Yesterday, President Bush addressed the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting by satellite from Washington. The meeting is being held in Nashville, TN. The text of his full remarks, as well as a video of his presentation, are available online from the White House website. His speech included the following call for Congressional enactment of his faith-based initiative:
"Because faith-based groups should never have to forfeit their religious liberty to get federal dollars -- and that's an important concept -- we want your help, we want your love, but at the same time, you do not have to forget the mission of faith or ignore the mission of faith that calls you to action in the first place. And that's why the executive order I signed should be codified into federal law. Congress needs to pass charitable choice legislation to forever guarantee equal treatment for our faith-based organizations when they compete for federal funds."
