Overview: With the election of Mike Johnson, R-La., as Speaker of the House of Representatives (learn more about Johnson here), the House can move forward with the work of funding the government, including important pieces of legislation that have expired, like the Farm Bill that directs federal policy on agriculture, nutrition, research, and other areas. However, a stopgap measure passed on Sept. 30 to keep federal agencies funded runs out on Nov. 17, which means Congress must act by then on a budget or another continuing resolution.
This week, members of the CCUSA Social Policy team and Member Services team attended the Community Action Poverty Simulation Facilitator Training hosted by the Missouri Community Action Network in St. Louis, Mo.
Economy: In the week ending October 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 210,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 198,000 to 200,000. The 4-week moving average was 207,500, an increase of 1,250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 500 from 205,750 to 206,250. The U.S. economy grew by 4.9% in Q3 of this year, the highest quarterly growth since 2021.
Global communion: Caritas Internationalis has promoted a campaign named "Together We Belong." The purpose of the campaign is to counter the culture of alienation with the culture of communion that the Catholic Church professes. The call to communion involves respecting our relationships with God, with each other, and with creation. Toward this end, Caritas Internationalis invites people around the world to write messages to leaders and decision-makers on how we can honor these relationships together. The messages should use the language and be in the spirit of fraternal cooperation, for we want to encounter the leaders in the same spirit we want to infuse in the world. See Caritas' "Together We Belong" website for more information, and find resources for the campaign here.
Migration: The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development released a video marking the celebration of the 109th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, which took place on Sept. 24, 2023. The video includes photos and testimonies, as well as responses to the "Free to Choose to Migrate or Stay" campaign, from people around the world who participated in the event.