April 11, 2003 (Baltimore, MD) - Lutheran Services in America Praises Senate Passage of Faith-Based Bill

Lutheran Services in America (LSA), one of the nation's largest nonprofits, praised members of the Senate for their passage of the Charity Aid, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act, the Senate's version of President Bush's Faith-Based and Community Initiative. The CARE Act restores over $1 billion in Social Service Block Grant funds that were cut last decade. The bill also includes $12.7 billion in charitable tax breaks, including a new deduction for those who do not itemize their taxes, incentives for donations from IRAs, and increased charitable donations from corporations.

"The restoration of the Social Services Block Grant funding assures that there is compassion in the CARE Act," stated LSA President and CEO, Jill Schumann. "Lutheran health and social service providers have waited years for the restoration of these crucial dollars that help meet human needs in the local community" Schumann said. States have often used their own dollars to pay for Social Service Block Grant services, but cuts in State budgets would soon result in the elimination of services in many communities.

"LSA members are diverse, from multi-state entities to small organizations staffed with volunteers," Schumann stated. "We know that the private, non-profit sector alone cannot come close to meeting the human needs in communities" Schumann added. "We see the bill as a helpful piece of the larger governmental responsibility to provide for those who are poor and vulnerable."

LSA's nearly 300 health and human service organizations provide care in 3,000 communities in the United States and the Caribbean. In fiscal 2000-2001 these organizations served 5.8 million clients, 1 out of every 50 people in the population. The operating budgets of member organizations exceed $7.6 billion. Utilizing the skill and dedication of a quarter of a million staff and volunteers, LSA member organizations provide services ranging from health care to disaster response, from services for children and families to care for the elderly, from adoption to advocacy.