Time Running Out On School Prayer JAMES D. BESSER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS A premier rental retirement community Wishes All Of Our Residents, Family and Friends A HEALTHY AND HAPPY NEW YEAR 810-352-0208 24111 Civic Center Drive • Southfield, Michigan 48034 he 104th Congress is spin- ning madly toward a Sept. 28 adjournment so frantic legislators can hit the cam- paign trail. And that may seal the fate of the Religious Freedom amend- ment to the Constitution — the centerpiece of the Christian Coalition's Contract with the American Family, but a source of friction and disagreement among conservative members of Congress. At a Christian Coalition rally during the Republican conven- tion in August, the group's di- rector, Ralph Reed, assured his troops that the GOP leadership was committed to a vote on the controversial amendment — which would open the door to prayer in the public schools and public funding for parochial in- stitutions — before the Novem- ber elections. But the leadership apparent- T • COLORWORKS STUDIO OF INTERIOR DESIGN • Ernest !stook: Original sponsor. Thanks to all of you for such a wonderful year! • Wishing you good health, much happiness and prosperity throughout the coming year. Barbi Krass and all of us at Colorworks 32500 Northwestern Highway • Farmington Hills • 851-7540 Next time you feed your face, think about your head. Go easy on your heart and start cutting back on foods that are high in saturated fat and cholesterol. The change'lI do you good. 138 V American Heart Association WERE FIGHTING FOR YOUR LIFE ly is having second thoughts; ac- cording to reports circulating on Capitol Hill, they are still not convinced that the measure will win enough support to avoid an embarrassment just before vot- ers go to the polls in an election that will be — to a degree — a referendum on their leader- ship. So far, there have been three different versions of a school prayer amendment; the current measure, sponsored by Majori- ty Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, has not won the support of the original amendment's sponsor, Rep. Ernest Jim Istook, R-Okla., who is holding out for language explicitly addressing the school prayer issue. "For weeks, we've been wait- ing for the other shoe to drop with this misguided, dangerous amendment," said an official with a major Jewish group in Washington. "But with time run- ning out, and with the Republi- cans not eager for an embarrassing defeat, it looks like the amendment is now off the table, at least for now. That's very good news for the Jewish community and for all religious minorities — although we can expect to see it resurface when the new Congress comes back in January." Workplace Act Gets A Push The waning days of the 104th Congress also will see the rein- troduction of the Workplace Re- ligious Freedom Act, a measure intended to protect the rights of religious people who need spe- cial accommodations at the workplace — including Sabbath- observing Jews. The measure, sponsored by Rep. Jerrold Nadler, (D-N.Y., was first introduced just before the end of the 103rd Congress. After the 1994 congressional up- heaval, Mr. Nadler set about patching together a new coali- tion to push the bill through. But a Republican-dominated < Congress hasn't been particu- larly receptive to the pleas of Mr. Nadler, an unrepentant liberal Democrat. Mr. Nadler and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., were scheduled to try again, although Congress is unlikely to do anything about the bill before adjournment. "We hope that the introduc- tion of this bill — which is sup- ported by almost every Jewish group and by organizations like the Baptist Joint Committee and the National Association of Evangelicals — will establish a legislative track record that will set the stage for action in the next Congress," said Richard Foltin, legislative director for the American Jewish Committee. Backers of the bill, a high pri- ority for Orthodox groups in par- ticular, said much the same thing as the 103rd Congress was winding to a close. But this week, Mr. Foltin was not dis- couraged. "Passing a bill like this re- quires careful, painstaking ef- forts to build a strong base of support," he said. "That's what's been happening in the past two years — although the process is more difficult, given the high congressional turnover and the focus on a few high-profile is- sues."