December 19, 2025

Overview: Four House Republicans joined Democrats this week to force a House vote on a straight three-year extension of the enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits that will expire Dec. 31. The vote will take place in January. Meanwhile, House Republicans passed a health care package without the subsidies. Both measures are unlikely to pass in the Senate.

The CCUSA Government Relations team prays that you and your families and friends have a blessed Christmas and New Year. May the incarnation of Jesus spur us to love our brothers and sisters just as he did. 

The Washington Weekly will return on January 9, 2026.

Economy: In the week ending December 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 224,000, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 236,000 to 237,000. The 4-week moving average was 217,500, an increase of 500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 216,750 to 217,000. 

Housing: The House Financial Services Committee advanced the Housing for the 21st Century Act. The bill includes the proposal to lift the Public Welfare Investment cap from 15 to 20 percent. It also exempts HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds from requirements in the Build America, Buy America Act.

Work requirements: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released guidelines regarding states' implementation of work requirements created by the Working Families Tax Cut legislation. According to the guidance, states must implement these requirements by January 1, 2027.

For Christians, the poor are not a sociological category, but the very "flesh" of Christ. It is not enough to profess the doctrine of God's Incarnation in general terms. To enter truly into this great mystery, we need to understand clearly that the Lord took on a flesh that hungers and thirsts, and experiences infirmity and imprisonment. "A poor Church for the poor begins by reaching out to the flesh of Christ. If we reach out to the flesh of Christ, we begin to understand something, to understand what this poverty, the Lord's poverty, actually is; and this is far from easy." Pope Leo XIV, Dilexi te, No. 110

Q. When was the "Hail Mary" first included in the Roman Breviary?

Please send your answers to [email protected]. 

Previous question and answer:

Q. Today, Dec. 12, is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. In the famous image of Mary associated with the feast, what kind of clothing is the Blessed Mother wearing?

A. Many thanks to Beatriz Diaz Taveras, director of public and community engagement at Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of  New York, for being first with the right answer: The Blessed Mother is wearing a reddish-pink tunic and a turquoise-blue mantle decorated with golden stars signifying her queenly status and connection to Aztec royalty.

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