August 27, 2021

Inside this issue

• CCUSA Presents the Washington Weekly

  CCUSA Presents the Washington Weekly  
 
Overview: This week was dominated by the dire situation in Afghanistan. On Thursday, 13 U.S. service members were killed and 15 wounded following a suicide bomb-the first U.S. troops to be killed in Afghanistan in 18 months. 170 people have been reported killed and 200 wounded. ISIS-K carried out the attack, one of the deadliest assaults on American forces in the country in 20 years. The administration has set an August 31 deadline for U.S. troops withdrawal. 

The House passed the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation resolution, setting the stage for debate and crafting of the $3.5 trillion social spending package. Committees have been given until September 15 to complete their pieces of the legislation.  

The eviction moratorium was overturned by the Supreme Court. 

Economy: The economy expanded a real, annualized 6.6 percent in the second quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said Thursday. A seasonally adjusted 353,000 people filed initial claims for unemployment benefits in the week ending August 21, the Labor Department said Thursday. 

House Passes $3.5 Trillion Budget Package: On Tuesday, the House advanced the $3.5T budget reconciliation resolution, ending a stalemate between Speaker Pelosi and 9 moderate Democrats. As part of the deal, Speaker Pelosi promised a September 27 House vote on the Senate-passed infrastructure bill. Having both chambers pass the budget resolution was key to unlocking the filibuster-proof process in the Senate, which is essential to pass the massive spending plan with just 51 votes. After the vote Tuesday, the House technically went back to recess. However, the agreement reached kicked off a flurry of activity that will continue over the next several weeks as top House Democrats work with their Senate counterparts to privately craft a spending bill that can pass both chambers, adding specifics to programs like Paid Family and Medical Leave, Medicare and Medicaid expansion, Child Tax Credit, affordable housing, immigration and other key social safety-net provisions. House Committees have said they will begin marking up legislation in early September. September 15 is Pelosi's deadline for committees to complete their work. 

Eviction Ban Blocked: The Supreme Court blocked the administration's eviction moratorium on Thursday, ending eviction protection for millions of vulnerable Americans. The court said that "if a federally imposed eviction moratorium is to continue, Congress must specifically authorize it," in an unsigned, eight-page opinion. The three liberal justices dissented. 

Child Tax Credit (CTC) Resources: The Child Tax Credit was expanded in recent COVID-19 relief legislation to give more needy families immediate, monthly help. There is a big push by the Biden administration to continue the expanded program, which expires this year, by including it in the budget reconciliation spending package.  The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has also developed resources that organizations can use to help individuals access these funds.  

Voting Right Passed: On Tuesday, the House passed the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement act.  The bill was passed on a 219-to-212 party-line vote.  This bill is unlikely to advance in the Senate due to Republican opposition. 

COVID-19 Update: The surge in cases due to the Delta variant continues with cases rising among children.  On August 26, 2021, the CDC reported that there were 164,952 new COVID-19 cases and 1,229 deaths, with 944,042 new cases in the past week. Across the country, 202 million people have received at least one dose of the vaccine, including 172 million people who have been fully vaccinated.  On August 23, 2021, the FDA has granted full approval for Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine. CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet on Monday, August 30, 2021, to discuss its updated recommendation for this vaccine.  Federal regulators are likely to approve a Covid-19 booster shot for vaccinated adults starting at least six months after the previous dose rather than the eight-month gap they previously announced, as the Biden administration steps up preparations for delivering boosters to the public.  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 week, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Monica on August 27th and her son, St. Augustine of Hippo on August 28th.  St. Monica was an early African Christian saint and recognized as the patron saint of mothers. Her faith and dedication to motherhood played a pivotal role in the spiritual formation of one of the most brilliant philosophers and well-known saints of all time.  

St. Augustine of Hippo was canonized in 1303.   His writings influenced the development of Western philosophy and Western Christianity, and he is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers.  His many important works include The City of God, On Christian Doctrine, and Confessions. 

In his writings, he spoke about the importance of humility.
"Humility is the foundation of all the other virtues hence, in the soul in which this virtue does not exist there cannot be any other virtue except in mere appearance." 

 "If you should ask me what are the ways of God, I would tell you that the first is humility, the second is humility, and the third is humility. Not that there are no other precepts to give, but if humility does not precede all that we do, our efforts are fruitless." 

In celebration of the 1650th anniversary of his birthday in 2004, Pope St. John Paul II, offered this prayer.  

O great Augustine, our father and teacher, 

who knows the shining paths of God 

and also the crooked paths of men, 

we admire the marvels that divine Grace 

has worked in you, 

making you a passionate witness 

to truth and goodness 

at the service of your neighbour. 

At the start of a new millennium marked by the Cross of Christ, 

teach us to read history 

in the light of divine Providence, 

which guides events to the 

final encounter with the Father. 

Guide us towards goals of peace, 

kindling in our hearts 

your own desire for the values 

upon which we, 

with the strength that comes from God, 

can build the "city of Man". 

May the profound teaching that you drew, 

with loving and patient study, 

from the ever-living sources of Scripture 

enlighten all who are tempted today 

by alienating mirages. 

May you obtain for them the courage 

to set out on the way 

towards that "inner man" in whom the One, 

who alone can restore peace 

to our restless hearts, awaits. 

So many of our contemporaries seem to have 

lost the hope of reaching, 

amidst the many conflicting ideologies, 

the truth that they continue to yearn for 

in depths of their hearts. 

Teach them never to give up their quest 

in the certainty that, 

in the end, their efforts will be rewarded 

by the fulfilling encounter 

with that supreme Truth, who is the Source 

of every created truth. 

Lastly, O St Augustine, 

communicate to us too a spark 

of that burning love for the Church, 

the Catholic mother of the Saints, 

which sustained and gave life 

to the efforts of your own long ministry. 

Enable us, as we walk together under 

the guidance of our legitimate Pastors, 

to reach the glory of the heavenly Homeland 

where, with all the Blesseds, 

we can join in singing 

the new and eternal Alleluia. 

Amen. 

--Pope St. John Paul II, November 11, 2004 

Trivia 

Which encyclical was written 90 years ago and articulated the important ideal of subsidiarity? 

Please send your answers to [email protected] 

On August 20th, the trivia question was, "Name an event that occurred on August 28th that highlighted disparity or civil rights in the U.S." 

Elena Garcia was the first to submit an answer and also submitted every answer that would have been deemed correct.  Here are the events in chronological order: 

August 28, 1833: Slavery was abolished in the United Kingdom.    

August 28, 1955: 14-year-old Emmett Till was brutally murdered by three white men.  Emmett's mother Mamie Till-Mobley insisted that his casket remain open and said, "I wanted the world to see what they did to my baby." 

August 28, 1963: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his iconic "I Have A Dream" speech in Washington, D.C. at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom 

August 28, 2005: Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana. The storm, which devastated New Orleans, highlighted the economic disparity of the city. 

August 28, 2008: Then-Senator Barack Obama accepted the democratic nomination for president. 

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