Overview: The House of Representatives passed its Reconciliation Bill, and it now moves to the Senate where the bill is expected to undergo significant revisions. The House bill included increasing the state-and-local-tax (SALT) deduction (to about $40,000) and implementing work requirements for Medicaid sooner than originally scheduled (at the end of 2026, rather than the start of 2029).
While the House bill includes improvements to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit, CCUSA remains concerned with provisions in the reconciliation proposal that would result in low-income and vulnerable people losing Medicaid and SNAP benefits. CCUSA will continue to advocate for continued access to Medicaid and SNAP benefits as well as reforms to the LIHTC that increase the development of affordable housing and a full expansion of the Child Tax Credit that allow people that need it the most to receive this critical benefit that lifts low-income children out of poverty. You can also take action by contacting your senators, urging them to protect Medicaid and SNAP.
More on Reconciliation Bill: CCUSA joined other religious groups in a Circle of Protection letter to President Trump and members of Congress. The church leaders who together signed this letter have come out in opposition to the deep cuts that the current version of the House budget bill would make in healthcare and food for low-income people. It would take health care away from 13.7 million people and could take food assistance away from 11 million people. It would also take the Child Tax Credit away from 4 million children because one parent does not have a Social Security number.
Debt relief: Caritas Internationalis, of which CCUSA is a member, invites all people to join in its "Turn Debt into Hope" campaign, which sheds light on communities crushed by unjust and unpayable debts. It calls on public, private and multilateral creditors, and political leaders, to act with courage and compassion by remedying the remote causes of injustice and settling unjust debts.
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Reentry programs: This week, U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.), along with Representatives Carol Miller (R-W.Va.-1) and Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.-7) introduced the Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2025. CCUSA endorsed this bill, as it did for last year's version. The current text expands second chance programs to include: Treating substance use disorders through various mechanisms, including peer recovery programs; reentry housing; grants for nonprofits that provide transitional and community-based mentoring services; and an extension of second chance programs through 2030. To read the full text of the bill, click here.
CCUSA, together with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, and the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, hosted a Capitol Hill briefing on May 13, 2025, entitled "Rebuilding Lives, Restoring Hope: An Interfaith Briefing on Reentry & Second Chances." Speakers from each organization, including representatives from Catholic Charities of Baltimore and DC, spoke about their reentry experiences, the effective aspects of reentry programs, and current gaps both in prisons and in the community that hinder successful reentry and recidivism reduction.
Economy: In the week ending May 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 227,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 229,000. The 4-week moving average was 231,500, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 230,500. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2 percent for the week ending May 10, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate.
Call to action: With Medicaid and SNAP cuts being proposed, you can make a difference by contacting your Senators and asking them to protect these two programs. You can also encourage them to continue to provide the Child Tax Credit and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit at levels that make a difference in people's lives.
Town Halls: We have attached to this message a list of upcoming town hall meetings hosted by members of Congress. This is a great way to have your voice heard. Please reach out to your member for more details. You can use CCUSA's "Find Your Elected Officials" tool.
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Jesus said to his disciples: "Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me. I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you." John 14:23-27
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Q. Now that the reconciliation bill is heading to the Senate, test your political phraseology: What is the Byrd Rule?
Please send your answers to [email protected].
Previous question and answer:
Q. What is the last encyclical promulgated under Pope Francis?
A. Thanks to Father Charles Rowe, Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, for being first with the right answer: "Dilexit nos. It was on the Sacred Heart." |
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