December 22, 2020

Inside this issue

• CCUSA Presents the Washington Weekly

  CCUSA Presents the Washington Weekly  
  Ahead of Christmas, Congress finished the nation's business with a flurry of legislation. The primary highlights include Congress finally passing a pandemic aid bill and an omnibus government funding package. There was also other additional legislation, including tax extenders, extended charitable giving incentives, HBC loan forgiveness, and Pell grant restoration for incarcerated prisoners.

The $900 billion aid package comes as many provisions in the CARES Act were set to expire at the end of the year. The House and Senate overwhelmingly passed the bill after months of negotiating. The bill has many provisions to assist the millions of families struggling including:
$600 stimulus checks per adult and child for household incomes at or below $150,000, $75,000 for individuals. It also includes eligible "mixed status" families who were left out of the first round.
$300 per week in enhanced unemployment insurance for 11 weeks
$284 billion for loans through the Paycheck Protection Program
$25 billion in rental assistance 
Extension of the eviction moratorium
$13 billion in increased SNAP and child nutrition benefits
$82 billion in education, with $10 billion dedicated to child care
Billions for vaccine distribution and COVID-19 testing
Language ending surprise billing for emergency and scheduled care
A tax credit for employers offering paid sick leave and extension of the Employee Retention Tax Credit

The $1.4 trillion omnibus combined 12 spending bills into one and funds agency operating budgets through September 30th, 2021. The bill is $20 billion over existing budget limits for domestic programs. Portions of the funding increases are targeted to many Catholic Charities programs including:
$114 billion in mandatory SNAP funding
$6 billion in discretionary WIC funding
$25.1 billion in mandatory funding for child nutrition programs
Maintains the '10-20-30' policy of dedicating rural development program resources to identified persistent poverty areas.
Over $400 million for the Department of Justice's First Step Act activities
$130 million for the Emergency Food and Shelter program
$2.8 billion for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Grants
$6 billion for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
$1.7 billion for the Health Centers program
$5.9 billion for Child Care and Development Block Grant
$10.7 billion for Head Start
$3.8 for Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program
$455 million for AmeriCorps State and National Grants
$3.43 billion for Refugee Assistance (MRA)
$25.8 billion for Tenant-based Rental Assistance
$3.5 billion for Community Development Block Grant programs
$3 billion for Homeless Assistance Grants
$13.5 billion for Project-Based Rental Assistance
$855 million for Housing for the Elderly

Catholic Charities USA is appreciative that Congress came together to provide short-term relief for millions of families, but concerns remain. In a statement CCUSA President and CEO Sister Donna Markham, OP, PhD said, "This bill is a temporary reprieve, a short-term lifeline that is a step in the right direction. However, what people need is long-term stability. As we have been saying since March, the ability for nonprofits such as Catholic Charities to provide the most basic of needs to the staggering number of individuals and families is not sustainable without federal assistance."

You can read the full statement here.  Thank you to everyone that wrote to Congress encouraging them to support a COVID aid package.  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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