November 20, 2020

Inside this issue

• CCUSA Presents the Washington Weekly

  CCUSA Presents the Washington Weekly  
 
Lawmakers ­left town for the Thanksgiving recess without much progress on a coronavirus aid bill or government funding package.

A coronavirus relief package is expected to now be negotiated between the House and the Senate. Prior to the November elections, negotiations were occurring between House leadership and the White House. Now the White House has instructed the House and Senate to come to a consensus for an agreement.  The House and Senate are also up against a December 11 deadline for passing a government funding bill. If they can't reach a deal on the spending package, the government will shut down. Please implore your member of Congress to pass a coronavirus aid package for the millions of families struggling during the pandemic.

The House started some house cleaning for next Congress with Speaker Nancy Pelosi winning her party's nomination for Speaker of the House, though an official vote must occur, and Kevin McCarthy was selected to serve as House Minority Leader. The Senate runoff election on January 5 in Georgia will determine party control in the Senate. Dueling top priorities next Congress will be working to combat the coronavirus and to keep the economy stabilized.

This week, first time unemployment rose by 31,000 as 742,000 people filed claims. This is the first increase in first-time claims in five weeks. In addition, another 320,000 people applied for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program. All told, 20.5 million people, or 1 in 8 workers, received some type of unemployment benefits as of the last week of October.

Coronavirus cases continue to spike across the U.S. with 172,391 new cases reported on November 18. Over the previous week there have been 162,816 cases per day, a 77% increase from the average two weeks earlier. The death toll has increased by 52% over the last 14 days. Altogether there have been 11.6 million cases in the U.S. and more than 251,000 deaths. Catholic Charities USA is praying for all of those impacted by the devastation brought on by the pandemic and encourages everyone to follow CDC guidelines.
 
Faith the Common Good
World Children's Day

World Children's Day was first established in 1954 as Universal Children's Day and is celebrated on November 20 each year to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children's welfare.  On November 20, 1959, the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It is also the date in 1989 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

This year, the COVID-19 crisis has resulted in a child rights crisis. The costs of the pandemic for children are immediate and, if unaddressed, may last a lifetime. Today is an opportunity to stop and work towards a better future for all children.

Prayer for Youth

"Let the children come to me." (Mt. 19:14)

Loving Father, you look with compassion on all your children, especially those who are vulnerable.

May we work to create a world in which every child has access to food, clean water, shelter, education, health care, and all other basic rights.

May we teach youth about their role in working for peace, justice and the common good. 

May we act together to ensure that the lives and dignity of children everywhere can be respected. Amen.

From USCCB handout for World Day of Peace 2012

Lumen Christi Institute webinar
Save the date, December 3 at 7:00 p.m. EST.  Food insecurity has become a leading indicator of well-being in the U.S. due to the tens of millions of food insecure Americans and the accordant negative physical and mental health outcomes and higher health care costs.  Its importance has become even more stark during COVID-19, as rates are predicted to rise by almost 50% in 2020 in comparison to 2019.  Join us for a discussion of food insecurity in the context of Catholic Social Thought with a panel comprised of a theologian, Margaret Pfeil (University of Notre Dame), and of economists Bruce Weber (Oregon State), and Craig Gundersen (University of Illinois), moderated by economist Chris Barrett (Cornell). Click here to register and find more details on the event and speakers.

Trivia
In December 1955, which two labor organizations merged to form one organization? 
Please send your answers to [email protected]
On November 13, the trivia question was, "Which was the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights?"

Steve Letourneau of Catholic Charities of Maine was the first to answer that New Jersey was the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights.  On November 20, 1789, New Jersey became the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights - the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. Of the twelve articles proposed, New Jersey actually approved eleven.

In September 1789, the first Congress of the United States approved 12 amendments to the U.S. Constitution and sent them to the states for ratification. The amendments were designed to protect the basic rights of U.S. citizens, guaranteeing the freedom of speech, press, assembly, and exercise of religion; the right to fair legal procedure and to bear arms; and that powers not delegated to the federal government would be reserved for the states and the people.

On December 15, 1791, Virginia became the 10th of 14 states to approve 10 of the 12 amendments, thus giving the Bill of Rights the majority of state ratification necessary to make it legal. Of the two amendments not ratified, the first concerned the population system of representation, while the second prohibited laws varying the payment of congressional members from taking effect until an election intervened. The first of these two amendments was never ratified, while the second was finally ratified more than 200 years later, in 1992. 
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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