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February 16, 2024


News


Overview: Last week, the Senate advanced the foreign aid supplemental spending bill without border provisions. The bill is now before the House, where it faces significant opposition.

Congress remains divided on how to distribute the $1.66 trillion agreed upon for the 12 appropriations bills. If the members want to avoid another government shutdown, they must pass their measures before stopgap funding ends for Agriculture, Energy-Water, Military Construction-VA, and Transportation-HUD on March 1 and for Commerce-Justice-Science, Defense, Financial Services-General Government, Homeland Security, Interior-Environment, Labor-HHS-Education, Legislative Branch, and State-Foreign Operations on March 8.

Anti-human trafficking: The Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2023 (H.R. 5856 ([link removed])) passed the House this week and is now before the Senate. The bill would allocate around $1 billion ([link removed]) to provide community education programs, enhanced preventive measures, and reintegration programs for survivors.

Convening on homelessness: Attend one of CCUSA's regional convenings on homelessness, which will be co-hosted by local Catholic Charities agencies. Registration is open for Oakland, Calif.; St. Petersburg, Fla.; Dallas, Texas; Philadelphia, Pa.; and Providence, RI. There is no cost to register, but space is limited. Also, a limited number of stipends for travel costs are available to Catholic Charities agency staff members.

Called Advocacy Forums: A Convening on Practical Solutions to Address Homelessness ([link removed]), the convenings will provide a platform to share challenges, ideas, solutions, and models of best practices for addressing homelessness. Presenters will include CCUSA staff, Catholic Charities leaders, community leaders, and local, state, and federal agency staff. The inaugural forum will be hosted by Catholic Charities East Bay in Oakland, CA, on February 28 - 29, 2024.

Child Tax Credit: The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 is before the Senate (after passing the House), where it faces potential amendments that would weaken the legislation and make fewer families eligible for the credit. You can still urge your senators to pass the bill with an expanded Child Tax Credit by using CCUSA's action alert ([link removed]).

Economy: In the week ending February 10, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims ([link removed]) was 212,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 218,000 to 220,000. The 4-week moving average was 218,250, an increase of 5,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 500 from 212,250 to 212,750.

Immigration reform and border security: Read CCUSA president and CEO Kerry Alys Robinson's letter to congressional leadership ([link removed]) urging bipartisan compromise on addressing the humanitarian crisis at the southern border and CCUSA's statement ([link removed]) re-emphasizing the need for serious, bi-partisan reforms that prioritize border security and human dignity.

Message from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: The CFPB never contacts people and asks them for sensitive information or to pay money. This means we never ask people to pay an upfront fee or taxes, or tell people they have won a lottery, sweepstakes, or class-action lawsuit. If you're contacted by someone from the CFPB and want to confirm whether it's real or a scam, call our consumer call center at (855) 411-2372 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday. Report CFPB imposter scams to the Federal Reserve Office of the Inspector General ([link removed]) Report consumer scams to the Federal Trade Commission ([link removed])

 

Trivia

When does Lent end?

Please send your answers to Mourning and repentance ([link removed]) -- In Biblical days, those in repentance and mourning put ashes on their head. For this reason, Ash Wednesday observers put ashes (from the previous years' Palm Sunday palms) on their forehead.

 

Connections

Please share CCUSA's Washington Weekly ([link removed]) with your friends, family and networks so that we can build a movement of solidarity for those most in need!

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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