mr. speaker , i thank the gentleman for yielding me this time . 
i rise in support of the rule , but most especially in support of the rule allowing for the offering of the amendment by the gentleman from louisiana ( mr. boustany ) xz4006360 . 
this amendment is clearly dominating a lot of the discussion this morning regarding the rule . 
it is the one that protects faith-based head start providers , and it is so important for us to be very sensitive about this issue as we look to those who are willing to provide some very difficult services and ones that certainly the providers must be very interested in as far as the well-being of the student , the well-being of the families involved in these programs . 
certainly , faith-based organizations are first in mind when it comes to providing the services that require the most care , and we would be remiss in not providing an opportunity for this amendment to be adopted . 
this rule does allow that , and this rule is very well crafted . 
and i support it for that very reason . 
we the congress have specified in several statutes that religious organizations that receive federal funds in the form of grants or contracts must not lose their title vii exemption . 
in fact , former president bill clinton signed four laws that explicitly allow faith-based groups to staff on a religious basis when they receive federal funds . 
they should not be discriminated against . 
if we tell faith-based groups they can not hire on a faith basis in order to receive federal funds , then we will force those organizations out of providing these services . 
some examples of laws that we have passed that allow for faith-based groups to continue to hire on their continued basis are the personal responsibility and work opportunities reconciliation act , or welfare reform of 1996 ; the substance abuse and mental health services administration act of 1998 ; the community service block grant act , which everyone has been very supportive of ; as well as the community renewal tax relief act of 2000 . 
we have had debates before regarding faith-based groups being involved in government contracting . 
it would be a huge error for us to exempt the most caring , conscious , and helpful organizations , especially from head start contracts . 
those groups should not be forced to hire anybody off the street simply because they have a federal contract . 
they should hire the best people and the ones who are most capable of carrying out their mission . 
the very reason why many of these organizations will win the contracts is because they have the best track record of service and results . 
what more important place is there for us to care about results than in head start ? 
i think it is important for us , as members of the united states house of representatives , to be very careful as we move forward on this bill . 
the committee on education and the workforce has worked very hard to craft it . 
they are very concerned about making sure that students get every advantage at that early age . 
we need to contract with the organizations that can best provide the service . 
