RESULTS Weekly Update August 24, 2021

Quote of the Week

“The next generation will face profound economic challenges as a result of the climate crisis combined with insufficient regulation and unwise tax policies.”

–  RESULTS Denver volunteer Christie Renner in an August 10 letter to the editor in the Missoulian

Table of Contents

• House passes budget resolution; new data confirms importance of extending CTC
• Administration must act on global vaccine access
• Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty
• RESULTS Announcements
• Upcoming Events
• Grassroots Resources

House passes budget resolution; new data confirms importance of extending CTC

Last week, the second round of Child Tax Credit (CTC) monthly payments were distributed to tens of millions of families with children. Estimates are that an additional 1.6 million children received CTC payments in August as compared to July, as more eligible families signed up. In addition, new data from the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University shows the impact these payments are already having. Based on their analysis of monthly poverty data, Columbia researchers estimate that the CTC payments lifted 3 million children above the federal poverty line in July, reducing the monthly child poverty rate from 15.8 percent to 11.9 percent (if you add in all COVID relief, 6 million children were lifted out of poverty in July). They also estimate that had all eligible children received the payment in July, the monthly child poverty rate would have dropped by nearly 40 percent.

The numbers don’t lie. The new CTC is dramatically reducing child poverty, and after only one round of monthly payments. This is why it is imperative that Congress not let the new CTC, along with the expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for workers not raising children, expire after 2021. We must make these provisions permanent.

Fortunately, we are now one step closer to hopefully extending the CTC and EITC provisions and expanding Housing Choice Vouchers. Just this afternoon, the House passed the FY2022 budget resolution, 220-212 (the Senate passed it on August 11). With the resolution adopted, the budget reconciliation process, which will be used to pass an economic recovery bill that could include the policies RESULTS is seeking, may now proceed. The House and Senate committees assigned to write the actual economic recovery bill are already working behind-the-scenes and are expected to complete their work by September 15. That means decisions on policies that expand access to housing, reduce child poverty, expand health care, and create a fairer tax code are being made right now.

ACTION TO TAKE: If you are looking to get back into action this week, use the actions below to influence lawmakers writing economic recovery legislation as we speak.

• Send e-mails to your members of Congress. Take action sending an e-mail telling your representatives and senators to expand housing choice vouchers and the extend the new EITC/CTC provision in economic recovery legislation. Be sure to personalize your message by sharing why you care about the issue.
• Submit a letter to the editor. Use local media to get the attention of your members of Congress, urging them to support our housing and tax policies The August U.S. Poverty Action has Laser Talks you can use a template for letters to the editor (you can also send LTEs directly from our website).
• Attend a virtual congressional town hall and ask a question. Town halls are a great way to ask lawmakers to publicly commit to supporting expanding Housing Choice Vouchers and the EITC/CTC. Use our updated U.S. Poverty Laser Talks to draft your questions.

If you have questions about taking action, please contact Jos Linn for assistance.

Administration must act on global vaccine access

This summer, you did some incredible advocacy work on global access to vaccines. You were part of helping to secure 115 members of Congress on a letter urging that any economic recovery legislation passed this year include funding for global vaccination production and distribution.

There currently is not enough vaccine manufacturing capacity in the world to ensure everyone has access to the COVID-19 vaccine. Health experts know that the only way to end the pandemic is to vaccinate everyone, so they are calling on President Biden to take bold action to expand vaccine manufacturing and distribution. Estimates are that it would cost $34 billion to bring this capacity on line, which is a small price to pay compared to the millions of lives lost and tens of millions impacted by COVID-19.

TAKE ACTION: Help pressure President Biden to support expanding global access to the COVID-19 vaccine. Use our media action alert or our current Global Poverty Action Sheet to submit a letter to the editor. Support others to write to letter to their local papers urging the president and Congress to take action to save lives around the world. You can also contact President Biden directly through our vaccines action alert. You can even send published letters to your members of Congress and President Biden. If you have questions, please contact RESULTS staff for assistance.

Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty

Vaccine access disparities in Latin America. While many higher income countries seemingly return “back to normal” while grappling with the Delta and other COVID-19 variants, the need to get everyone vaccinated is clear. However, the process varies greatly depending on where you live. For example, the global south’s vaccination rate lags significantly behind the global north. Regions such as Latin America are among the areas of the world that display extreme need for vaccines in large numbers as soon as possible. Read more on our blog.

RESULTS supports proposal to address housing discrimination. The Biden Administration, through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), proposes to reinstate a rule that would help address the enduring legacy of racist housing policies and achieve housing justice for all. The rule creates a standard for determining whether a given housing policy or practice has an unjustified discriminatory effect in violation of the Fair Housing Act. RESULTS strongly supports this rule and has signed on to letters in support of HUD’s proposal to reinstate it. Check out this RESULTS Blog post for more details on the history of this rule and why it’s important to achieving housing justice.

Eviction ban heads back to Supreme Court. A DC federal court last week rejected a petition from relators to stop the Biden Administration’s new eviction moratorium, which went into effect earlier this month. The three-judge panel also rejected a request to halt the moratorium while the realtors appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court could rule on the case at any time. While the moratorium remains in effect, if you or someone you know needs help figuring it out, use this eligibility checker tool.

Announcements

Equitable tax code training tonight. The NETWORK workshop “Tax Justice for All: Unveiling the Racial Inequity of the U.S. Tax Code” will be held again tonight, August 24 at 7:00 pm ET. Join this informative and interactive event to learn how the tax code currently disadvantages women and people of color and to reimagine a new tax code to build a just and inclusive society. Register for tonight’s session here.

Register for “hybrid” meeting training next week. With some volunteers wanting to resume meeting in person and others not yet comfortable doing so, hybrid meetings, which are conducted both in-person and virtually, may be our best answer in the coming months. Join us for a training on how to set up and run hybrid meetings next Wednesday, September 1 at 8:30 pm ET. Register here.

Become a RESULTS Regional Coordinator. Regional Coordinators (RCs) are vital volunteer leaders in our network, helping to coach and support RESULTS groups around the country to be the best they can be. If you (or others) are interested in becoming a Regional Coordinator with RESULTS, or are simply interested in learning more about the role, please contact Lisa Marchal.

Register for “Motivational Interviewing” series. Are you struggling to move your member of Congress into action? Then this is the series for you! In six monthly sessions, you’ll gain skills using the Motivational Interviewing process to have an effective dialogue with members of Congress you struggle to move into action, as well as to have meaningful value-based conversations with others. This training will help you transcend the adversarial mindset and use values-based advocacy to make the case for change. The first 90 -minute session is Tuesday, September 21 at 9:00 pm ET. Register here for the series.

Learn how to lead with your natural strengths. The GALLUP CliftonStrengths assessment helps to identify the areas where you, and your group, have the greatest potential by measuring your recurring patterns in thought, feeling, and behavior. Join our September workshop to learn how to leverage your natural strengths to excel in leadership roles within your RESULTS group, your community, and beyond. Register today to receive a code to do your online assessment that you will bring to the workshop. The first session is Tuesday, September 28 at 8:30 pm ET. Register here.

Calling all Returned Peace Corps Volunteers. The Global Allies Program: Partners Ending Poverty with RESULTS (GAP) aims to train and engage Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) in advocacy that will have impact, and to connect RPCVs to like-minded and experienced advocates in the RESULTS grassroots network. If you are a RPCV passionate to keep making a difference, join a kickoff meeting on September 16 at 8:30 pm ET and learn how you can take action on improving global health, education and economic development. Register here.

Upcoming Events

Congressional schedule. The House and Senate are on recess this week. Submit your remote meeting requests today.

Tuesday, August 24: Tax Justice for All: Unveiling the Racial Inequity of the U.S. Tax Code, 7:00 pm ET. Presented by NETWORK. Register here.

Wednesday, September 1: How to Run Hybrid Meetings, 8:30 pm ET. Register today. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.

Saturday, September 11: RESULTS National Webinar, 1:00 pm ET. Register today. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.

Thursday, September 16: Global Allies Program Kickoff Meeting for Returned Peace Corp Volunteers, 8:30 PM ET. Learn more and register here. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.

Tuesday, September 21: U.S. Poverty Free Agents, 1:00 pm and 8:00 pm ET. If you are interested in joining, contact Jos Linn for more information.

Tuesday, September 21: Motivational Interviewing training (session 1), 9:00 pm ET. Register here. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.

Thursday, September 23: U.S. Poverty Monthly Policy Forum, 8:00 pm ET. Register here. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.

Thursday, September 23: Global Poverty Monthly Policy Forum, 9:00 pm ET. Register here. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.

Monday, September 27: Global Poverty Free Agents, 7:00 pm ET. If you are interested in joining, contact Lisa Marchal for more information.

Tuesday, September 28: Discovering Yourself as a Leader workshop, 8:30 pm ET. Register here. 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.