RESULTS Weekly Update December 14, 2021

Quote of the Week

“Can we who believe the Build Back Better bill is indeed a once-in-a-generational opportunity to invest in people and climate control, muster the strength to make a call to encourage our junior senator to support Build Back Better?”

– RESULTS Columbus volunteer Ginnie Vogts in a December 7 letter to the editor in the Columbus Dispatch

Table of Content

• December CTC payments go out tomorrow – will this be the last?
• Ask Congress to support global malnutrition legislation
• Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty
• Announcements
• Upcoming Events
• Grassroots Resources

December CTC payments go out tomorrow – will this be the last?

Millions of American families are scheduled to receive their December Child Tax Credit (CTC) payment tomorrow. These payments, which began in July, have been a financial lifeline for families needing help to make ends meet. According the Columbia University researchers, the October payment (latest data available) lifted 3.6 million children above the federal poverty line and cut child poverty by 27 percent.

Why then is the Senate threatening to force these children back into poverty by not passing the Build Back Better Act (BBB)? The monthly CTC payments, which passed as part of the American Rescue Plan in March, only apply to 2021. The House extended them another year when it passed BBB last month, but the Senate has yet to take action. Objections by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) have stalled the bill; objections over popular provisions such as paid leave, lower drug pricing, and taxes on the wealthy to pay for the plan. It’s now being reported that Sen. Manchin is again taking aim at the CTC as well.

Because Republicans in the Senate are united in opposition to BBB, Sens. Machin’s and Sinema’s votes are needed to pass it. If they don’t get behind the bill and its extension of the CTC, tomorrow’s payment will be the last. As a result, millions of children fall back into poverty next month.

However bad the loss of the payments is for families, the situation will be worse for the lowest-income children if the Senate does not pass BBB. In addition to increasing the CTC and allowing the monthly payments, March’s CTC expansion also made the CTC fully refundable for all low-income families, including those with no income. Prior to March, families had to earn at least $2,500 per year to qualify for even a partial refund of the CTC. Parents earning less than that got nothing. These low-income families are now getting the full CTC for the first time, which is one of biggest drivers of the drop in child poverty over the last six months. The House version of BBB makes this “full refundability” provision permanent, ensuring the lowest-income children will never lose the CTC (unless Congress changes the law). If BBB does not pass, the opposite will happen – these families will not only see their monthly payments stop, but they’ll also never receive the CTC again.*

Through its inaction, the Senate is threatening millions of children with poverty. Use media to demand the Senate pass BBB now.

TAKE ACTION: Use the December 15 CTC monthly payment as a hook to get letters to the editor published urging your senators to pass the Build Back Better Act before the holidays. Tell them that they hold the future of millions of American children in their hands – will senators choose to help them or ignore them? Use our updated online letter to the editor action to draft and submit a letter to the editor today. Be sure to share local CTC or housing data in your letter to highlight how BBB helps people in your state. When you get published, please forward your letter to the appropriate aides in your Senate offices (and please let us know too).

*Families who qualify for the CTC but do not get the monthly payments may still receive the full credit when they file their taxes. However, without BBB, families with children earning less than $2,500 per year will receive nothing after 2021 because they will no longer be eligible for the CTC.

Ask Congress to support global malnutrition legislation

We are still building the co-sponsorship list for the bipartisan Global Malnutrition Prevention and Treatment Act (S.2956/H.R.4693). We are steadily building support for the House bill but could use many more co-sponsors on both bills. We know that the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on malnutrition may unfold over the next several years. Even before the COVID-19 crisis, malnutrition was an underlying cause of almost half of all preventable deaths of children under age 5. Because of COVID-19, it’s possible that approximately 168,000 additional children under 5 could die by 2022. That’s why we need to gather co-sponsors on this legislation today.

The Global Malnutrition Prevention and Treatment Act, focused on USAID, embraces the “Power 4”: prenatal vitamins, support for breastfeeding, vitamin A supplementation, and ready-to-use therapeutic food. Moreover, it emphasizes program monitoring and evaluation as well as USAID accountability.

TAKE ACTION: First, read more about the potential of this legislation on our blog. Then utilize our online action alert to ask your members of Congress to co-sponsor. Take advantage of our nutrition laser talk to help shape a written or phone message. We have a leave-behind for your legislators that you can share as you reach out. We also have a nutrition Action Sheet you can use to engage your local group.

Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty

Join BBB call-in day tomorrow. MomsRising and ParentsTogether Action are putting together a national call-in day tomorrow, December 15 to flood the Senate with calls demanding that the Senate not let December 15 be the last monthly payment for millions of families and to take action on BBB. They have a toolkit to share sharing some sample social, images, and a sample email you can use. Use our e-mail or call Congress using our online action alert telling them to pass BBB now!

Groups call on the Senate to pass BBB now. A new letter signed by more than 450 advocacy groups (including RESULTS) urges senators to pass the Build Back Better Act and extend the Child Tax Credit before leaving for the holidays, or risk throwing nearly 10 million American children below the poverty line or even deeper into poverty.

BBB makes tax code more progressive. A new analysis from Americans for Tax Fairness shows that the Build Back Better Act passed by the House last month will double the average tax rate millionaires will pay over the next decade, from 3.2 percent in 2022 to 6.4 percent in 2031.

Watch recording of racism and taxes webinar. If you missed the “Hidden Racism in the Tax Code” webinar last week with Dorothy A Brown and Darrick Hamilton, you can watch the recording on Facebook.

Announcements

Schedule your Group Roadmap meeting this month. In December, RESULTS groups around the country are making their 2022 advocacy plans by completing their 2022 Group Roadmaps. Your 2022 Roadmaps build on your 2021 plans and successes. The 2022 Group Roadmap resources are available on our Working with Your Group page (under “Make your group plans”). Please schedule time with your group in December (or early January) to discuss and complete your 2022 Roadmap by January 14.

Read preview of RESULTS’ 2022 campaigns. Take a look at our new preview of our 2022 legislative campaigns. We will discuss these campaigns in more detail on the January 8 RESULTS National Webinar.

Join next Motivational Interviewing training tonight. Join fellow RESULTS volunteers for the next installment of our Motivational Interviewing (MI) training. MI is a way of having values-based conversations that build relationships. These skills can be helpful in challenging conversations with members of Congress, advocates, and others. Session 4 is tonight, December 14 at 9:00 pm ET. Register for the series today (find the recordings for the past three sessions here).

Join New Advocate Orientation on Thursday. If you or someone you know wants to learn about how to be a powerful advocate for the end of poverty with RESULTS, please sign up for our next New Advocate Orientation this Thursday, December 16 at 12:00 pm ET. This is the last orientation of the year, so join to get involved as a RESULTS volunteer and encourage others to attend. Register at: https://results.salsalabs.org/orientationcallrsvp/index.html.

Discovering Yourself as a Leader Using the GALLUP CliftonStrengths Tool on January 11. Leverage your natural strengths to excel in leadership roles within your RESULTS group, your community, and beyond. Become a more agile, and more resilient changemaker! Join us for this session on Tuesday, January 11 at 8:30 pm ET. 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. By joining this workshop, you will have the opportunity to dig deeper into your top five strengths and learn how to leverage them in leadership roles. Register today to receive a code for your online assessment. Registration closes one hour before the webinar; however, we encourage you to register well in advance in order to complete your assessment and pre-work.

Report your advocacy actions for 2021! As the year draws to a close, don’t forget to catch up on reporting your lobby meetings. You have accomplished over 580 lobby meetings this year, and we don’t want to miss counting a single one. Perhaps we’ll make 600? Incredible! Also, if you have media from 2021 you have not reported, please do so today.

Read the RESULTS anti-oppression audit findings. Be sure to review the summary of our anti-oppression audit findings (see also our overview of the findings on our November National Webinar). These findings will be the basis of group discussions in early 2022 about moving our anti-oppression efforts forward.

Training resources available. The RESULTS website has a rich archive of training recordings that you can use on an on-demand basis. Whether you’re wanting to learn how to advocate more effectively or want tips on supporting new group members, it’s all there for you.

Upcoming Events

Congressional schedule. The House and Senate are in session this week.

Tuesday, December 14: 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, December 14: Motivational Interviewing Techniques, 9:00 pm ET. Register today. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.

Thursday, December 16, 12:00 pm ET: New Advocate Orientation. Register for the webinar here.

Note: there are no Monthly Policy Forums in December.

Friday, December 24-Sunday, January 2: Winter holiday break. All RESULTS offices closed.

Saturday, January 8: RESULTS National Webinar, 1:00 pm ET. Register today. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.

Tuesday, January 11: Discovering Yourself as a Leader Using the GALLUP CliftonStrengths Tool, 8:30 pm ET. Register well in advance so you can complete your assessment and pre-work.

Thursday, January 13: Global Allies Program for Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, 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.