An influential religious lobbying group called for a "Contract With the American Family" Wednesday that includes amending the Constitution to allow voluntary prayer in school, giving school boards control of federal education funds and banning abortion in the second half of pregnancy.
The Christian Coalition's 10-point contract, if adopted by Congress, also threatens to cut off funding for the National Endowment for the Arts.The coalition's executive director Ralph Reed, who has given the religious lobbying organization a more sophisticated look, stressed "We are not here to make threats" or demand passage of our "contract" within a set time.
"These (proposals) are the 10 suggestions," he said. "They are not the Ten Commandments."
Reed said the coalition contract would be "a blueprint" for dealing with what he says is the most pressing issue facing the country - "the fraying of the social fabric, the coarsening of the culture, the breakup of the family and a decline of civility."
Republican Party leaders, including House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas, were there to lend their support to the event held in a Senate conference room, but Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas was conspicuously absent. He met privately with the group later.
Dole, like Gramm, is a contender for the GOP presidential nomination.
Gingrich thanked the Christian Coalition and said it was "a vital part of why we had a revolution in the polls." Republicans swept into majorities in Congress in last year's mid-term elections.
But Gingrich pointedly declined to predict victory on the coalition "contract," promising only "an up or down vote on the (House) floor."
Reed said his group does not want to compel prayer but rather offer opportunity for voluntary prayer at such events as high school graduations when a majority of the graduates vote for public prayer. He said determination of whether something is voluntary would be left to local school boards.
In a private meeting with the coalition, Dole said he welcomed the recommendations.
"I've supported many of these ideas in the past and I believe that this contract will aid Congress in its fight to end the government's sad role in undermining the values that sustain and nurture the American family."
Dole told the group that passing a tax credit for children remains a top priority in Congress.