ef3
[DOCID: f:hc170eh.txt]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 170
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Encouraging corporations to contribute to faith-based organizations.
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 170
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Whereas America's community of faith has long played a leading role in dealing
with difficult societal problems that might otherwise have gone
unaddressed;
Whereas President Bush has called upon Americans ``to revive the spirit of
citizenship . . . to marshal the compassion of our people to meet the
continuing needs of our Nation'';
Whereas although the work of faith-based organizations should not be used by
government as an excuse for backing away from its historic and rightful
commitment to help those who are disadvantaged and in need, such
organizations can and should be seen as a valuable partner with
government in meeting societal challenges;
Whereas every day faith-based organizations in the United States help people
recover from drug and alcohol addiction, provide food and shelter for
the homeless, rehabilitate prison inmates so that they can break free
from the cycle of recidivism, and teach people job skills that will
allow them to move from poverty to productivity;
Whereas faith-based organizations are often more successful in dealing with
difficult societal problems than government and non-sectarian
organizations;
Whereas, as President Bush recently stated, ``It is not sufficient to praise
charities and community groups; we must support them. And this is both a
public obligation and a personal responsibility.'';
Whereas corporate foundations contribute billions of dollars each year to a
variety of philanthropic causes;
Whereas according to a recent study produced by the Capital Research Center, the
10 largest corporate foundations in the United States contributed
$1,900,000,000 to such causes;
Whereas according to the same study, faith-based organizations only receive a
small fraction of the contributions made by corporations in the United
States, and 6 of the 10 corporations that give the most to philanthropic
causes explicitly ban or restrict contributions to faith-based
organizations: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That--
(1) Congress calls on corporations in the United States, in
the words of the President, ``to give more and to give better''
by making greater contributions to faith-based organizations
that are on the front lines battling some of the great societal
challenges of our day; and
(2) it is the sense of Congress that--
(A) corporations in the United States are important
partners with government in efforts to overcome
difficult societal problems; and
(B) no corporation in the United States should
adopt policies that prohibit the corporation from
contributing to an organization that is successfully
advancing a philanthropic cause merely because such
organization is faith based.
Passed the House of Representatives July 10, 2001.
Attest:
Clerk.
0