In the capital

`Intelligent Design' Movement Visits Capitol Hill Advocates of "intelligent design" - the latest version of "creation science" - descended on Capitol Hill last month to explain their anti-evolution theories to sympathetic legislators and their staff.

The May 8 briefing was sponsored by the Center for the Renewal of Science & Culture, a project of the Seattle-based Discovery Institute. Unlike conventional creationists, most intelligent design advocates admit that the Earth is ancient but still refuse to accept human evolution. They argue that human complexity requires a designer, i.e. God. A Discovery Institute press release maintained that teaching evolution undermines the culture and undercuts "the classic understanding of human dignity."

Although they work hard to keep religious rhetoric out of the materials they put before mass audiences, movement backers are less guarded when speaking before sympathetic crowds. Addressing a gathering of followers of TV preacher D. James Kennedy in February of 1999, the movement's chief architect, Phillip Johnson, a University of California at Berkeley law professor, stated upfront that his ultimate goal in undermining evolution is to persuade people to accept "the truth" of the Bible and be "introduced to Jesus."

The three-hour congressional briefing, titled "Scientific Evidence of Intelligent Design and its Implications for Public Policy and Education," featured speakers who bashed evolution and blamed the scientific theory for social ills.

Observers say the congressional appearance represents a shift in strategy for evolution opponents, who have traditionally targeted officials at the state and local level where most education decisions are made.

The Washington event was co-hosted by several members of Congress, including Reps. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.), Charles Canady (R-Fla.), Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas), Thomas Petri (R-Wis.), Joseph Pitts (R-Pa.), Mark Souder (R-Ind.) and Charles Stenholm (D-Texas). Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) spoke at the gathering.

Senate Removes School Vouchers From Education Bill

In a blow to the hopes of "education choice" supporters, the U.S. Senate has deleted a provision from a major education funding bill that many believe would have opened the door to religious school vouchers.

At issue was Senate consideration of S. 2, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the federal government's largest school aid program. Senate Republicans vowed to make "flexibility" their top priority for the legislation, and sponsored a measure to give 15 states wide latitude in how to spend federal education funds - including funding private school voucher plans. Opponents said a "portability" provision was a backdoor attempt to finance private religious schools with public tax dollars.

To bring an end to the controversy, on May 3, Sen. Slade Gorton (R-Wash.) sponsored 4n amendment to prohibit the states that receive the federal aid from using the funds for vouchers. The final vote to prohibit vouchers was 98 to 0. (The lopsided tally came because the Republican leadership told GOP senators to support the measure to end a stalemate and push the larger bill forward. Senate voucher proponents are expected to try to add vouchers to other bills later.)

The move to prohibit vouchers from the legislation was applauded by the White House. "The answer to excellence for all our children is not to take money away from our schools through vouchers," President Bill Clinton told hundreds of students in Owensboro, Ky., the day after the Senate vote, "but to combine the money with high standards, accountability and the tools teachers, children and parents need to succeed."