Contact: White House, Office of the Press Secretary, 202-456-2580

LIVONIA, Michigan, June 25 /Standard Newswire/ -- The following is released by the White House:  

As Prepared for Delivery on Thursday, June 26, 2008

On the Origins of the President’s Faith-Based and Community Initiatives:

During my first campaign for the White House, I was troubled to see so many of our citizens’ greatest needs going unmet.  Across our country, the hungry, homeless, sick, and suffering begged for deliverance – and too many heard only silence in reply. 

The tragedy was that there were good men and women across America who had the desire to help – but not the resources.  And because many of them belonged to faith-based organizations, they were often barred from receiving support from the federal government. 

So I set about to change this with a new approach called "compassionate conservatism."  This approach was compassionate, because it was rooted in a timeless truth: that we ought to love our neighbors as we'd like to be loved ourselves.  And this approach was conservative, because it recognized the limits of government: that bureaucracies can put money in people's hands, but they cannot put hope in people's hearts.

On Government Support for Faith-Based and Community Groups:

Putting hope in people's hearts is the mission of our Nation's faith-based and community groups.  Groups like yours know that you are only as good as your results.  It does not matter if there is a crescent on your group's wall, a rabbi on your group's board, or Christ in your group's name.  If your organization puts medicine in people's hands, food in people's mouths, or a roof over people's heads, then you are succeeding – and the government should support your work.

We have helped level the playing field for faith-based groups and other charities – especially small organizations that had struggled to compete for funds in the past.  We have educated religious groups about their civil rights.  We have made the federal grant-application process more accessible and transparent.  We have trained thousands of federal employees to ensure that the government does not discriminate against faith-based organizations.  And we have ensured that these groups do not have to give up their religious character to receive taxpayer money. 

On the Philosophy Behind the Faith-Based and Community Initiative:

We followed a principle rooted both in our Constitution and the best traditions of our Nation: Government should never fund the teaching of faith, but it should support the good works of the faithful. 

On the Impressive Results Faith-Based and Community Groups Have Delivered While Revolutionizing the Way Our Government Confronts Some of Today's Biggest Challenges:

Faith-based and community groups like yours have revolutionized the way our government shelters the homeless.  According to the most recent data, this program has helped reduce the number of chronically homeless by nearly 12 percent – getting more than 20,000 Americans off the streets. 

Faith-based and community groups like yours have revolutionized the way our government helps Americans break the chains of addiction.  So far, Access to Recovery has helped approximately 200,000 addicts along the path toward clean lives – many through faith-based organizations. 

Faith-based and community groups have revolutionized the way our government helps the children of prisoners.  Through our Mentoring Children of Prisoners program, we have joined with faith-based and community groups to match nearly 90,000 children of prisoners with adults who offer love, guidance, and a positive example.

Faith-based and community groups like yours have also revolutionized the way our government gives prisoners across America a second chance.  Nationwide, 44 percent of prisoners are rearrested within one year of their release.  Yet among the prisoners you work with through this program, that number is almost three times lower – just 15 percent. 

Faith-based and community groups like yours have revolutionized the way our government alleviates suffering and disease around the world – especially on the continent of Africa.  Your organizations are vital to our efforts to defeat malaria – a disease which kills one African child every 30 seconds. 

On the Important Role Faith-Based Groups Have Played in the Success of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief:

Your organizations are also vital to our Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.  When we launched this program in 2003, about 50,000 people in Sub-Saharan Africa were receiving anti-retroviral treatment for HIV/AIDS.  Today, we are releasing the newest PEPFAR results – and they show that we now support treatment for nearly 1.7 million.  One of the beautiful things about this initiative is that we are also saving babies.  To date, PEPFAR has allowed nearly 200,000 African babies to be born HIV-free. 

These new numbers show that our Emergency Plan is a huge success.  Much of the credit goes to our partners who carry out PEPFAR's work – nearly a quarter of them faith-based groups.

On Continuing the Progress Made by the Armies of Compassion:

I am grateful to all of you who serve in our armies of compassion – both here in America, and around the world.  Because of you, our Nation has made great strides toward fulfilling the noble goals that gave rise to the Faith-Based and Community Initiative.  And because of you, I am confident that the progress we have made over the last eight years will continue. 

I am confident because this movement is bigger than politics or party.  Today, 35 governors – 19 Democrats and 16 Republicans – have established their own faith-based and community initiatives.  And more than 70 mayors of both parties have similar programs at the municipal level. 

I am confident because this initiative has built a powerful grassroots network.  Over the past eight years, we have trained nearly 100,000 social entrepreneurs.  Last year alone, we provided more than 19,000 competitive grants to community and faith-based organizations.  With this support, we have laid the foundation for an effort that will continue transforming lives long after my time in office. 

I am confident because this initiative has tapped into the compassionate spirit of America.  Over the past seven years, more of our fellow citizens have discovered that the pursuit of happiness leads to the path of service.  Americans have volunteered in record numbers.  And of the 60 million people who now give their time to others, more than one-third do so through faith-based groups.