August 13, 2021

Inside this issue

• CCUSA Presents the Washington Weekly

  CCUSA Presents the Washington Weekly  
 
Overview: This week saw the Senate pass the long-awaited $550 billion bipartisan infrastructure bill and its 92-page, $3.5 Trillion budget framework.  The vote for the budget framework was 50-49 along party lines and would allow Democrats to move much of President Joe Biden's economic legislative agenda without the need for Republican support. The budget framework would be the largest expansion of the federal safety net since FDR's New Deal. The House will return early on Aug. 23, to pass the budget resolution, but no word on when the House will take up the infrastructure bill. Congressional committees will spend August drafting legislation based on the budget framework's parameters. The budget does not raise the debt ceiling, setting up a fight in the fall. 

Economy: The consumer price index, a key measure of inflation, rose 5.4 percent in July compared to the same month last year as the cost of consumer staples increased, according to Labor Department data released Wednesday. It is the second straight month of year-over-year increases at that level, the biggest jump since 2008. The data marks the latest month in which rising prices have overshadowed wage gains.

Budget: The Senate adopted the $3.5 trillion budget framework, which includes a variety of social policy provisions including many supported by CCUSA such as Medicare and Medicaid expansion for seniors and home-based care, child poverty alleviation, paid family and medical leave, affordable housing, a pathway to citizenship for certain undocumented persons and more. The passage was paired with a "vote-a-rama"-where both parties forced symbolic, roll call votes on dozens of amendments on often contentious issues. Senator Manchin joined Republicans in supporting two amendments on politically charged topics, including a provision supporting the Hyde amendment, a longstanding appropriations rider banning federal funding for abortion. CCUSA has been urging Congress to maintain the Hyde amendment protections. Once the budget measure clears the House, it unlocks the obscure budget reconciliation process that will allow Democrats to pass their $3.5 trillion, expansive bill with just 51 votes in the Senate, bypassing the normal 60 vote threshold, meaning that no Republican support will be necessary to pass the bill.

Eviction Ban Extended and Resources for Assistance: The administration extended the eviction moratorium. With evictions again on hold, tenants now have until October 3 to get government assistance to help pay their rent. To help renters file for assistance, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has a "rental Assistance finder" tool and a Toolkit: Emergency Rental Assistance. Trade groups representing property owners are planning to sue to block the eviction moratorium that President Biden himself warned this week was on shaky legal ground.

Child Tax Credit (CTC) Resources: There is a big push by the Biden administration to include an extension of the expanded CTC, expiring this year, into the budget reconciliation spending package.  The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) has also developed resources that organizations can use to help individuals get their money.

COVID-19 Update: The surge in cases due to the Delta variant continues.  On August 12, 2021, the CDC reported that there were 131,917 new COVID-19 cases and 622 deaths, with 799,331 new cases in the past week. Across the country, 196 million people have received at least one dose of the vaccine, including 167 million people who have been fully vaccinated. The CDC is now advising that everyone regardless of vaccine status wear a mask indoors in public.  COVID-19 Community Corps (CCUSA is a member) is supporting vaccination across the country.  Locate your closest vaccination site here.

Please visit the CCUSA Social Policy/Advocacy page for updates and policy papers. See here.

Faith and the Common Good 

This Sunday, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

Prayer for the Occasion of the Assumption

 Almighty ever-living God, who assumed the Immaculate Virgin Mary,

the Mother of your Son, body and soul into heavenly glory,

grant we pray, that, always attentive to the things that are above,

we may merit to be sharers of her glory.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you

in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Trivia 

Which act was signed on August 20, 1964 to address poverty?

Please send your answers to [email protected]

On August 6th, the trivia question was, "What important event in the U.S. Catholic Church occurred on August 15, 1790?"

Anne Dryden, was the first to submit the answer that John Carroll became the first bishop of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States on August 15, 1790.

In 1790, on the Feast of the Assumption, John Carroll became the first bishop of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. He was consecrated by Bishop Charles Walmesley in the chapel of Lulworth Castle in Dorset, England. He returned to Baltimore on Dec. 7, 1790, where he preached his first sermon at St. Peter's Church, which served as Baltimore's cathedral until a basilica designed by architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe could be built.

During the American Revolutionary War, Carroll, the son of a wealthy Maryland merchant, became involved in the Patriot cause. His cousin, Charles Carroll, signed the Declaration of Independence; his brother, Daniel Carroll, signed the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution.

In 1783, a group of priests convened by Carroll met to discuss how the Catholic Church in the newly formed United States would be governed and its property managed. They drew up a constitution and petitioned Rome to appoint John Lewis, former superior of the Jesuits in Maryland as the superior of American missions. However, Franklin, the U.S. minister to France at the time, persuaded the Vatican to name Carroll instead.

In 1788, Carroll, joined by two fellow priests, successfully petitioned the Holy See for permission to create an American diocese. Baltimore became the seat of the American Catholic Church. Carroll also went on to found what is now Georgetown University, in Washington, D.C., as the first Catholic institution of higher learning in the United States. Administration of the school was entrusted to the Jesuits. It opened in 1791 with future Rep. William Gaston, a North Carolinian, as its first student.

As the chief architect of the U.S. Roman Catholic tradition, Carroll stressed ecumenicalism and civic participation across religious lines. He was elevated to archbishop of Baltimore in 1808, overseeing Catholics in five U.S. dioceses as well as the Danish West Indies. Carroll died in 1815, at the age of 80.

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.

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