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The next few months may be as news worthy; Bush has asked for a Senate-approved bill by the end of fall. What are the keys to the bill's success in the Senate, and what has shaped it so far?

DiIulio's departure
On August 17, University of Pennsylvania academic John J. DiIulio, announced his resignation from the top position of the Faith-Based Office citing health concerns. From the beginning, he stressed his commitment would only be six months.

A Denver Post editorial predicted the impact of DiIulio's resignation on the Bush administration:

The departing DiIulio has humorously played down his own importance, saying, "I'm just a teeny, tiny insignificant speck of a man." But the fact is he was in many ways the brains behind the proposal … DiIulio's resignation, after just seven months on the job, is a setback for the program. His departure is just another sign of how difficult it will be to get the Bush proposal through Congress in the face of both liberal and conservative opposition … If the president hopes to see his program enacted into law, he will have to find a strong replacement for Dilulio and find one fast.

Samuel K. Atchison, George H. Gallup International Institute fellow and prison chaplain, wrote in Religion News Service that DiIulio's departure is such a hit to the White House that "the loss is incalculable and threatens to undermine the credibility of the president's faith-based agenda."

However, CNN wrote that DiIulio was doomed from the start:

From the moment in January when the professor and registered Democrat was tapped to oversee Bush's faith-based-charities initiative, DiIulio struggled in the job. As the program faltered in Congress, the outspoken, proudly impolitic DiIulio clashed with lawmakers, alienated religious conservatives and feuded with White House colleagues …

Lately he has been coming to work so infrequently from his home in Philadelphia that his unpaid assistant took over his office. Last week, when he announced his intention to resign, DiIulio cited personal and health reasons. He has heart trouble, but was also frustrated with the good-soldier corporate culture of the Bush White House, and bitter about the suspicion and partisanship—on both sides—that had all but crippled his program

But if anyone would have success, a Washington Post editorial contended that DiIulio was the person to translate Bush's campaign rhetoric into action:

DiIulio knew that the plural of anecdote is not data. He was cautious about suggesting that faith-based programs might be superior, because no social science demonstrates that contention. So DiIulio advanced all manner of other arguments with his customary vigor. He was an honest body slammer rather than a charming fraud. Too bad that he is leaving.

Jerry Falwell, founder and chancellor of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virgina, told The Dallas Morning News that a main requirement for DiIulio's replacement should be knowledge of the religious landscape. "John DiIulio got into trouble the first day in office because he didn't know the clientele," Falwell told the paper. "I would hope President Bush gets someone who knows the faith-based community and doesn't leave anyone out of it. Anyone will be an improvement on John DiIulio."

Ron Sider, President of Evangelicals for Social Action told Christianity Today that DiIulio is why the faith-based issue has found national prominence. "An enormous amount has been accomplished so far," Sider said. "The issue of faith- and community-based agencies has become a central discussion in the country and on front pages. That is new and wonderful. John DiIulio did a great job getting it started."

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September (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45