RESULTS Weekly Update November 16, 2021

Quote of the Week

“President Biden and Congress must lead a global effort to bring together industry, governments and global health institutions to urgently increase the supply and distribution of vaccines.”

– RESULTS Vermont volunteer Julia Russell in an November 11 letter to the editor in VTDigger.org

Table of Contents

• Keep pushing Congress to pass Build Back Better now; House could vote this week
• Ask Congress to cosponsor global nutrition legislation
• Join Monthly Policy Forums this Thursday
• Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty
• Announcements
• Upcoming Events
• Grassroots Resources

Keep pushing Congress to pass Build Back Better now; House could vote this week

Congress is back in Washington this week with the House poised to move forward on the Build Back Better Act (BBB). Earlier this month, moderate Democrats in the House promised to support the BBB when the cost analysis from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is available. The CBO announced Monday that it will release partial info on BBB early this week and its full analysis by Friday. This makes it likely the House will vote on BBB later this week or over the weekend (House leadership has signaled that they won’t leave for Thanksgiving until BBB is done).

The House vote is pivotal and we must keep pressure on lawmakers to vote YES on the bill. But the bigger fight will be in the Senate. Even if the House passes BBB this week, the Senate will not take it up until December. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has still not committed to voting for BBB and is now making statements about delaying the bill until 2022. We cannot let this happen. The longer this process takes, the harder it will be to pass the bill.

While lawmakers in Washington think they have all the time in the world to act, that is not the case for families across the country. While Congress has been haggling over this bill, the deadline for eligible families to sign up for the monthly Child Tax Credit (CTC) payments passed yesterday. These payments continue to lift over 3 million children above the federal poverty line each month and help families (including RESULTS staff) with important household expenses. But the new CTC is only in effect for 2021, which means the last CTC monthly payment will go out in December. If Congress does not pass BBB, those payments might never resume.

Since Labor Day, RESULTS volunteers have gotten over 100 media pieces published on issues related to Build Back Better (housing, tax credits, and vaccines). That media has kept pressure on Congress to act and is one reason we are close to success. But more is needed to see it through. Use more media to tell your members of Congress why BBB is important to you and why they need to pass it now.

TAKE ACTION: Take twenty minutes to generate media in support of the Build Back Better Act. Submit letters to the editor highlighting that BBB will lift millions of children out of poverty, help 17.4 million low-wage workers get a boost in income, reduce housing instability for 300,000 households, and vaccinate countless people around the world from COVID-19. If you are not sure what to write, use our online letter to the editor to draft and submit your letter today. Even if your members of Congress are not expected to vote yes, getting media published in their states and districts showing that constituents support these policies could pave the way for bipartisan work going forward. Here are some potential hooks to use for media this week:

• The upcoming House vote on BBB is a major investment in American workers, families, and most of all, children.
• The last of the new CTC monthly payments will go out in December – we cannot let this game-changing investment in children disappear.
• President Biden signed the infrastructure bill yesterday. This is great investment in America but it’s incomplete without also investing in Americans with BBB.
• Thanksgiving reminds us of the importance of helping those who struggle to put food on the table; BBB will help millions do that.
• Higher costs are a real worry for everyday Americans and Congress has the power to provide relief. Pass BBB now.

When you get published, please forward your letter to the appropriate aides in your House and Senate offices (and please let us know too). Be sure to keep current on the status of Build Back Better on the RESULTS Blog.

Ask Congress to cosponsor global nutrition legislation

The bipartisan Global Malnutrition Prevention and Treatment Act (S.2956/H.R.4693) is open for cosponsorship in Congress, we are eager to see the cosponsorship numbers climb.

This legislation better positions USAID, our country’s main international development agency, to support countries to save more lives. The legislation focuses on increasing coverage for high impact, proven and affordable interventions, including “the Big 4”: prenatal vitamins, breastfeeding support, vitamin A supplementation for young kids, and emergency therapeutic foods to treat life-threatening severe malnutrition.

All children deserve a strong start in life, regardless of where they are born. But tragically, in 2020, nearly 150 million children under 5 were stunted (too short for their age) and over 45 million were affected by wasting (too thin for their height), both reflecting severe malnutrition. Experts predict that pandemic-related disruptions to food and health systems could cause up to a 50 percent rise in global malnutrition—and wasting is expected to be the single biggest driver of increased child deaths. Failure to act now will have devastating future consequences. Read more about the potential of this legislation on our blog. Then take action.

TAKE ACTION: Utilize our online action alert to ask your members of Congress to cosponsor the Global Malnutrition Prevention and Treatment Act in the House and Senate. Then share the alert with others, including your Action Networks, to amplify the message. You can also use our nutrition laser talk to help shape your written message – or to help you make a phone call to congressional offices. We have a new nutrition Action Sheet you can use with your local group. Finally, learn more about the topic of global malnutrition by reviewing our November National Webinar recording and our recent policy forum on the topic.

Join Monthly Policy Forums this Thursday

Join us this Thursday, November 18 for the RESULTS U.S. and Global Monthly Policy Forums.

On the U.S. Poverty Forum at 8:00 pm ET, we’ll be joined by Tristia Baumann, Senior Staff Attorney at the National Homelessness Law Center, for a timely in-depth discussion of federal housing policies during Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. Learn how our push for universal Housing Choice Vouchers fits in the broader housing and homelessness advocacy, particularly in the context of a global human rights framework, and hear alternative approaches to address the ongoing affordable housing, evictions, and homelessness crises. Please join this conversation on Thursday by registering for the U.S. Poverty Forum today.

Meanwhile, the Global Poverty Forum at 9:00 pm ET will welcome Dr. Rebecca Heidkamp, PhD, Associate Scientist at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and a member of the Standing Together for Nutrition consortium. Dr. Heidkamp will discuss what her latest research reveals about the impact of COVID-19 on child and maternal nutrition — and what can be done to address the crisis. To join, please register for the Global Poverty Forum today.

Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty

Join RESULTS Canada webinar on malnutrition tonight. The triple threat of COVID-19, conflict, and climate change has created a malnutrition crisis that is threatening the lives of millions of women and children on low and middle income countries. Join RESULTS Canada for their webinar “#InvestInNutrition: Taking action to end the malnutrition crisis” tonight, November 16 at 6:00 pm ET.  Register for the webinar to attend.

RESULTS Fellow speaks on new podcast. RESULTS Fellow Hwa Young Lee of Dallas, TX was featured on the Coalition on Human Needs new “Voices for Human Needs” podcast yesterday. In an episode aiming to “demystify lobbying”, she spoke about her experience lobbying her members of Congress with RESULTS. Listen to the episode here.

Bipartisan group calls for forum on food insecurity. Last month, Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Mike Braun (R-IN) and Reps. James P. McGovern (D-MA) and Jackie Walorski (R-IN) introduced S.3064/H.R.5724, to convene a White House conference on food, nutrition, hunger, and health that would provide recommendations to reduce food insecurity in the U.S.

Announcements

Join Motivational Interviewing training tonight. We all know that Congress and our country are pretty divided right now, but we need to work with everyone to end poverty. Sometimes it can be very frustrating working with our members of Congress because our values don’t seem to align or they just won’t take action. RESULTS wants to give advocates the tools to figure this out. Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a way of having values-based conversations that build relationships. We all need to know how to do this, whether in life or with our members of Congress. The next installment in our MI training series (session #3) is tonight, November 16 at 9:00 pm ET. Register for the series today (find the recordings for the past two sessions here).

Read the RESULTS anti-oppression audit findings. As part of our continued effort to address issues of oppression, RESULTS has been conducting an anti-oppression audit of our organization this year. A summary of the findings is now available (see also our overview of the findings on our November National Webinar).

Deadline to apply for RESULTS Fellowship is this week. If you are interested in applying for the RESULTS Fellowship, apply soon. The application process for this outstanding leadership training fellowship closes this Saturday, November 20.

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.

Upcoming Events

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

Tuesday, November 16: U.S. Poverty Free Agents,  8:00 pm ET. If you are interested in joining, Jos Linn for more information.

Tuesday, November 16, Motivational Interviewing Techniques, 9:00 pm ET. Register today. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.

Wednesday, November 17: Action Network Webinars, 12:30 pm ET and 8:00 pm ET. Register for the afternoon session or evening session. Registration ends one hour prior to each webinar.

Thursday, November 18: U.S. Poverty Monthly Policy Forum, 8:00 pm ET. Register here. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.

Thursday, November 18: Global Poverty Monthly Policy Forum, 9:00 pm ET. Register here. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.

Thursday, November 25-Friday, November 26: Thanksgiving holiday break. All RESULTS offices closed.

Thursday, December 2: Cultivating New Relationships Through Action, 8:00 pm ET. Register here. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.

Saturday, December 4: RESULTS National Webinar, 1:00 pm ET. Register today. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.

Tuesday, December 7: Your Strengths in Action, 8:30 pm ET. Register today. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.

Thursday, December 9: Global Allies Program – Ending Poverty With RESULTS, 8:30 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 Volunteers Hub, 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.