WASHINGTON — The White House rolled out its revamped office for faith-based and local charities for 60 leaders in the field on Monday (April 6), stressing that the office will offer a conduit to the administration — but not federal funding.
“This office does not control any grant money, thankfully so,” said Joshua DuBois, executive director of the Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
Instead, staffers from several White House offices — including urban affairs, education, and budget — offered overviews of President Obama’s priorities, particularly his recently released 2010 budget. “Maybe I’ve just drunk the Kool-Aid, but I think my boss has taken the ethics of the budget very seriously,” said Robert Gordon, a staffer in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Gathered around a large table in the Old Executive Office Building were liberal stalwarts, civil rights pioneers, noted lawyers, interfaith experts, and charity executives. Most members of Obama’s newly completed, 25-member Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships attended.
Many said they appreciated the information and access. “I think it’s safe to say there has not been a close relationship between the faith community and the OMB,” said the Rev. Jim Wallis, who heads Sojourners, a progressive anti-poverty group here.
Several leaders said the White House should take advantage of their experience at the local level.
“All of us are in the trenches and have been for years,” said Bishop Vashti McKenzie of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. “We can tell you what’s going to work and what isn’t.”
But some gathered here for the two-day conference that ends Tuesday expressed concern that federal dollars allocated for worthy causes often don’t reach local charities.
“They get bogged down,” by state and local elected officials, said the Rev. William Shaw, president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, and a member of Obama’s advisory council. “They get tied up and don’t reach us because of ideological litmus tests.”
Sister Simone Campbell, executive director of NETWORK, a Catholic social justice lobby, agreed, saying, “I’m afraid local politicians are going to scuttle a really great effort.”
DuBois expressed sympathy but said there may be little the White House can do. “I wish there were a silver bullet to work this out,” he said.
Under former President George W. Bush, the faith-based office was primarily concerned with “leveling the playing field,” DuBois said, by ensuring that religious charities have the same access to federal grants as secular groups. He said the office now has different priorities.
“When I sat down with the president,” DuBois said, “we agreed that truly, at the end of the day, that doesn’t answer the question of who this office is here to serve.” They determined the office will concentrate on four issues: reducing domestic poverty and abortion, promoting fatherhood and fostering interfaith dialogue abroad.
“We will measure this office not by the number of groups that had access or the amount of money given out but how we have done on those four goals,” DuBois said.
DuBois also said the Obama administration will work to “strengthen the constitutional and legal footing of this office,” but offered no details.
The issue is tricky for the White House, which must decide whether to allow charities that receive federal money to consider religion in their hiring decisions, as many already do. Several religious charities say the practice is essential to maintaining their character and mission. Church-state watchdogs, however, are wary of government dollars going to promote sectarianism.
The Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said he is cautiously optimistic about what he heard at the meeting.
“They have both their feet in the right direction,” he said.
