Overview: Congress returns from its Memorial Day recess next week. Washington Weekly noted already that the House version of the Farm Bill had passed out of the Agriculture Committee, but another item not noted is the rejection of an amendment that would bar the Agriculture Department from entering contracts with processing plants that violate child labor and minimum wage laws. Instead, a General Accountability Office study of the issue was recommended. Read the letter signed by CCUSA asking the House and Senate Agriculture committees to prioritize in the Farm Bill programs that feed the hungry and opposing burdensome cuts to future SNAP benefits.
Economy: In the week ending May 25, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 219,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 215,000 to 216,000. The 4-week moving average was 222,500, an increase of 2,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 219,750 to 220,000.
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, Catholic Charities agencies, and other faith-based organizations will share challenges, ideas, solutions, and models of best practices for addressing homelessness. Information gathered from the convenings will be used to produce a white paper and prepare for a national summit on preventing homelessness. Registration is open for Providence, RI (June 24-25); Minneapolis, Minn. (Aug. 8-9); and Phoenix, Ariz. (Oct. 24-25). There is no cost to register, but space is limited. A limited number of stipends for travel costs are available to Catholic Charities agency staff members, and continuing education credits are available as well.
More on homelessness: The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) helps communities end homelessness. USICH encourages you to contact your regional advisor. USICH is also hosting, on June 4, 2024, at 3 p.m. ET, an interactive 1-hour webinar called "19 Strategies for Communities to Address Encampments Humanely and Effectively." The webinar will include a facilitated conversation with communities and people with lived experience, as well as Q&A with the webinar audience.