A First Amendment Storm

House Republicans and Democrats do not agree on much these days, but they managed to join together last month to breach the proper separation between church and state. By a 354-to-72 vote, the House approved a measure sponsored by Representatives Christopher Smith, a New Jersey Republican, and Grace Meng, a New York Democrat, that would authorize the Federal Emergency Management Agency to make direct grants to churches, mosques, synagogues and other houses of worship "without regard to the religious character of the facility or the primary religious use of the facility."