RESULTS Campaigns Weekly Update June 29, 2021
Quote of the Week
“Housing Choice Vouchers, America’s largest rental assistance program, allow low-income renters to find safe housing they otherwise cannot afford.”
– Rebecca Mosher, in a June 19 letter to the editor in the Columbus Dispatch
Table of Contents
- Global Poverty Campaigns Update
- U.S. Poverty Campaigns Update
- RESULTS Announcements
- Upcoming Events
- Grassroots Resources
Global Poverty Campaigns Update
QUICK ACTION Write a letter to the editor on the Global Partnership for Education
Got Fifteen Minutes? Get signatures on the House Global Partnership for Education letter to the Administration
We have just one week more. Can we increase from 48 signers? We still have an important letter to the Administration on the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) circulating in the House on which you can take action. The bipartisan letter is being led by Reps. Kilmer (D-WA) and Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and is calling on the Administration to commit $1 billion over five years in support of GPE’s 2021-2025 strategy for basic education. The letter will close on July 6. As mentioned, so far we have 48 signers, and we are tracking signatures on our letter scorecard. If your representative has previously taken action in support of global education, this would be an inspiring additional action they could take to further their commitment to the issue.
TAKE ACTION: Ask your representative to sign onto the House letter to the Administration asking for a commitment of $1 billion over five years for the Global Partnership for Education. You can track our progress of getting signatures online. Let’s see what we can accomplish this week!
Got Another Fifteen Minutes? Write a letter to the editor on global education.
We have just a few days to go for the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) media campaign. Have you written yet? Help us get to our goal of 100 global education media hits from May 1 to July 1. Write your local paper about the need to support GPE’s remarkable work in the lives of young people. Others have used great hooks like graduation and a reminder of the how the COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged education. What hook can you find?
TAKE ACTION: Use our action sheet and companion action alert on global education to help you along. Don’t forget to report your media when it gets published and then leverage your published media by sending it to your legislators. Need help? Contact Jos Linn.
QUICK NEWS ON GLOBAL POVERTY
House and Senate Resolutions on Global Education. Has your representative cosponsored H.Res. 225, and have your senators cosponsored S.Res. 240 in support of the Global Partnership for Education? So far, we have 29 cosponsors in the House and need to build cosponsorship in the Senate. Can we make the numbers jump? Remember that this is a great request for a member of Congress who signed onto a global education letter. Check out the resolution cosponsor lists for H.Res.225 and S.Res.240 and consider contacting your members of Congress if they are not yet on the resolutions. (Consider thanking them if they are!)
U.S. Poverty Campaigns Update
QUICK ACTION Submit letters to the editor today on housing and tax credits
Got Twenty Minutes? Urge members of Congress to sign housing “Dear Colleague” letter!
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representative Ritchie Torres (D-NY) are circulating a “Dear Colleague” sign-on letter calling on congressional leadership to prioritize access to affordable housing, including guaranteed multi-year funding for rental assistance via a large expansion of Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs). With important negotiations happening behind the scenes now on the scope of a recovery package and key priorities for policymakers, we want to get as many signers on this letter as possible this week before policymakers leave for their July 4th recess. This is critical for the well-being of families, yet millions struggle to keep a roof over their heads. And federal housing assistance programs are grossly underfunded, leaving three out of four eligible renters struggling to make ends meet because they can’t access a Housing Choice Voucher, even though they qualify. By expanding rental assistance, we can begin to shrink the racial wealth divide and keep families housed.
TAKE ACTION: Take twenty minutes to meet or follow up with congressional offices, urging your representatives and senators to sign onto the “Dear Colleague” housing letter to demonstrate their support for expanding rental assistance to all eligible renters via guaranteed multi-year funding for Housing Choice Vouchers in economic recovery legislation this year. (You can see who has officially signed on online). You can encourage others in your RESULTS network to support this effort by using our online action alert to e-mail congressional offices.
After your meetings, remember to follow up with aides on your requests. You can find current request sheets, background info, and other resources on our Conference Resources and Lobbying pages. Please contact RESULTS staff if you need help.
Got Fifteen Minutes? Generate media on the EITC and CTC
In March, Congress passed a major expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) for nearly all families with children and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for low-wage workers. As part of the expanded CTC, a new monthly payment option was created. Starting July 15, the IRS will distribute to families their 2021 CTC each month (through December), which will help tens of millions of families looking to pay rent, buy food, and make ends meet. If all eligible families get signed up, we will see child poverty cut nearly in half, over the next year.
However, these changes are temporary. After one year, the new EITC and CTC provisions – including the monthly payment option – will disappear, forcing millions of workers and families back into poverty. We cannot let that happen.
TAKE ACTION: Take fifteen minutes to submit a letter to the editor highlighting the new CTC “child allowance” option and urging Congress to make the 2021 EITC and CTC improvements permanent in economic recovery legislation this year. Use our updated tax credit media action alert to send your letter today. If published, please forward the letter to the tax aides for your members of Congress and please let RESULTS know as well. If you need help with your letters, please contact Jos Linn for assistance.
Also, remind people you know to go to www.childtaxcredit.gov if they have questions about the new CTC monthly benefit.
QUICK NEWS ON U.S. POVERTY
Data Book available. The Annie E. Casey Foundation released its 2021 KIDS COUNT® Data Book earlier this week. The Data Book is the Foundation’s annual examination of how children are faring in the United States and ranks each state in the areas of economic, education, health, family and community and overall child well-being based on 16 key indicators of child development using the latest federal data. In particular, this year’s Data Book makes the case for why expanding the Child Tax Credit is key for addressing child poverty, and AECF head Lisa Hamilton notes such in this op-ed.
The CDC just extended its eviction protection order until July 31, 2021. If you already gave your landlord a CDC Declaration and your situation hasn’t changed, you don’t need to do it again to be protected until July 31. If you haven’t given your landlord a Declaration yet, find out if you’re eligible and see the steps to take. State and local organizations are distributing federal money to help with rent and utilities. You or your landlord may be able to apply, depending on where you live. Learn more online. If you’re trying to understand all your options, we have suggestions for what to do, and who to talk to, based on your situation. Find out what you can do next.
Sign your RESULTS group on to letters to show broad support for our campaign priorities. RESULTS has signed on to the following letters and we urge you to sign your local RESULTS group on as well, as we look to demonstrate support for anti-poverty policies from stakeholders at the state level: SAVE for All Campaign, NLIHC’s HoUSed campaign, and Americans for Tax Fairness. It is particularly important to have a strong showing from state groups when RESULTS policy staff meet with members of that congressional delegation.
SNAP participants face barriers to a healthy diet: Early last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released a study that found 88 percent of SNAP participants face barriers to a healthy diet. This study comes after decades of advocacy regarding the inadequacy of SNAP benefits by program participants. In a pending blog post, RESULTS Emerson National Hunger Fellow Max De Faria lays out the many inadequacies at the heart of the program and why USDA needs urgently to address these problems.
Announcements
Please fill out lobby report forms. Your Advocacy Week work, including meetings that are still happening, has been tremendous. But your work isn’t done when the meeting concludes. After you complete your meetings, please fill out the RESULTS Lobby Report Form for each meeting at www.tinyurl.com/RESLobbyReport. This tells us what happened and helps us strategize next steps for our campaigns. Please coordinate with your group to determine who will fill out the form, as only one report per meeting is needed.
Vote in Board election. The RESULTS 2021 Grassroots Board Election is taking place right now. Visit the RESULTS Blog for candidate bios, statement of intent, videos, and how to vote. Voting is open through July 17 for all active volunteers.
Conference materials available. If you need materials from this year’s International Conference, including slides from sessions, visit our Conference Resources page. If you want to listen to the recordings of sessions at the Conference, check out the event schedule for links. Finally, for a dose of nostalgia and solidarity, take a look at this wonderful blogpost and companion video summarizing all that we accomplished together at the International Conference.
RESULTS Organizing and Advocacy Fellowship. The RESULTS Organizing and Advocacy Fellowship application is now open. Young adults ages 20-35 are encouraged to apply. The application closes on October 15. If you have any questions, please email [email protected].
Upcoming Events
Congressional schedule. The House is in session this week. Submit your remote meeting requests today.
Wednesday, June 30: Action Network Monthly Webinar, 8:00 pm ET. Register today. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.
Monday, July 5: Independence Day holiday. All RESULTS offices closed.
Saturday, July 10: RESULTS National Webinar, 1:00 pm ET. Register today. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.
Saturday, July 17: Last day to vote in RESULTS Grassroots Board Election. Read about the candidates and how to vote on the RESULTS Blog.
Tuesday, July 20: Op-ed Writing Workshop, 9:00 pm ET. Register today. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.
Thursday, July 22: U.S. Poverty Monthly Policy Forum, 8 pm ET. Register today. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.
Thursday, July 22: Global Poverty Monthly Policy Forum, 9 pm ET. Register today. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.
Grassroots Resources
Learn about the RESULTS Experts on Poverty.
To update volunteer info (e.g., subscribe to the Weekly Update or action alerts, add new advocate information, update an existing advocate’s information or preferences), use our Volunteer Information Form.
Find actions and volunteer resources on our Current Volunteers page, including our anti-oppression resources.
Remember to please report your recent advocacy successes in lobby meetings, media, and outreach activities.
To join the RESULTS listserv for more RESULTS conversation, send an email to [email protected]
If you have a question, comment, or suggestion for the RESULTS/REF Board, please e-mail Lindsay Saunders at [email protected]. View Board minutes and Annual Reports.
RESULTS Staff directory and job postings.