http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,190243,00.htmlDHS Gets New Faith-Based Office
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, President Bush has added one more office of faith-based initiatives to his administration, this time in the Department of Homeland Security.
Proponents of faith-based organizations working with federal assistance are thrilled and say these offices are in part responsible for religious groups receiving $2.1 billion in federal grants last year, up 7 percent from 2004, according to recent White House numbers.
"I just think it's high time that this was there (in DHS)," said Pam Pryor, spokeswoman for We Care America , which connects religious-based charities and relief organizations with federal resources.
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President Bush has made it a priority in his administration to ensure that faith-based groups like churches are able to compete alongside non-religious organizations and charities for available federal grants. The establishment of an Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in the Department of Homeland Security was a response to the breadth of religious organizations that pitched in to help the victims of the hurricane and subsequent flooding, which hit the Gulf Coast in August.
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oh nausea
forgot to post this wonderful paragraph:
"It was part of the lessons-learned exercise, where President Bush asked
Fran Townsend to identify where the system had broken down," Towey told FOXNews.com. "We neglected the faith-based organizations and their capacity to help in a disaster recovery effort and we failed to integrate their work with FEMA and other agencies."