Mark Souder: “I merely want to reiterate that for all the hullaballoo here, this is the same language we had in the juvenile justice…”

“I merely want to reiterate that for all the hullaballoo here, this is the same language we had in the juvenile justice bill that passed 346 to 83 with the same language; the same in the Fathers Count, in the welfare bill, the human services bill. It is what is in the Even Start bill. It is supported by the current administration, by the previous HUD Secretaries before this. It is supported by African-American, Hispanic, Orthodox Jewish, Catholic, Protestant organizations all over the country that are trying to deal with the terrible problems of homelessness, of inadequate housing for the poor. Without extending Federal dollars, it is going to be very difficult. Quite frankly, faith-based organizations are not willing to give up their faith in order to become part of a charitable system. They will just choose not to participate, as they did for years prior to the current Secretary of HUD and other Secretaries reaching out to them. So I think this merely codifies what is already being done. We have done it in other bills. Quite frankly, it is going to be coming in more bills, because it is one of the most important things we can do to extend Federal dollars and involve people whose hearts say they want to help those who are hurting, and this enables them to do so.”