Catholic Charities USA responds to President's budget proposal

Earlier this week, President Obama unveiled the proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2016. Catholic Charities USA reports that this blueprint document outlines priorities and areas for investment, but does not have the force of law and will not change current spending levels.

However, it is first step in the budget process, initiating the federal budget negotiations for this year.

Catholic Charities USA has prepared an analysis of the President's proposed budget in comparison to previous years, which is available here. The response read, in part:

"While Catholic Charities agencies, and many other faith-based non-profits, will continue to work with families and individuals on the brink, we know that in order for our nation to truly make a significant change in the numbers of those in poverty, we need support and commitment from the for-profit sector and from government. We cannot do this alone.”

Click here to read the full press release.

Pray for the 2014 National Migration Conference

The 2014 National Migration Conference, a gathering hosted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Migration and Refugee Services, the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), and Catholic Charities USA, is being held in Washington D.C. this week.  It is intended to build the capacity of the Catholic Church and society to advance the life and dignity of the human person in our work with immigrants, migrants, refugees, unaccompanied migrant children, victims of human trafficking, and other vulnerable people on the move. 



The purpose of this conference is to:

    - to share and apply Catholic Social Teaching on migration;
    - to share information on domestic and international issues affecting the life and dignity of  immigrants, migrants, refugees, trafficking victims and other vulnerable people on the move;
    - to prepare and organize participants to carry the message on these migration issues both to Congress in Washington, D.C., and to constituencies and political leaders in their own communities;
    - to deepen the capacity of diocesan and parish leaders to serve, minister to, and advocate for  immigrants, migrants, refugees, trafficking victims, and other people on the move by providing skill-building workshops, and by sharing strategies, best practices, materials and activities that  are useful at the local level;
    - to gather in the context of the Catholic social tradition to teach, pray, and celebrate the work and accomplishments of our networks.

Let us pray for the success of this gathering, and recall the words of Leviticus (19: 33-34): When an alien resides with you in your land, do not mistreat such a one. You shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself; for you too were once aliens in the land of Egypt. I, the LORD, am your God.

Support SNAP Funding

Catholic Charities USA has sent out the following Action Alert:

Tell Congress to Support SNAP Funding, Protect the Poor and Hungry in Budget Discussions 

Members of Congress seeking to reauthorize the farm bill are seeking a middle ground the competing versions of legislation. But cuts to a vital anti-hunger program could leave millions of Americans at risk of losing access to healthy and affordable food.  

Both the House and Senate bills include reductions to SNAP, and both would have an impact on those receiving aid from this crucial program. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the Senate's version of the bill would cause an estimated 500,000 households see their benefits cut by an average $90 per month. It also found that the House bill would cause nearly 3 million households to lose eligibility for SNAP, and another 850,000 households see their benefits fall significantly.  

While the Senate continues to underscore cuts will be a reality, Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) and its network of member agencies urge Members of Congress that when considering cuts that benefits to vulnerable people be spared. CCUSA believes that savings can be realized without cutting life sustaining benefits to people who will be most affected.
Throughout our nation’s history, policymakers have always come together to fund this critical program and support the individuals and families that rely on SNAP to put food on their tables. We encourage you to tell Congress to preserve SNAP funding for those in need!

You can take action here. Scroll down about half way to find the form for contacting your Congressional representatives.

Help Preserve Funding for Critical Housing Programs

Catholic Charities USA has sent out the following Urgent Action Alert:

Urgent Action Needed: Help Preserve Funding for Critical Housing Programs

WHAT: Both the Senate and the House are considering different proposals that would allocate FY2014 funding for Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD). The Senate is expected to take key votes on several amendments to its bill, S. 1243, as early as this evening. The House is expected to bring its proposal, H.R. 2610, to the floor for consideration tomorrow (Tuesday, July 30). This bill would drastically reduce funding for HUD programs that serve our nation’s most vulnerable populations. The proposed House funding levels are nearly $10 billion lower than the current Senate proposal, and would revert some programs back to the same funding levels appropriated in the 1970s.

What you can do:

Senate Action
Call your Senators now and ask them to oppose amendments that would reduce funding for the HOME Investment program and Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), to exclude all federal funds from being counted as matching funds for McKinney grants, and to eliminate the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. Urge them to support efforts to require HUD to submit a report to Congress on legislative options to modernize and improve targeting of CDBG allocation formulas.

House Action
Call your Representative and urge him to oppose passage of H.R. 2610, as it would drastically reduce funding for programs that help those living in the margins. Let them know that more than 630,000 people in this country are homeless on any given night—and in a nation of plenty this should not be. Urge them to provide full funding so that each individual has access to safe, decent, and affordable housing.

Additional Background Information The National Low-Income Housing Coalition has provided the following resources:

   - View NLIHC’s budget chart at: http://bit.ly/1al9ivw
   - View NLIHC’s comparison of FY13 and FY14 bills at: http://bit.ly/162zUzO

Call before 4 p.m. TODAY

From Catholic Charities USA:

The U.S. Senate is expected to vote TODAY at 4:00 p.m. on S.744, the Border Security, Economic Competitiveness, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013. Please call your Senators at (202) 224-3121 and ask that they vote Yes on S.744. Catholic Charities USA joins with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the other members of the Justice for Immigrants coalition in supporting comprehensive immigration reform that provides a pathway to citizenship and strengthens families.