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March 1, 2024


News


Overview: Both the House and the Senate voted to continue stopgap funding to keep the government from shutting down, after reports that congressional appropriators reached an agreement on six of the 12 appropriations bills.The new funding deadlines will be March 8 (for the departments of Agriculture, Transportation-HUD, Interior, Commerce, Energy-Water, and Veterans Affairs) and March 22 (for Pentagon, Homeland Security, Labor-HHS, State Department, Financial Services, and Legislative Branch). President Biden is expected to sign the stopgap bill into law today.

CCUSA staff participated in the first homelessness advocacy forum hosted by Catholic Charities East Bay (Calif.) on Feb. 28-29. Participants were enthusiastic about being part of a national advocacy network on homelessness. See the paragraph "Convening on homelessness" below to register for upcoming forums.

Economy: In the week ending February 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims ([link removed]) was 215,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 201,000 to 202,000. The 4-week moving average was 212,500, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 215,250 to 215,500.

Convening on homelessness: Attend one of CCUSA's regional convenings on homelessness, which will be co-hosted by local Catholic Charities agencies. Representatives from the government and faith-based organizations will share challenges, ideas, solutions, and models of best practices for addressing homelessness. Registration ([link removed]) is open for St. Petersburg, Fla. (March 14-15); Dallas, Texas (May 7-8); Philadelphia, Pa. (June 5-6); Providence, RI (June 24-25); and Phoenix, Ariz. (Oct. 24-25). 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.

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

 

Trivia

Congress avoided yet another shutdown this week. When and how long was the lengthiest shutdown?

Please send your answers to answer ([link removed]): Jesus spent 40 days in the desert praying and fasting in order to prepare for his public ministry (Luke 4:1-13).

 

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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