January 17, 2020

Inside this issue

• CCUSA Presents the Washington Weekly

  CCUSA Presents the Washington Weekly  
  This week, lawmakers turned their attention to aiding the crisis in Puerto Rico.

The earthquakes began on December 28 and have left one person dead and hundreds of thousands without access to electricity and water. Earlier this week, the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the release of $8.2 billion in previously appropriated funds. The $8.2 billion was initially appropriated to deal with the aftermath of the string of hurricanes damaging the island in 2017. The holdup in releasing the funding, according to HUD, was due to concerns that the money would be mismanaged by officials in Puerto Rico. 

Once the House returns from a weeklong holiday, they will begin debate on a $3.35 billion supplemental aid package for Puerto Rico to deal specifically with the aftermath of multiple earthquakes. The package includes $2 billion in funding for the Community Development Block Grant; $1.25 billion in Federal Highway Administration funding for road repairs; and $100 million in funding for "educational needs" of students in schools damaged by the earthquakes.

The Senate has not yet indicated whether they would be taking up the House bill, or any bill, in their chamber.

Catholic Charities USA continues to support our brothers and sisters in Puerto Rico through prayer, donations, and technical support. If you would like to contribute to those impacted by the earthquakes you can donate here.

Faith and the Common Good Michael Jackson, Sr. from St. John, Virgin Islands, was first to correctly answer that Martin Luther King, Jr. planned for the Poor People's Campaign to take place in 1968. The campaign saw 3,000 people setup a protest camp on the Washington Mall for six weeks, May through June in 1968, and was designed to gain economic justice for poor people in the United States.

The Poor People's Campaign sought to address poverty through income and housing. The campaign would help people who are poor by dramatizing their needs, uniting all races under the commonality of hardship and presenting a plan to start to a solution. Under their "economic bill of rights," the Poor People's Campaign asked for the federal government to prioritize helping people who are poor with a $30 billion anti-poverty package that included, among other demands, a commitment to full employment, a guaranteed annual income measure and more low-income housing. King said, "We believe the highest patriotism demands the ending of the war and the opening of a bloodless war to final victory over racism and poverty".

On Monday our nation celebrates the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King was the most visible spokesperson and leader for the Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established as a national holiday by legislation signed by President Reagan in 1986.

Prayer
Lord, God of Abraham, God of the Prophets, God of Love, you created us, and you call us to live as brothers and sisters. Give us the strength daily to be instruments of peace; enable us to see everyone who crosses our path as our brother or sister. Make us sensitive to the plea of our citizens who entreat us to turn our weapons of war into implements of peace, our trepidation into confident trust, and our quarreling into forgiveness.

Renew our hearts and minds, so that the word which always brings us together will be "brother", and our way of life will always be that of Peace. Amen.

-Excerpt Invocation for Peace by Pope Francis

Trivia What was the first bill Congress passed after the Constitution was ratified?
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.

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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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