mr. chairman , despite the divisiveness of the term `` faith-based , '' most americans are united in their support of religious organizations . 
across the country , these organizations do great work , feeding the hungry , caring for the sick , and in many cases providing affordable housing to those most in need . 
that 's why it 's surprising that the republicans are using an otherwise worthy effort to reform government sponsored enterprises like fannie mae and freddie mac to throw a wrench in the relationship between government and the religious community . 
the affordable housing fund created by the bill will commit 5 percent of fannie and freddie profits toward a grant program to build , maintain , and rehabilitate housing for low-income families . 
yet language passed in the managers amendment stops that money from flowing to faith-based organizations . 
that amounts to $ 500 million a year that republicans do n't believe should go to organizations like catholic charities . 
today in brooklyn and queens alone catholic charities operates 3 , 000 units of affordable housing including 2 , 090 units for senior citizens , 480 units of family housing and 377 units of supportive housing for formerly homeless individuals . 
but the church , the largest non-profit provider of low income housing in brooklyn and queens , will be shut out of the new program . 
faith should never be used to divide an electorate or play a political game . 
i believe that is exactly what republicans have done in order to take the teeth out of a program designed to help those most in need . 
we should all embrace the principle of tikkun olam which says that those who have a little more , should do a little more . 
that is exactly what the affordable housing fund would have allowed faith-based organizations to do in partnership with the federal government until republicans inserted their limiting provisions . 
in the words of the most rev . 
nicholas dimarzio , bishop of brooklyn , in a letter to the speaker dated october 3 , `` there are ample ways to write safeguards into the legislation to prevent the diversion of affordable housing funds to uses other than what they are intended without requiring recipients to forego their constitutionally protected rights as a condition for participating in affordable housing fund programs. '' i include the bishop 's letter for the record . 
and world peace , washington , dc , october 3 , 2005 . 
dear mr . 
speaker : i write as chairman of the domestic policy committee of the united states conference of catholic bishops ( usccb ) to urge you to retain the affordable housing fund as part of the federal housing finance reform act of 2005 ( h.r. 1461 ) and bring the bill to a vote forthwith . 
the catholic bishops have historically urged the federal government to help meet our nation 's promise of a decent home for every american family , especially those families with extremely low incomes . 
as i noted in my june 10 letter to the house of representatives , the catholic community -- through our charities agencies , dioceses , and parishes -- serves tens of thousands of men , women , and children who struggle to maintain adequate housing . 
besides sheltering homeless people who turn to us for help , we have built , and continue to maintain , thousands of affordable housing units . 
all of these experiences have demonstrated to us how inadequate , substandard housing hurts human life , undermines families , destroys communities , and weakens the social fabric of our nation . 
despite our efforts -- and the efforts of so many others -- there just is not enough affordable housing available . 
proposals that would limit eligible recipients to organizations that have as their primary purpose the provision of affordable housing would effectively prevent catholic dioceses , parishes and catholic charities agencies from participating in affordable housing fund programs . 
similarly , proposals that would prohibit recipients from engaging in voter registration and lobbying activities with their own funds during the period they are utilizing affordable housing funds would force catholic agencies to choose between participating in affordable housing fund programs or engaging in constitutionally protected voter registration and lobbying activities with their own funds . 
i urge you to oppose inclusion of these kinds of unnecessary limitations and prohibitions in h.r. 1461 as it moves to the house floor for the bishops ' statement , putting children and families first , notes : `` many families can not find or afford decent housing , or must spend so much of their income for shelter that they forego other necessities , such as food and medicine ... . 
[ the catholic bishops ] support housing policies which seek to preserve and increase the supply of affordable housing and help families pay for it. '' we must put in place a sustainable source of funds to build affordable housing and this new fund would do that . 
as i said in my june letter , this legislation presents congress with a genuine opportunity to make the shelter needs of extremely low-income families a national priority . 
i believe that such families who need housing the most should be targeted to receive these limited funds . 
with every best wish , i am , sincerely , & lt ; center & gt ; most rev . 
nicholas dimarzio , phd , dd & lt ; /center & gt ; & lt ; center & gt ; & lt ; em & gt ; bishop of brooklyn , chairman , domestic policy committee , united states conference of catholic bishops. & lt ; /em & gt ; 