APPENDIX B
Pol 201:
Congress & the Presidency
Faith-Based Organization (FBO) Project Guide
One of the major goals of this course is provide you with an opportunity to participate in
an exercise that puts you in the position of Congress & the President as they interact to
make public policy. President George Bush has made it one of his legislative priorities to
pass the Charitable Choice initiative. This policy proposal would permit the federal
government to provide budgetary funds to faith-based social organizations (FBOs) to
assist them in providing important social services to sectors of the population
inadequately served by current federal assistance programs. The US House of
Representatives has recently passed a version of Charitable Choice. The US Senate has
yet to act on the bill. Needless to say, the issue is highly controversial and will certainly
prompt heated debate in the Senate and in the press.
At the conclusion of the project, you will play the role of a Senator and will discuss,
analyze, and debate the merits of President Bush’s proposal. You will be called upon to
acquire issue expertise, to develop and to defend a point of view on what promises to be
one of the most significant proposals linking religious faith and public policy.
THE ASSIGNMENT:
This project consists of two parts that will make up 30% of your total course grade:
•
A Written Case Study of a Local FBO (15%)
•
Participation in Classroom Senate Simulation (15%)
I. The Case Study:
The first part of the assignment is a written case study of a local FBO based upon
interviews and based upon at least 12 hours of work that you have done with the
organization. A list of participating FBOs will be distributed in class.
In Preparation for Your Field Work with the FBO, you should read the following in
advance:
•
E.J. Dionne and John J. Diiulio, What’s God Got to Do with the American
Experiment?, PART IV: “Faith Based Social Action,” pp. 115-170.
•
David Ackerman, “Public Aid and Faith-Based Organizations (Charitable
Choice): Background and Selected Legal Issues,” CRS Report for Congress
(on Reserve in Curry Library)
•
“The Unlevel Playing Field: Barriers to Participation by Faith-Based and
Community Organizations in Federal Social Service Programs,” White House
Report (on Reserve in Curry Library)
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Convention