Congress

A historian at The Catholic University of America said what happened at the Capitol inflicted historic wounds to the mystique and aura of American democracy and stability around the world.

A leader with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has urged Congress and the White House Sept. 8 to reach a deal on the next COVID-19 relief package that meets the urgent needs of the nation.

Some of the country’s most prominent church leaders appealed to Congressional negotiators to include financial support for families to continue to send their children to Catholic and non-public schools in a coronavirus relief bill currently being negotiated.

The Catholic Health Association of the United States joined 17 other national organizations urging the Trump administration and Congress to take immediate and coordinated action to address the critical needs of capacity and supply in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Catholic Education Committee applauded the recent decision by Congress to reauthorize scholarship legislation that includes a federal education voucher for nearly 2,000 students in Washington.

Congress has repealed a so-called “parking lot tax” that was part of the 2017 tax cut measure and would have required houses of worship and other nonprofits to pay a 21% tax on employee benefits such as parking spaces and transit subsidies.

Leaders from the Pontifical Mission Societies spent a day of their national meeting bending the ear of members of Congress, urging action on climate change, the protection of immigrants and religious freedom.

Democrats and Republicans in Congress have introduced bills that would allow workers to take up to 12 weeks of paid family leave, pointing to the recognition by both political parties that such a benefit would help families.