For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 21, 2001
Statement by the President
Earlier this year, I sent to the Congress my agenda to rally America's
armies of compassion to address many of our toughest community
challenges.
Government does not have a monopoly on compassion. And while
government cannot be replaced by charities, it should welcome them as
partners, not view them as rivals.
Today, on a bipartisan basis, members of the House and Senate took
important first steps to advance this agenda to aid churches,
synagogues, mosques, and communities in helping neighbors in need.
I welcome the bipartisan proposals that have been offered in the House
by Rep. J.C. Watts, Rep. Tony Hall, and Speaker Dennis Hastert, and in
the Senate by Senator Rick Santorum and Senator Joseph Lieberman.
These new legislative initiatives demonstrate that momentum continues
to build behind my agenda to rally America's armies of
compassion. They represent a bipartisan consensus that
government must support our quiet heroes who are lifting lives and
healing neighborhoods one heart and one act of kindness at a time.
I will continue to work in a bipartisan fashion with Congress to help
those most in need by encouraging charitable giving and eliminating
barriers to charitable works.
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