August 21, 2020

Inside this issue

• CCUSA Presents the Washington Weekly

  CCUSA Presents the Washington Weekly  
 
Lawmakers were out of Washington and in their home districts this week. Although Congress has broken for August recess, congressional leaders continued to negotiate over the next coronavirus aid package.

House leadership has signaled that they are willing to meet halfway with the White House and Senate. The House passed a $3 trillion package in May, while the Senate proposed a narrower $1 trillion package in July. The House has not provided further details on which areas they are willing to negotiate. The Senate also signaled this week further willingness to negotiate and provided an even narrower aid package that highlights their top priorities. The draft bill, being described as the "skinny bill," among other provisions, includes a weekly unemployment insurance boost of $300 and another round of Payment Protection Program funds for organizations needing additional loans.

Congressional leaders indicated that they were willing to call Congress back to Washington to vote on a potential package. In the meantime, 11 states have signed-on to the White House plan for unemployment assistance. President Trump signed an executive order tapping into FEMA funds to pay for an additional $300 in weekly unemployment benefits. FEMA said they have thus far approved Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Utah for access to three weeks of funds totaling $2.4 billion. States have until September 10 to apply for the funds, unless Congress and the White House pass another coronavirus aid bill prior to the deadline. It is expected that the $44 billion in total funds available will cover all states for roughly three to four weeks.

The Labor Department also reported that 1.1 million people filed for new unemployment claims last week. This is an increase over last week's report of 971,000 claims. There were also 543,000 new claims last week for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a separate program aimed at self-employed people and others not covered by traditional unemployment benefits. The increase surprised some economists and highlights the fragility of the economy.

Catholic Charities USA is calling on Congress to come together and find solutions to help the millions of struggling families.  You can help by telling Congress you stand with Catholic Charities and urge them to continue providing help to the millions of people still struggling.

Faith and the Common Good Tomorrow the Church celebrates the Memorial of the Queenship of Mary.  In his encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam, Pope Pius XII stated: "In order to understand better this sublime dignity of the Mother of God over all creatures let us recall that the holy Mother of God was, at the very moment of her Immaculate Conception, so filled with grace as to surpass the grace of all the Saints. Wherefore, as Our Predecessor of happy memory, Pius IX wrote, God 'showered her with heavenly gifts and graces from the treasury of His divinity so far beyond what He gave to all the angels and saints that she was ever free from the least stain of sin; she is so beautiful and perfect, and possesses such fullness of innocence and holiness, that under God a greater could not be dreamed, and only God can comprehend the marvel.'"
Ad Caeli Reginam, Pope Pius XII, October 11, 1954

O Mary Immaculate Queen, look down upon this distressed and suffering world. You know our misery and our weakness. O thou who art our Mother, saving us in the hour of peril, have compassion on us in these days of great and heavy trial.

Jesus has confided to you the treasure of His grace, and through you He wills to grant us pardon and mercy. In these hours of anguish, therefore, your children come to you as their hope.

We recognize your Queenship and ardently desire your triumph. We need a Mother and a Mother's Heart. You are for us the luminous dawn which dissipates our darkness and points out the way to life. In your clemency obtain for us the courage and the confidence of which we have such need.

Most Holy and Adorable Trinity, You Who did crown with glory in Heaven the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Savior, grant that all her children on earth may acknowledge her as their Sovereign Queen, that all hearts, homes, and nations may recognize her rights as Mother and as Queen. 

Mary Immaculate Queen, triumph and reign!

Amen

Trivia
At the time that it occurred, it was the largest march ever held in Washington, D.C., what was the name of the march and how many people attended?
Please send your answers to [email protected]
On August 14th, the trivia question was, "Which series of debates discussed slavery and its influence on American politics and society-and is now a popular format for high school debates?"

Tom Tuttle, a proud Notre Dame alumnus, correctly identified the Lincoln-Douglas debates as this well-known series of debates.

The Lincoln-Douglas debates also known as the Great Debates of 1858, were a series of formal political debates between the challenger, Abraham Lincoln, and the incumbent, Stephen A. Douglas, in a campaign for one of Illinois' two United States Senate seats. Although Lincoln lost the election, these debates launched him into national prominence which eventually led to his election as President of the United States.

Lincoln and Douglas agreed to debate in seven of the nine Illinois Congressional Districts. In each debate either Douglas or Lincoln would open with an hour address. The other would then speak for an hour and a half. The first then had 30 minutes of rebuttal. In the seven debates, Douglas, as the incumbent, was allowed to go first four times.

Today, a Lincoln-Douglas debate (more commonly referred to as LD) is a competitive speaking activity that involves two debaters arguing for and against a resolution that is selected by the NFL (National Forensics League) and voted on by coaches. LD debates concern themselves with deciding whether or not certain actions, or states of affairs, are good or bad, right or wrong, moral or immoral.
Please share the weekly with your friends, family and networks so that we can build a movement of solidarity for those most in need!

You can also access advocacy opportunities through our advocacy and policy page.

Stay connected with our work to end poverty, follow us on Twitter at @CCharitiesUSA.

If you would like to help further Catholic Charities' commitment to alleviating, reducing, and preventing poverty you can contribute here.
   

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