Separation of Church and State (money)

By Libby

Steve Benen is keeping his eye on the the shadow theocracy and brings to light an interesting religious earmark. Skipping straight to his summation:

Got that? A GOP lawmaker quietly gave a ministry some ships for secular work (medical assistance). The ministry sold the ships and made nearly a half-million dollars (on cop shows, they call this “flipping” property). The government didn’t know about any of this — under the faith-based initiative, there’s no accountability, audits, or follow-through after the earmark goes through. Religious groups get all the benefits and none of the strings. The government just assumes ministries are doing good work and deserve the unchecked earmarks.

Former Rep. Frank Riggs (R-Calif.), whose staff drafted the earmark, said it “would raise concerns” if the ships were “not used as intended.” Guess what, Frank? The religious group received government property, sold it, and used the money for religious purposes. And with ministries getting over 900 accountability-free earmarks in recent years, there’s no telling how often this happens.

It certainly raises my concern. I vaguely remember this administration argued religious earmarks were constitutionally acceptable on the premise they were being unfairly discriminated against for their religious beliefs when they were engaging in secular work. It's unsurprising it turned out to be just another way to pay off their evangelical base but how is it legal? I don't remember any rulings on it.

In any event, if it's not illegal, it certainly should be.