November 12, 2021

Inside this issue

• CCUSA Presents the Washington Weekly
• Faith and the Common Good
• Trivia
• Connections

  CCUSA Presents the Washington Weekly  
 
Overview: The country celebrated Veterans Day yesterday, remembering and giving thanks to all men and women who served or are serving in the U.S. military. President Biden will sign the bipartisan infrastructure bill on Monday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) wants to vote on the reconciliation bill next week, but moderates in the House said they want the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to provide a cost estimate for the spending package before a vote is scheduled. It's possible that any action on the reconciliation bill could stretch into December, when Congress must then deal with the Dec. 3 government funding deadline and the debt ceiling. (Bloomberg Government)

Infrastructure and budget reconciliation: President Biden will sign the infrastructure bill on Monday, Nov. 15. The fate of the reconciliation bill remains uncertain, as moderates in the House continue to call for a CBO cost estimate before voting and Senate Republicans may seek emendations to the bill when, and if, it reaches them. As it stands now, the budget reconciliation bill includes more than $1.75 trillion for a variety of administration priorities including housing, child tax credit, climate programs, a new family leave program, and a provision that would allow Medicare to negotiate some drug prices, among others. The bill would also increase certain taxes on high-income individuals, expand subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, and make the child tax credit permanently refundable. (Bloomberg Government) The House version excludes the Hyde amendment and other life protecting policy protections, which CCUSA has urged to be included. CCUSA asked Congress to prioritize programs that reduce poverty, aid those with limited or no income, and protect life: Read the letters Oct. 14, 2021 and Aug. 30, 2021.

Funding the government and debt ceiling: Funding for the government and debt ceiling will expire Dec. 3. At that point, Congress must pass either its full slate of appropriations bills for FY22 or another "continuing resolution" to fund the government at existing levels until the permanent appropriations bills can be passed. 

Economy: "In the week ending Nov. 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial [unemployment insurance] claims was 267,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020, when it was 256,000. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 269,000 to 271,000." (Source) On Wednesday, the government said its consumer price index, which measures price increases on everyday household expenses like gas and groceries, soared 6.2% from a year ago, the biggest 12-month jump in 30 years. The jump has led some people to fear that inflation may not be as short-lived as many had hoped. (Source)

Child tax credit: There is still time to sign up for current child tax credit payments before the Nov. 17 deadline. Click here to access the tool.

Veterans and Consumers Fair Credit Act: CCUSA supports the passage of the VCFCA, which will protect veterans and working families from predatory lending. The bill applies certain military consumer credit protections to all consumers and caps the interest rate on extensions of consumer credit at 35% (Congress.gov). CCUSA joined other faith-based institutions in a press release calling on Congress to pass the VCFCA. 

World Day of the Poor: Caritas Internationalis invites all to mark the 2021 World Day of the Poor (Nov. 14, as well as World Youth Day, Nov. 21) with a week-long initiative animated by Caritas Youth called 'From Prayer to Action: A Celebration of the World Day of the Poor and World Youth Day.' Read more.

Daily Advent reflections from CCUSA: Sunday, Nov. 28, marks the beginning of Advent. Once again, CCUSA will offer daily reflections on each day's Mass readings, authored by Catholic Charities employees and other social concerns ministers. The reflections will arrive by email first thing each morning. Sign up here to receive them.
 
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  Faith and the Common Good  
 
November 8 marked the 124th anniversary of Dorothy Day's birthday. She died Nov. 29, 1980. The fact that she lived in the northeast makes the month of November particularly apt to remember Dorothy. The green leaves that began as fresh buds in the spring now burst forth with a vibrant palette of colors - reds and oranges and yellows - which remind one of the course of Dorothy's life: the youthful enthusiasm agitating for social change growing into a peaceful determination to change the world through union with Jesus. Her passionate efforts to care for people in poverty and to work for peace created many friends and enemies. She perceived, however, through her long and sometimes lonely journey through life that "there is need of only one thing" (Lk 10:42): to receive the love of God that sends us forth to love others. Dorothy found God's love daily in the Eucharist: 

"We go eat of this fruit of the tree of life because Jesus told us to. ...He took upon himself our humanity that we might share in his divinity. We are nourished by his flesh that we may grow to be other Christs. I believe this literally, just as I believe the child is nourished by the milk from his mother's breast." (The Duty of Delight: The Diaries of Dorothy Day, ed. Robert Ellsberg, (New York: Image, 2011) p. 483)
 
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  Trivia  
 
Q. What did Pope Francis officially launch on Oct. 10, 2021?

Please send your answers to [email protected]. 

Last week's question and answer:

Q. What happened on Nov. 5, 1872, that led to a U.S. citizen being convicted in a trial which the same citizen called "the greatest outrage history ever witnessed"?

A. Beverly Earl, director of family and community services at Catholic Charities San Bernardino/Riverside, provided the answer: Susan B. Anthony, a leader in the American women's suffrage movement, cast a ballot in the presidential election, and she was later arrested for voting illegally and convicted in a trial. (Source) Earl added: "The 14th Amendment said that 'No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges of citizens of the United States.' Anthony said, weren't women citizens of the United States? And if citizens could not be denied the right to vote, it seemed plain enough that women could not be denied the right to vote."

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  Connections  
 
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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