October 4, 2019

Inside this issue

• CCUSA Presents the Washington Weekly

  CCUSA Presents the Washington Weekly  
  Congress is on a short hiatus this week and next because of the Jewish holidays, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Once Congress returns, their focus will be on keeping the government funded. Before Congress left they passed a short-term spending agreement to keep the government funded through November 21st. The inability to collaborate among lawmakers could lead to a government shutdown.

Last month the Census Bureau released its annual American Community Survey providing data on the levels of poverty, income inequality, and health insurance across the country. The Washington Weekly would like to highlight some of the recent news in poverty data.
The official poverty rate in 2018 was 11.8% or 38.1 million people. This year's poverty rate is a decrease of 0.5 percentage points from 2017 and marks the first time that poverty was significantly lower since 2007. The data indicates that while unemployment has been low, 3.5 percent in September, people with lower incomes have continued to struggle recovering from the great recession.
Health insurance coverage in 2018 decreased from the previous year with 91.5% coverage in 2018 compared to 92.1% in 2017. Eight states saw an increase of people without health insurance in 2018.
The Census found that income inequality is on the rise. In fact, income inequality is at the highest level since the Census Bureau began tracking it over 50 years ago. The Census Bureau uses the Gini index to measure inequality, with a measure of 0 representing total equality and 1 representing total inequality. The first inequality measure using the Gini index saw U.S. inequality at 0.397, but in 2018 it was 0.485.

Catholic Charities USA remains committed to serving the millions people struggling in poverty and advocating for justice in social structures. We commit ourselves to break down walls of division that keep sisters and brothers separated from one another, excluded, or rendered disposable by our society.

Faith and the Common Good Christine Hyland from Oakton, Virginia who has been a proud member of CCUSA since 1980 correctly identified José Andrés as the James Beard award-winning chef who started World Central Kitchen.  The James Beard Foundation has awarded José Andrés numerous awards in including Best Chef of the Mid-Atlantic Region in 2003, Outstanding Chef in 2011, and Humanitarian of the Year in 2018.  He has also received numerous awards and recognition by the media. 

In response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Andrés formed World Central Kitchen which provides healthy food to families and individuals touched by disasters. Since its founding, World Central Kitchen has organized meals in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Zambia, Peru, Cuba, Uganda, and in Cambodia.  In January 2019 Andrés opened a World Central Kitchen in Washington DC to feed federal workers that were furloughed during the government shutdown.

Andrés emerged as a leader of the disaster relief efforts in Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria in 2017.  He organized a grass-roots movement of chefs and volunteers to establish communications, food supplies, and other resources and started serving meals. Andrés and his organization World Central Kitchen served more than two million meals in the first month after the hurricane.  For his efforts in Puerto Rico, Andrés was named the 2018 Humanitarian of the Year by the James Beard Foundation.  He wrote a book about the experience called We Fed an Island: The True Story of Rebuilding Puerto Rico, One Meal at a Time.
World Central Kitchen is currently feeding people in the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian and to date have served more than 250,000 meals.
 
Trivia Who was the first woman to chair a standing committee in the House of Representatives?

Please send your answers to [email protected] 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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