Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA)                            John Boehner (R-OH)Chairman                                                               Chairman

21st Century Competitiveness Subcommittee            Education & the Workforce Committee

/s/                                                                                

Mark Souder                                                               

Member of Congress