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July 7, 2023


News


Overview: We hope everyone had an enjoyable July 4th holiday. You may have noticed last Friday that your email inbox did not contain an edition of the Washington Weekly. The reason had nothing to do with Independence Day. Rather, we changed the program we use to send the newsletter. As you can imagine, changing a program involves quite a few steps, such as transferring all of your contact information and updating all of our internal links between our website and the new program. If you notice any quirks, please let us know. And, as always, we ask that you share the Weekly with coworkers and others who would be interested in Catholic Charities' work in the public square. The subscription form is on our website. ([link removed])

On June 27, CCUSA's policy team participated in the Virtual O'Grady Leadership Institute. The team talked about its advocacy work on behalf of the Catholic Charities network, and they also gave a presentation on CCUSA's poverty and racism paper ([link removed]). The O'Grady Institute is intended exclusively for Catholic Charities professionals to gain a foundational understanding of the knowledge and skills essential for effective Catholic Charities leadership and integrates leadership and management with theology and spirituality.

CCUSA also sent letters to Congress regarding the Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act of 2023 and the Reentry Act. See the "Recent letters" paragraph below for more details and links to the letters. Meanwhile, visits by the social policy team to new members of Congress continued, with 14 visits remaining and 65 completed.

On July 19, the CCUSA policy team will host a webinar about the interplay between the recently enacted Fiscal Responsibility Act, which increases the debt ceiling for two years, and the appropriations process, as well as how this interplay may impact Catholic Charities agencies, their programs, and their clients.

Economy: In the week ending July 1, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims ([link removed]) was 248,000, an increase of 12,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 3,000 from 239,000 to 236,000. The 4-week moving average was 253,250, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week's revised average. The U.S. economy added 209,000 jobs, according to the Labor Department ([link removed]).

Recent letters: CCUSA sent a letter to members of the House Committee on Ways and Means in support of the Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act of 2023 (H.R. 3662) ([link removed]), which would make the current adoption tax credit fully refundable, offsetting the costs of adoption for all adoptive families, including those with low- and middle-incomes.

Another letter was sent to Congress in support of the Reentry Act (S. 1165; H.R. 2400) ([link removed]), which will assist justice-impacted individuals in their effective reintegration into society while promoting healthcare equity and potentially reducing healthcare costs. By facilitating successful reentry, this bill strengthens communities, reduces recidivism rates, and promotes public safety, ultimately benefiting the common good.

Rural broadband: On June 26, the Biden administration announced over $40 billion in funding allocations ([link removed]) to each state, U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia for high-speed internet infrastructure. The funding comes from the Department of Commerce's $42.45 billion BEAD (Broadband Equity Access and Deployment) Program as designated in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.

 

Trivia

Q. On July 7, 1946, what historic event happened involving the Catholic Church in the U.S.?

Please send your answers to Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher ([link removed]).

 

Connections

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Text "CCUSA" to 855-564-3197 to receive our action alerts! You can also access advocacy opportunities through our Action Center ([link removed]).

Stay connected with our work: Follow us on Twitter @EndPoverty ([link removed]).

If you would like to help further Catholic Charities' commitment to alleviating, reducing, and preventing poverty, you can contribute here ([link removed]).

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