• • CCUSA Presents the Washington Weekly
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Overview: Midterm election results suggest a nation still divided on important issues such as the protection of the human person in the womb, election integrity, crime and inflation. Control of both houses of Congress have yet to be determined. House races in Nevada and Arizona, and a few other states, may take days for final results. In the Senate, results for Nevada and Arizona still need to be finalized, and Georgia will have a runoff to decide the race between incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) and Herschel Walker (R). Be sure to register for the CCUSA social policy team’s webinar on Nov. 14, when we will take a deeper dive concerning the midterm elections and what to expect going forward.

Advocacy webinar: Join us Monday, Nov. 14, at 1:30 p.m. Eastern time, for an analysis of the midterm election results with policy experts from the ArentFox Schiff law firm and a legislative update from the CCUSA Social Policy Team. Topics will include federal appropriations and other CCUSA priorities for the remaining Congressional session, a forecast of the upcoming 118th Congress, and a brief overview of the new CCUSA Advocacy Manual. Register in advance for this webinar here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Letter regarding the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program: CCUSA and the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA) submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on proposed rulemaking to streamline the Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Basic Health Program application, eligibility determination, enrollment and renewal process. Finalizing the proposed policy changes will aid the many beneficiaries we serve. The comment letter encourages CMS to work closely with states to set implementation dates for the policies. Read the full letter here.

Volunteers and nursing students pose for a photo at the Birthright of Columbia, S.C., after a baby shower in this November 2021 photo. Founded in 1980, the Columbia pregnancy center serves about 300 women a year. (CNS photo/courtesy Birthright of Columbia)

12-month Medicaid postpartum coverage: CCUSA joined the Catholic Health Association of the United States and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Domestic Policy Committee in urging Congress to establish 12-month Medicaid postpartum coverage and Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance continuous coverage for children as required federal benefits. Read the full letter here.

Temporary Protected Status: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has extended a protected status that temporarily prevents noncitizens from being deported to mid-2024 for nationals of six countries. The Temporary Protected Status (TPS) will be extended to June 30, 2024, for citizens of Haiti, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Sudan, Honduras, and Nepal.

Medicaid webinar: The end of the COVID-19 federal Public Health Emergency declaration will trigger the reevaluation of over 80 million Medicaid beneficiaries' continued eligibility for coverage across the country. As states plan for the resumption of eligibility redeterminations and disenrollments, the process could lead to significant coverage disruptions and losses for millions of Medicaid beneficiaries. Join us as we continue the conversation about the issue and what Catholic health care providers can do to prevent coverage loss for Medicaid beneficiaries. Speakers include CCUSA's Ben Wortham, vice president of behavioral health integration. Date: Nov. 16, 2022. Time: 2 to 3 p.m. ET. Register here.

Economy: In the week ending November 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial [unemployment] claims was 225,000, an increase of 7,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 217,000 to 218,000. The 4-week moving average was 218,750, a decrease of 250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 218,750 to 219,000.

Advocacy manual: The CCUSA social policy team has updated an advocacy manual that can now be accessed on the CCUSA website. From the CCUSA home page, the user clicks on the “Advocacy” tag, which takes the user to the Advocacy page. Scroll down to “Resources,” where one can find the manual, titled “Faith, Action, Justice: A Manual for Legislative Advocacy.”

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This Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022, the Catholic Church celebrates the sixth World Day of the Poor, which was established by Pope Francis at the conclusion of the Year of Mercy in 2016. This year, the pope chose for the day's theme a truth about Jesus proclaimed in 2 Corinthians 8:9, "...for your sake he became poor."

Jesus, a divine person and therefore rich, chose to become poor, to share our humanity, out of love for us and to invite us to share in his divinity. His choice, moreover, manifested itself not only in word but also in deed: He came among us teaching, preaching, and healing, with special attention to those who were poor and vulnerable. And he died that we might live forever in heaven.

Pope Francis, in his message for the World Day of the Poor, invites us to follow the example of Jesus. Specifically, the pope asks us to encounter and serve those who are poor out of a spirit of love and solidarity. It's the same invitation Paul gave to the Corinthians: To show concern for the poor not in obedience to a command, but as a way of "testing the genuineness of [their] love" (2 Cor 8:8).

The life-size bronze statue “Sheltering,” by Timothy Paul Schmalz. The sculpture, which depicts a homeless person being covered with a blanket drawn over him by a dove, was blessed by Pope Francis at his Wednesday audience, Nov. 9, 2022. “Sheltering” was commissioned to help highlight global homelessness and encourage housing solutions in keeping with the “13 Houses Campaign” mission of the Vincentians.

Pope Francis cautions against approaching the poor with a "welfare mentality" or only with a spirit of activism. Rather, we can choose to love those who are poor (and all people, really) and approach them as our brothers and sisters, which they truly are, if we say sincerely "Our Father."

A wonderful thing happens when we exercise this preferential option for the poor, which is a fundamental principle of Catholic Social Teaching. We honor not only the God-given dignity of our brother or sister, but also our own dignity. And when we share God's love, we are immersed in it more deeply than if we simply tried to hold on to it. As the pope says in his message, true wealth consists "in a reciprocal love that leads us to bear one another's burdens in such a way that no one is left behind or excluded."

So, the invitation remains: What can I do to love those who are poor and vulnerable? What action can I take as an individual, a church member, a citizen, or as part of an organization? What can I do, knowing that all that I do in and through Jesus cooperates in the victory of love he has already accomplished?

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Q. When was the first Veterans’ Day? (Hint: It came after the first Armistice Day.)

Please send your answers to [email protected]. 

Last week's question and answer:

Q. Who became the first person since Benjamin Harrison to be elected U.S. president despite having lost the nationwide popular vote?

A. Thanks to Sylvia C. Loumeau, director of clinical and social work services at Catholic Charities, Diocese of Camden, for being first with the right answer: George W. Bush. 

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Please share the weekly with your friends, family and networks so that we can build a movement of solidarity for those most in need!

Be sure to text "CCUSA" to #50457 to receive our action alerts! 

You can also access advocacy opportunities through our advocacy and policy page.

Stay connected with our work to end poverty: Follow us on Twitter: @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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