Advisory Committee Co-Chairs Resign from Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund

3 Leaders Quit Effort To Aid Gulf Churches

By Darryl Fears
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 13, 2006

The two most prominent members of an interfaith committee set up to distribute $20 million to churches affected by Hurricane Katrina abruptly resigned in recent days, saying their grant-making decisions were being undermined by the directors of the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund.

Bishop T.D. Jakes and the Rev. William H. Gray III, co-chairs of Interfaith Advisory Committee, submitted their resignations late last week. Another committee member, the Rev. William J. Shaw, said by telephone that he resigned over the weekend; he declined to comment further.

Gray said board directors and staff members of the Katrina Fund -- established by former presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton -- would agree with the committee's recommendations in meetings and then do the opposite. He said that he, Jakes and Shaw resigned when the staff sent $35,000 to a church without their knowledge, then refused to explain why. That particular church had not been inspected to determine its need, Gray said.

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