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DiIulio, director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community
Initiatives, has spent the past four
weeks
on a "listening tour," following the announcement of the president's
signature reform. Despite having his ears boxed by critics from
the left and right, DiIulio remains enthusiastically committed to
each component of the initiative — including opening up federal
domestic grant making to faith-based groups.
In a recent conversation, Professor DiIulio explained that the controversial
combination of God and grants has overshadowed the imperative to
open up federal grant making to needed competition from community-based
outfits, religious and non-religious alike. He is convinced that
through this competition from new grantees, Washington will get
better results at a lower cost, from the $200 billion it spends
on social-service programs. "It is all about government performance
and results," DiIulio declares. "The boring public administration
thing is the whole magilla."
DiIulio intends to condition grant making on getting results. He
recognizes that many church-based and other religious groups are
leery about accepting federal funds, but expects some to reconsider
when they realize that the new "faith-friendly" administration is
sensitive to their concerns. Their effectiveness in tackling drug
dependency, mentoring at-risk kids, and the like will be measured
against the track records of more conventional grantees. DiIulio
cites the importance of the Government Performance and Results Act
in setting up a framework for accountability. Under the act, agencies
are required to set performance goals and measure actual results.
Boosting charitable giving through tax incentives, and removing
regulations that torment private charities, as the president also
proposes, do not serve Professor DiIulio's goal of government reform.
So, despite misgivings on the part of conservatives who don't share
his faith in the ability to (dare I say) reinvent government, the
administration can be expected to remain committed to encouraging
grants to faith-based groups.
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