Registration is now open for the Congreso Pro Vida. This national conference is being hosted this year by Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of the Archdiocese of Miami on October 29 to 31 at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens. Reserve your ticket at www.congresoprovida.com. The Congreso Pro Vida will be held this year in lieu of the annual Florida Culture of Life Conference.
Congress is trying to force Americans to pay for abortion. The Hyde Amendment and similar laws have protected taxpayers from funding elective abortion for 45 years. Now, powerful members of Congress want to take away these laws that both Democrats and Republicans have supported for nearly half a century. Billions of taxpayer dollars could be used to pay for abortion.
This week, the House Committee on Appropriations will mark-up appropriations bills. Three decades-old provisions which prevent taxpayer funds from being used to pay for abortions in the District of Columbia, through foreign assistance, and for federal employee health plans that cover abortions were eliminated from these appropriations bills.
One of the FCCB's key priorities for the 2021 Legislative Session was increasing access to dual enrollment courses for non-public high school students. On June 24, Governor DeSantis signed into law SB 52 by Senator Ray Rodrigues, R-Fort Myers, providing equitable access to dual enrollment courses for all Florida high school students. The bill and its companion, HB 281 by Representative Wyman Duggan, R-Jacksonville, were strongly supported by the FCCB during the session. Dual enrollment courses allow high school students to take college-level courses while they are still in high school. Usually, these courses are taken on the college or university campus during the normal school day. Under previous law, public school and home school students had free, unencumbered access to dual enrollment courses; however, private school students had very limited access.
Earlier this month, Governor DeSantis approved a record $100 billion budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2021. Before signing the budget, the governor used his line-item veto authority to cut $1.5 billion from the spending plan approved by the legislature.
Catholic Charities: Meeting Needs of Families and Survivors Two staff members from Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami are on hand daily at the Family Assistance Center which was set up for relatives of those missing after the June 24, 2021, partial collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside.