In the past few weeks, DiIulio has complained, according to these sources, that by not spelling out what he would like to sign into law, the president is ceding the issue to House Republicans -- whose bill is far more controversial and is less likely to make it through the Democratic-controlled Senate.

While some White House sources maintain DiIulio is ready to argue for the House bill, others say DiIulio is focusing on the bill in the Senate. "DiIulio has expressed concern that the more the House bill becomes perceived as the president's bill, the greater the likelihood that this whole enterprise is just going to blow up," said one of those knowledgeable sources. "He knows the House bill has several radioactive provisions."

White House spokesman Jimmy Orr did not comment on the specifics of the two bills, saying only, "The president believes we need to expand charitable choice so that faith-based organizations receive federal grants when it comes to helping people in need."

DiIulio did not return repeated calls for comment.

If DiIulio is indeed leaning toward the Senate bill, it may be only for pragmatic reasons. "Before the Jeffords switch, the House bill was an extremely hard sell," says a Democratic Senate staffer involved with the issue. "Now, with the Democrats in control [of the Senate], it's DOA."

The GOP Senate leader on the faith-based initiative, Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., seemed to acknowledge this problem as well. Discussing why the Senate bill he authored with Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., focused on making the tax code more friendly to religious charities -- without the "charitable choice" provision in the House bill, which would allow the federal government to fund activities that include proselytizing -- Santorum told the New York Times on May 23, "I feel that someday we'll move something forward [on charitable choice], but right now this is a hot button issue."

And yet, as DiIulio leaves some on Capitol Hill with the impression that he supports the Senate bill, the White House -- veiled as always in its cloak of secrecy -- seems to be operating at cross-purposes with its faith-based initiative czar.

As Bush maintains his public silence on the specifics of the two bills, an administration official says the president fully supports the House bill. "We are working closely with the White House and the White House is very supportive of our efforts," a senior House GOP staffer says.

At this stage, any differences between DiIulio and Bush are more political than policy driven. While DiIulio seems to be focusing on determining what kind of faith-based measure can clear the new Congress, Bush may be trying to shore up support among his party's religious right wing as well as reach out to Catholics, a key swing constituency that Bush has courted aggressively since becoming president. By staying silent on the two bills, he reaps the benefits of the House bill as it wends its way through the legislative process, but is still positioned to claim victory with whatever proposal ends up passing the Congress.

And coming out for the House bill in current form may have political traps for Bush. The church-state issues separating the House bill from the Senate version couldn't be more sticky, which is undoubtedly why Bush has yet to clarify his position on them. The House bill, offered by Reps. J.C. Watts, R-Okla., and Tony Hall, D-Ohio, contains the controversial "charitable choice" provision, which would allow religious charities that proselytize to compete with other charities for federal funding. Current federal law keeps tax dollars from funding religious activities, so that charities run by religious organizations keep proselytizing apart from charitable acts. Additionally, the House bill would exempt these religious groups from some federal nondiscrimination laws.

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