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A full week under the new Biden administration saw a flurry of executive actions taken and the push for another coronavirus aid package.
In little over a week, President Biden has signed more than three dozen executive orders and directives on a wide array of issues. The president's executive actions include steps to address the coronavirus pandemic, environmental regulations, and reversing some of the previous administration's actions concerning immigration, racial justice and preventing non-governmental organizations from making patients aware of the availability of abortion services overseas. It is common for a new president to use executive actions in the beginning to implement portions of their agenda under the purview of the Executive Branch of government. Executive action is one tool a president has at his or her disposal, but to go past managing the operations of the federal government, legislation is required for broader policy changes.
President Biden this week continued to make the case for his proposed $1.9 trillion in additional coronavirus aid. Discussions center around whether the bill will be negotiated and passed in a bipartisan manner in the Senate or if it will be passed in the Senate with a simple majority using the budget reconciliation process. Democratic leadership in the Senate and House have indicated that they are planning on moving forward with the reconciliation process next week if they are unable to get Republicans to the negotiating table.
This week saw 847,000 Americans file for first-time unemployment benefits on a seasonally-adjusted basis -- a decrease from the 914,000 claims from the week before. Another 426,856 people filed for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which targets workers not eligible for regular state benefits. The historic use of these unemployment programs continues to underscore the vast impact the pandemic has had on the economy.
On January 28, the U.S. had at least 165,264 new coronavirus cases and 3,868 new coronavirus deaths. The number of cases is down 34 percent from the average two weeks earlier and deaths are down 2 percent from two weeks ago. Nearly 1.2 million people are receiving the coronavirus vaccine each day. Yet, only 6 percent of people in the U.S. have received the initial dose, and only 1 percent have received both doses. Please contact your state health department for more information on its plan for COVID-19 vaccination.
Faith and the Common Good
As we finish out the month of January, we must still bear witness to the loss due to COVID-19. As of this morning, more than 433,000 people have lost their lives, often without their family members by their side. We mourn with those who lost their loved ones and pray for the strength of all of our essential workers.
Your Peace
God, who is more than we can ever comprehend,
help us to seek you,
and you alone.
Help us to stand before all that we could do
and seek what you would do,
and do that.
Lift from us our need to achieve all that we can be
and instead,
surrender to what you can be in us.
Give us ways to refrain from the busyness
that will put us on edge and off center,
give us today your peace.
- Author Unknown
Trivia
Araminta Ross is the birth name of which American hero?
Please send your answers to socialpolicy@catholiccharitiesusa.org
On January 22, the trivia question was, " President Biden is the oldest president at the time of inauguration, but who was the youngest U.S. president and how old were they when inaugurated?"
Dana Sebastian-Duncan of the Queen of Peace Center was the first to correctly identify Theodore Roosevelt. The youngest person to assume the presidency was Theodore Roosevelt, who, at the age of 42 years, 322 days, succeeded to the office after the assassination of William McKinley. The youngest to become president by election was John F. Kennedy, who was 43 years, 236 days, at his inauguration.
Theodore Roosevelt Jr., was often referred to as Teddy Roosevelt or his initials T. R. He was an American statesman, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer, who served as the 26th president of the United States from 1901 to 1909.
He was home-schooled and began a lifelong naturalist avocation before attending Harvard College. His book The Naval War of 1812 (1882) established his reputation as a learned historian and as a popular writer.
Upon entering politics, he became the leader of the reform faction of Republicans in New York's state legislature. He served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy under President William McKinley, but he resigned from that post to lead the Rough Riders during the Spanish-American War, returning a war hero. He served as 33rd governor of New York from 1899 to 1900.
After Vice President Garret Hobart died in 1899, the New York state party leadership convinced McKinley to accept Roosevelt as his running mate in the 1900 election. Roosevelt campaigned vigorously, and the McKinley-Roosevelt ticket won a landslide victory based on a platform of peace, prosperity, and conservation. After McKinley's assassination, he served as the 25th vice president of the United States from March to September 1901.
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