Dateline: 04/22/02 

President Bush has called on the Senate to pass the CARE Act, a bill implementing key elements of his Faith Based Initiative to strengthen the nation's charitable groups, by Memorial Day, May 27.   

The House of Representatives passed its version of the bill, the Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Act, H.R. 7, by a vote of 233-198 on July 19, 2001.

Current Status of the Bill
The bill S. 1924 - the CARE Act (Charity Aid, Recovery, and Empowerment), is sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Connecticut) and Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pennsylvania). Since its introduction to the Senate on Feb. 8, 2002, the bill has been read twice on the floor of the Senate forwarded to the Senate Finance Committee. Statements made at the introduction of the bill appear on pages S546-555 of the Congressional Record. Committee hearings have not yet been scheduled.

What the Bill Would Do
According to the White House, the CARE Act expands on the Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Act passed in the House by adding provisions to address barriers to faith-based organizations seeking federal support identified in the White House's Unlevel Playing Field report.

Specifically, the CARE Act would:

• Create tax incentives for charitable giving
  
  1. Allow some 84 million taxpayers who do not itemize to deduct charitable contributions. Allows up to $400 in charitable deductions for individual filers and up to $800 for joint fillers.
  
  2. Allow individuals to make tax-free distributions from their IRAs to charities after the age of 67
  
  3. Provides enhanced deductions for farmers and restaurants to donate food to food banks
  
  
• Address barriers faced by charities in accessing federal funds
  (as identified in the Unlevel Playing Field report)
  
  1. Require non-discrimination against non-governmental organizations based on religious grounds, religious iconography, governance, and lack of experience with government contracts
  
  2. Creates a 501(c)3 'EZ Pass' process to help small, community-based groups get tax-deductible status more easily
  
  3. Establishes a $150 million Compassion Capital Fund to educate and empower community-based organizations
  
  
• Support initiatives targeted to vulnerable populations
  
  1. Authorize up to $33 million in support for maternity group homes, principally for teenage unwed mothers
  
  2. Authorizes an additional $275 million in FY03 for the Social Service Block Grant (SSBG) that supports efforts such as Meals on Wheels

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the cost to the government of Faith-Based-related programs at more than $13 billion over the 2002-2011 period. [Detailed CBO Analysis]

Future of the Bill
The CARE Act promises to be hotly debated in the Senate, which starts the week of April 22 still having to consider over 40 amendments and final passage of the highly controversial National Energy Policy bill, S. 517. In addition, the Senate's CARE Act differs in several key areas from the Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Act passed by the House. A House-Senate conference committee will be required to reconcile differences between the two bills. 

"We need to know that in our society, faith can move people in ways that government can't," said President Bush in an April 11 speech (en Español). "I mean, government can write checks, but it can't put hope in people's hearts, or a sense of purpose in people's lives."