WASHINGTON -- President Bush has set aside his most ambitious plans to give federal money to religious charities and instead will support a watered-down version of his religion-based initiative, senators and administration officials say.
The pressures of the war on terrorism and the national outpouring of charitable donations since Sept. 11 persuaded the White House to abandon the most contentious parts of the measure to win passage of a law to help charities this year.
"Part of the reason behind the bill was to inspire people to do more, and they have done that," said Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., a co-sponsor of the president's bill. "While I'm hopeful that what we're seeing in America is real change, we can do more to make this spirit of giving permanent."
The White House said the president hoped to move ahead with the full bill next year, but the religion-based measure could be another victim of the reversal of the presidential priorities since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
The House passed a religion-based bill this summer largely along party lines. Democrats were critical of so-called charitable choice provisions that would allow religious groups receiving federal money to hire only members of their faith and to disregard anti-discrimination laws.
There was also concern that money meant for social services would be used by these religious groups to spread their faith.
The legislation was stalled in the Senate where the majority leader, Tom Daschle of South Dakota, said he was unlikely to consider the bill soon because of the charitable choice provisions.
But now White House officials said they were working with the Senate to come up with a bill with a broad base of support that could be passed this year. Officials say they hope that some provisions, like those to aid children of prisoners, could be included.