WASHINGTON (AP) - Legislation allowing religious charities to provide government services is headed toward the House floor, even as some lawmakers warn that major changes are needed to move the bill through the Senate.
President Bush kicked off the effort during his second week in office, proposing that churches, synagogues and other religious groups be able to compete for government contracts in social programs without stripping the religious elements from their programs.
Known as ``charitable choice,'' it is already legal for welfare and two other programs, though it's been used only sporadically so far.
On Tuesday, negotiations were under way in the House over details of the bill, including some of its most divisive provisions. But it was unclear whether the legislation, to be considered by the Judiciary Committee as early as Thursday, will do anything to appease critics.
John DiIulio, the White House pointman on the issue, met with House Democrats on Tuesday in an attempt to answer questions and win support.
At the White House, there was division behind the scenes over whether to seek a compromise now or to push ahead with the House bill without significant changes, according to administration and congressional officials.
Key players in Congress were frustrated that the president had not addressed the thorny issues his plan is raising before pushing for a quick House vote.
``We've encouraging them to be more vocal and more specific in addressing these issues and addressing the concerns,'' said Dan Gerstein, a spokesman for Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., who joined Bush to kick off the plan and may be the Democrat most interested in seeing it become law. ``It makes more sense to answer the tough questions raised before trying to pass legislation.''
The House bill, Gerstein added, ``is dead in the Senate'' because it fails to address the concerns shared by the civil rights community, Lieberman and many other Democrats.
Similar concerns were expressed over the weekend by Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He said that Vice President Dick Cheney called him last week to press for prompt action on the bill.
``I told him there were legal problems involved and I didn't think the administration had done its homework in broadening its base so that it had broad bipartisan support,'' Sensenbrenner told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. ``Having a partisan blood bath is not going to achieve what the administration wants, and I told him that.''
From the start, Bush's proposal was met with deep skepticism from liberals and conservatives. But the White House has yet to clearly address their objections.
Most confusing is whether tax dollars could help pay for programs that mix religion with social services - for instance, a drug treatment program that helps people overcome addiction by finding Jesus. Also at issue: to what extent government-funded religious groups can consider applicants' religion in deciding whether to hire them.
Hoping to sort through some of these questions, Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, the bill's chief GOP backer in the Senate, launched a working group Tuesday to settle differences. The group includes prominent supporters and critics of the plan from the political left and right.
Professional mediators from Search for Common Ground will lead the meetings, which will try to identify areas of agreement, clarify differences and make for a more cohesive debate. Santorum asked former Sen. Harris Wofford, D-Pa., whom he defeated in his 1994 race for the Senate, to chair the group.
``This group is really an opportunity for sort of laying the groundwork for this discussion going forward,'' said Santorum. ``We have a lot of information and frankly a lot of misinformation out there.''
AP-NY-06-19-01 1850EDT
Copyright 2001 The Associated Press.