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Can the words "is" and "that" be used back-to-back in the following sentence?
The reason I went to the store is that I ran out of milk.
Similarly, can "is" and "because" be used as such? For example:
The reason I went to the store is because I ran out of milk.
Anywho, to answer your question, Bob, I believe it is, it would be much simpler to rephrase/reconstruct your sentence and instead say, "I went to the store because I ran out of milk." This flows much more easily.
I agree with what the comment above me says as well. You may say "is that", although I HATE the word "that", but you may not say "is because" because they are both the same type of word.
According to http://www.getitwriteonline.com/archive/072303reasonbecause.htm "is that" is fine, but "is because" is not correct because of redundancy.
~~Droonkid
X BethatS. A that complement clause (as here) can be used as the predicate of an identificational sentence withX(hereX= The reason (that/why) I went to the store) and the form ofBeis is. A because clause is also acceptable when theXis a reason or cause; this is the case here, but not everywhere.