Catholic Charities USA Washington Weekly 11/9/09
November 9, 2009
Volume 4 Number 36
Inside this issue:
- House Approves Health Care Reform Legislation
- Congress Approves Extension of UI Benefits and Homebuyer Tax Credit
- House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on CAPTA
- Unemployment Rate Surpasses Ten Percent in October
- USDA Hosts Webinar for Catholic Charities Agencies on Summer Food Service Program
- Application Period Opens for E Pluribus Unum Prize Supporting Exceptional Immigrant Integration Initiatives
House Approves Health Care Reform Legislation
On November 7, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the “Affordable Health Care for America Act” (H.R. 3962) by a vote of 220 to 215. The landmark vote came after the House accepted an amendment to place restrictions on the use of federal funds for elected abortion coverage. The Stupak-Ellsworth-Pitts-Smith-Kaptur-Dahlkemper Amendment reflects current federal policy known as the Hyde Amendment. It would prohibit the use of federal funding for abortion under the public health insurance option and prohibits the use of federal affordability credits to purchase a health insurance policy that covers abortion. The final package includes a number of significant reforms to the nation’s health care system including:
- Expanding Medicaid for individuals up to 150 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL)-about $33,000 for a family of four;
- Providing affordability credits on a sliding scale for individuals between 150 and 400 percent of the FPL;
- Creating a national health insurance exchange with an option for state-run exchanges that would function as market places for people to shop for and compare plans;
- Requiring individuals to obtain insurance with hardship exemptions for eligible individuals;
- Requiring employers to provide insurance or pay a fee up to eight percent of payroll. It would exempt small businesses that have payrolls under $500,000 (86 percent of businesses); and
- Creating a public plan that operates in the exchange and competes with private insurance options. Health care providers would be able to negotiate rates with the government.
The debate now moves to the Senate where Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is working to combine legislative language from the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee bills. Official language has yet to be released.
Catholic Charities USA continues to work with the Catholic Health Association and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to ensure that no federal funds are used for abortion and that conscience protections are included in the final health care reform bill.
Catholic Charities USA will keep you updated on health care reform legislation.
For more information, please contact Kellyann McClain, Policy Analyst at kmcclain@catholiccharitiesusa.org.
Congress Approves Extension of UI Benefits and Homebuyer Tax Credit
On November 5, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a measure to extend unemployment benefits and a tax credit for homebuyers. The same measure was approved by the Senate earlier in the week and is now ready for the President’s signature. The bill provides up to 14 weeks of unemployment benefits to dislocated workers in every state and an additional six weeks for states with unemployment rates above 8.5 percent.
The bill includes a homebuyer tax credit provision that will extend the current $8,000 tax credit for first time homebuyers and create a new $6,500 tax credit for individuals upgrading to a new home. The extension will be available to homebuyers with incomes of up to $125,000 for individuals or $225,000 for couples. The credit is available for homes costing up to $800,000, and requires that the taxpayer claiming the credit be 18 years of age or older. The extension will expire on April 30, 2010.
For more information, please contact Desmond Brown, Senior Director of Government Affairs, dbrown@catholiccharitiesusa.org.
House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on CAPTA
On November 5, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor, Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities held a hearing entitled “Preventing Child Abuse and Improving Responses to Families in Crisis.” The hearing was called by Subcommittee Chairwoman, Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY). During her opening comments, she stressed that more must be done to reduce childhood neglect because more than 60 percent of the children who come to the attention of child welfare authorities are victims of neglect. She also emphasized that the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) must be the first line of defense in the protection of vulnerable children. Congress enacted CAPTA in 1974 to help states and communities improve their practices to prevent and treat child abuse and neglect. It provides grants to states to support the infrastructure of child protective services, community-based preventive services, research and training, data collection, and evaluation. The program is due for reauthorization this year.
Witnesses on the panel included a number of child welfare researchers, human service providers, and health care providers. Their testimonies focused on a range of strategies to help create supportive environments for families in crisis and outlined several recommendations to strengthen CAPTA, including better data collection, more resources, and more flexibility in use of the resources.
More information on the hearing and witness testimonies is available here.
For more information, please contact Desmond Brown, Senior Director of Government Affairs, dbrown@catholiccharitiesusa.org.
Unemployment Rate Surpasses Ten Percent in October
On November 6, the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the most recent unemployment numbers. In October, the number of unemployed persons increased by 558,000, bringing the total number to 15.7 million. The national unemployment rate increased from 9.8 percent in September to 10.2 percent in October-the highest rate since 1983.
More information on the recent unemployment data is available here.
For more information, please contact Kellyann McClain, Policy Analyst, kmcclain@catholiccharitiesusa.org.
USDA Hosts Webinar for Catholic Charities Agencies on Summer Food Service Program
The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) helps feed children in the summer months when school meals are not available. Fewer than 25 percent of students who eat breakfast and lunch at school currently get a summer meal, and the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) needs help from Catholic Charities to reach more children. Feeding children through the SFSP can help maximize participation in the nutrition assistance programs currently available to families in need.
Please join us for a webinar hosted by the FNS to learn more about the SFSP. Food and Nutrition Service staff will give a presentation about the program, and we’ll hear from our colleagues in Catholic Charities of Chicago who operated an innovative Summer Food Service Program last summer that served 100,000 meals. The webinar will be held on Friday, November 13 at 2:00pm EST. Click here to register.
For more information, please contact Lucreda Cobbs, Senior Director of Advocacy and Civic Engagement, lcobbs@catholiccharitiesusa.org.
Application Period Opens for E Pluribus Unum Prize Supporting Exceptional Immigrant Integration Initiatives
As of October 1, the Migration Policy Institute’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy opened the application period for the 2010 E Pluribus Unum Prizes. The E Pluribus Unum Prizes national awards program provides four $50,000 awards annually to exceptionally successful immigrant integration initiatives. The awards recognize initiatives that have an outstanding record of helping immigrants and their children adapt, thrive, and contribute to the United States. It also considers efforts that have successfully brought immigrants and native-born residents together to build stronger, more cohesive communities. The awards are open to individuals, nonprofit and community organizations, businesses, religious groups, and government entities or officials operating in the United States.
The deadline to apply is December 10, 2009 at 5 pm EST. Application rules, procedures, and profiles of the 2009 winners can be found at http://www.integrationawards.org/.
For more information, please contact Lucreda Cobbs, Senior Director of Advocacy and Civic Engagement, lcobbs@catholiccharitiesusa.org.
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Washington Weekly is a publication of the Social Policy Department of Catholic Charities USA and is published regularly when Congress is in session.
Catholic Charities USA
Sixty-Six Canal Center Plaza, Suite 600, Alexandria, VA 22314
socialpolicy@catholiccharitiesusa.org
For information about advocacy, please contact
Lucreda Cobbs at (703) 236-6243 or lcobbs@catholiccharitiesusa.org
