resident George W. Bush, anxious to overcome opposition to his federal faith-based funding initiative, is open to compromise over the touchy issue of requiring religious groups which accept government money to obey state and local anti-discrimination statutes.

   Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 7, the "Community Solutions Act," which is considered a keystone in the new federal program. The measure faces considerable opposition in the Senate, though, where opponents charge that it legitimizes federally funded discrimination. The Act expands the number of grant programs which houses of worship could compete for in order to operate faith-based social welfare services, without compromising their religious character.

   This and Bush's creation of a White House Office for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives have come under fire for violating the separation of church and state, and permitting churches to discriminate on the basis of gender, sexual orientation or other criteria. The Salvation Army was recently exposed for an influence-peddling campaign, where the group courted White House support to ensure that religious charities would be exempt from local and state statutes prohibiting discrimination. The civil rights issue has also been highlighted thanks to a federal court ruling this past week involving a social worker at the Kentucky Baptist Home for Children. Alicia Pedreira was dismissed from her job after revelations that she was a lesbian. Federal Judge Charles R. Simpson the U.S. District Court ruled that the religion-affiliated home did not violate the law since there are no statutes protecting gays and lesbians from job termination.

   Whether religious groups can discriminate when accepting government funds remains a legally murky area, though. Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it illegal for any employer to discriminate on the basis of an individuals "race, color, religion, sex, or national origin." The statute provides a special exemption, however, for religious groups to be selective in favor of hiring members of their faith, so long as it is connected with self-funded religious activities.

   Critics of the Bush faith-based initiative have charged that measures like H.R.7 would, for the first time, allow what amounts to federally funded discrimination since it would expand the legal immunity under Title VII to include programs which are subsidized with tax money. This was a sticking point during House debate over the "Community Solutions Act," with many congressional representatives voting against that specific bill while praising the need to involve religious groups in the operation of social services. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) announced earlier this week that he would be introducing legislation that would provide robust funding for faith-based social outreaches while still requiring groups which accept public funds to obey anti-discrimination statutes.

   Yesterday, Bush met with Lieberman and Republican Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania to discuss possible compromises and ways of getting the faith-based initiative through the senate. A Reuters news dispatch on the wires this afternoon noted that according to the two lawmakers, Bush "was open to changing part of the House bill (H.R. 7) that would have allowed religious groups to circumvent local and state laws barring discrimination in their hiring practices."

   Lieberman told reporters after the White House meeting, "I believe that we should take out of the Senate bill the language in the House bill that seems to override any anti-discrimination statutes adopted by state and local governments." The former Democratic vice presidential nominee added, "I mentioned it (to Bush) and he expressed a total openness to consider the removal of that provision in the Senate legislation."

   For his part, Bush told reporters that he was committed to honoring U.S. civil rights laws. "We're going to work with the Senate to get a good (faith-based) bill out. I told him (Lieberman) we would be willing to work with him without compromising on principle ... One of our principles is that we should never undermine the civil rights laws of the United States. I believe it's very important ... (that) the whole spirit and law of the civil rights legislation be intact."

   There is no reaction yet from the many religious groups which have backed Bush's faith-based initiative. Nor is there word on whether a compromise would fast-track the legislation in the senate, where Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota) has stated that the measure faces tough opposition and may not come up for a vote until next year.

   According to Reuters, GOP Senate Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi says that the Republicans could bring a faith-based funding bill up by attaching it as an amendment to other legislation.

   Despite these obstacles, Lieberman's faith-based initiative could turn out to have wide backing, especially from Democrats who look upon funding of such religious groups as a key in "winning back God" and showing themselves as "religion friendly" just in time for the 2004 election. Lieberman recently addressed the Democratic Leadership Council, a centrist group within the party, and emphasized the need to welcome religious people and organization into their ranks.

   Civil rights concerns seem to predominate the debate now over the faith-based initiative, with issues like state-church separation becoming the poor orphan. A Bush compromise -- in effect, teaming up with Sen. Lieberman -- would give the "Religion Tax" in America a new lease on life, with good chances of passage on Capitol Hill.

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