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This week Congress passed a $8.3 billion emergency coronavirus funding package.
Coronavirus Funding Package
The Senate on Thursday easily passed the $8.3 billion in funding to fight the coronavirus which was finalized and passed by the House a day earlier, sending the measure to President Trump who signed it. Click here for a summary.
The bill provides $7.76 billion to agencies combating the coronavirus. It also authorizes another $500 million in waivers for Medicare telehealth restrictions, bringing the total figure greenlighted under the bill up to $8.3 billion.
Included within that is $2.2 billion to help federal, state and local public health agencies prepare for and respond to the coronavirus, including funds for lab testing, infection control and tracking individuals who might have had contact with infected people.
The bill does state that the Health and Human Services Secretary "may" take measures to assure that any vaccines and other treatments that are developed remain affordable.
Laudato Si' celebrates 5 years
Pope Francis invites Catholic communities around the world to celebrate Laudato Si' Week from May 16 to 24, 2020. Those interested in celebrating the anniversary will find materials in a toolkit to plan and implement their actions and a template of promotional materials to share the word about activities with their community. You can find suggestions for engagement on the Laudato Si' Week website.
Faith and the Common Good
As we honor Women's History Month, Peggy Patrick correctly identified Katherine Johnson as the person who calculated the trajectory for the 1969 Apollo 11 flight to the Moon.
 Katherine Johnson was also known as Katherine Goble, was an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. spaceflights. During her 35-year career at NASA, she earned a reputation for mastering complex manual calculations and helped pioneer the use of computers to perform the tasks. The space agency noted her "historical role as one of the first African-American women to work as a NASA scientist".
Johnson's work included calculating trajectories, launch windows, and emergency return paths for Project Mercury spaceflights, including those for astronauts Alan Shepard, the first American in space, and John Glenn, the first American in orbit, and rendezvous paths for the Apollo Lunar Module and command module on flights to the Moon. Her calculations were also essential to the beginning of the Space Shuttle program, and she worked on plans for a possible mission to Mars.
She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015, she was presented the Silver Snoopy Award by NASA astronaut Leland D. Melvin and a NASA Group Achievement Award in 2016 and also received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2019. She died on February 24, 2020 at the age of 101.
Litany of the Way, Prayer for the Journey
As Jesus sought the quiet of the desert,
teach us to pray.
As Jesus washed the feet of his disciples,
teach us to love.
As Jesus promised paradise to the thief on the cross,
teach us to hope.
As Jesus called Peter to walk to him across the water,
teach us to believe.
As the child Jesus sat among the elders in the temple,
teach us to seek answers.
As Jesus in the garden opened his mind and heart to God's will,
teach us to listen.
As Jesus reflected on the Law and the prophets,
teach us to learn.
As Jesus used parables to reveal the mysteries of the Kingdom,
teach us to teach.
~from Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers
Trivia
Which Native American woman has a statute in the U.S. Capitol as a gift from the state of Nevada?
Please send your answers to socialpolicy@catholiccharitiesusa.org
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