On August 10, the U.S. House of Representatives temporarily retuned from its summer recess to approve legislation that will provide over $26 billion in aid to states. The “Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act of 2010,” (HR 1586) passed the House by a vote of 247 to 161. The package includes $10 billion to pay for education related jobs and $16.1billion for enhanced Medicaid payments to states for the next six months.  While the bill included important provisions to save local jobs and improve access to health services for low-income individuals, it was paid for by reducing funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).  In order to keep the state aid package from adding to the federal deficit, congressional leaders used $11.9 billion in revenues from SNAP. 

Catholic Charities USA has urged members of the Senate and House not to take funds from SNAP to pay for the state aid package or other human service programs. In a letter to both chambers, Catholic Charities USA urged congressional leaders not to fund other federal programs at the expense of hungry families; we stressed that over 40 million vulnerable Americans depend on SNAP, and that during these challenging economic times it is critical to maintain a strong nutrition safety net.  You can access the SNAP Offset letter here.

In addition to using cuts to SNAP benefits to pay for the state aid package, the Senate also passed a child nutrition reauthorization bill that used SNAP funding to pay for improvements to child nutrition programs. While Catholic Charities USA strongly supports increased funding for improvements to child nutrition programs, we are opposed to cutting funds from SNAP to pay for these new investments.

Now that the bill has passed the Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives will need to take action on its version of the child nutrition reauthorization bill passed by the House Education and Labor Committee in July. As previously reported, an issue of contention, in the House, has been on the absence of revenues to pay for the proposed reforms. To view the CCUSA press statement regarding the Senate child nutrition reauthorization bill, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (S.3307), please click here. 

Please look for an action alert later this week.

For more information, please contact Desmond Brown, Sr. Director of Government Affairs at dbrown@catholiccharitiesusa.org.

Since August 2003, thousands of elderly and disabled refugees have lost or face losing access to Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and unless Congress acts 3,800 more refugees will lose their benefits beginning October 1. In 2008, the bipartisan legislation, SSI Extension for Elderly and Disabled Refugees, that was signed into law by President George W. Bush provided a two year extension of benefits. This will expire on September 30, 2010. 

Under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) refugees and asylees fleeing persecution and death can receive SSI benefits during their first seven years in the U.S. However, eligible refugees and asylees (extremely poor persons, those over 65 or severely and permanently disabled and unable to do any job in the economy) can continue to receive benefits if they become U.S. citizens. Due to a combination of administrative backlogs and other personal challenges, many of these poor, elderly and disabled refugees have not been able to complete the naturalization process. Some are illiterate in their native languages and most are of advanced years, which minimizes their chances of learning English well enough to pass the language and civics tests. With no income, family ties, or means of self support, these elderly, disabled immigrants are at risk of losing what little they have on which to survive. A significant share will lose health insurance as well, because SSI and Medicaid eligibility are typically linked.

Given the severe consequences flowing from the termination of SSI benefits, Catholic Charities USA continues to advocate for passage of an SSI extension. Please look for an opportunity to weigh in with your members.

For more information please contact Lucreda Cobbs, Sr. Director of Advocacy and Civic Engagement at lcobbs@catholiccharitiesusa.org or Ryan Smith, Policy Analyst at rsmith@catholiccharitiesusa.org.

On August 12, the U.S. Senate unexpectedly reconvened for a brief session to vote on a $600 million emergency spending bill for border security. The bill, “Border Security Emergency Supplemental Appropriations” (H.R. 6080), passed by voice vote. It authorizes a variety of border security projects including $254 million in funding for 1,500 border patrol agents. According to the Congressional Quarterly, Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), one of the lead bill sponsors, said that the passage of the bill should “clear the path for restarting the bipartisan discussions we absolutely need to have on how best to restore the rule of law to our entire immigration system. Although we all agree we must secure our borders, we will never fully resolve the problem of illegal immigration until we fix the entirety of what is wrong with our immigration system.”

While this bill received bipartisan support, it remains uncertain if it will be enough to lead to comprehensive immigration reform. As previously reported, in order for a broader immigration measure to pass, it will require bipartisan support.

The measure which passed the house will now go to the President for signing.

For more information, please contact Lucreda Cobbs, Sr. Director of Advocacy and Civic Engagement at lcobbs@catholiccharitiesusa.org.

As Congress goes on summer recess, articles from around the country portray that people are still struggling as they try to recover from the recession. As shown in her article, Jeannine Aversa from the Associated Press has said, there is “no easy fix ahead.” Below are some articles from around the country:

• The Washington Post: In a sluggish economic summer, no easy fix ahead
• The Wall Street Journal: Jobless Claims Remain Stubbornly High
• The Los Angeles Times: Rejection of California state work furlough is upheld
• The Chicago Tribune: Who Will Fix the Economy?

At Catholic Charities USA, we continue to work with Congress and the Administration to address the needs of vulnerable families across this country. 

Be on the look-out for special editions of Washington Weekly with information on:

              -          Capitol Hill Day

              -          Centennial Gathering & Catholic Charities Sunday

              -          Transformative Legislation

      We look forward to your active engagement as we bring our transformative agenda to reduce poverty to Capitol Hill in September.

For more information about our Centennial, click here.