Last night in his final State of the Union Address, President Bush called upon Congress to make permanent the laws and regulations ensuring that faith-based social welfare agencies can partner with government and receive financial support on the same terms as secular social welfare
providers.

David Kuo and John DiIullio – officials responsible for the President’s “faith-based initiative” early in his Administration – who have not been shy about stating where the White House fell short – have an essay in today’s New York Times which lays out the issue’s troubled past and opportunities ahead. It is hard to recall that such an effort was one of the few items which both Al Gore and George W. Bush agreed upon in the 2000 presidential campaign.

As noted by Kuo & DiIullio, it is an initiative that all the major presidential candidates have said generally positive things about – but it has been mired in partisan politics for the past several years.
The OU has long supported carefully crafted “charitable choice” laws and we hope progress can be made – for the sake of those in need.