The White House has not made a decision on reversing the controversial Bush-era executive orders for his faith-based initiative, and only a portion of the expected 25 members of President Obama's Advisory Council for his White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships will be named tomorrow, says the Rev. Welton Gaddy, president of the church-state separation and religious liberty advocacy group The Interfaith Alliance. Gaddy tells me that Joshua DuBois, Obama's pick to head his White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighbhorhood Partnerships, told him of the plans last night. On two of the issues of chief concern to church-state separation advocates, the White House has yet to make a firm decision. Gaddy said that DuBois told him that "there would be a strong recommendation to have recipients form a 501(c)(3)" to receive federal funds, "but that is not obligatory and there would be some direct funding" of churches. That means "a small step in the right direction but we’re not where we ought to be on that," said Gaddy. On the employment discrimination issue, Gaddy said that DuBois told him that the issue has been farmed out to the Justice Department for a recommendation on how to proceed. Every day that passes without changing the Bush policy on employment discrimination, said Gaddy, "we're implementing the Bush program." He favors suspending the distribution of money to recipients until the issue is resolved. "I'm a little uncomfortable with doing something this important in somewhat of an incomplete way," said Gaddy. "If in fact they’re not going to name the whole council tomorrow, I'm not sure that’s the way to get off to a good start, because the whole intent of looking carefully at the council is to ensure a proper kind of diversity . . . . If you already have an incomplete roster there and an indecisive position on nondiscrimination, we should have waited and had this clear." The White House has not responded to several requests for comment about the unveiling of the faith-based initiative. --Sarah Posner UPDATE: I'm now told that the faith-based project will not be unveiled at the National Prayer Breakfast where Obama is scheduled to speak, as David Brody reported this morning, but after a private meeting at the White House. The basic structure of the program will remain unchanged from the Bush program: a White House Office, and Centers for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships in the executive agencies.
