RESULTS Weekly Update February 1, 2022

Quote of the Week

“All of our children deserve the best chance in life, free from the brutal precariousness of poverty. The enhanced Child Tax Credit is that best chance. Let’s not miss it.’’

– RESULTS New Jersey volunteer Clara Moore in a January 26 op-ed in Other Words

Table of Contents

• Ask your representative to sign a letter in support of the Global Fund
• Tax season begins with need for Congress to act on the CTC and EITC
• Join National Webinar with Dorothy Brown and Rosemary Mburu this Saturday
• Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty
• Announcements
• Upcoming Events
• Grassroots Resources

Ask your representative to sign a letter in support of the Global Fund

The U.S. has a huge opportunity to make a difference on COVID-19 and diseases of poverty later this year when it hosts the Seventh Replenishment Conference for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Through this replenishment, we can gain ground not only in tackling these three diseases, but also in pandemic preparedness for the future.

As you are aware, unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected broader health systems. According to the World Health Organization, TB case detection has plummeted due to pandemic-related disruptions in services. Tragically, for the first time in more than a decade, global tuberculosis mortality has increased.

Congress has the opportunity to start backing the Global Fund in advance of the replenishment thanks to a bipartisan House letter led by Representatives Barbara Lee (CA-13) and Michael McCaul (TX-10). This letter calls for bold U.S. leadership during the replenishment. Will you ask your representative today to sign this bipartisan letter? Our goal is 150 signers, and we’re confident we can reach that target with your terrific advocacy.

TAKE ACTION: Ask your representative to sign the bipartisan House letter calling for strong U.S. leadership at this year’s Global Fund replenishment. Reach out to your foreign policy aide and ask your representative to sign using the instructions on the letter itself. We know that the letter will be open for at least a week, and we will be tracking signatures soon, so do your outreach today and then follow up by phone or email in a couple of days. If you aren’t reaching out directly to the foreign policy aide, use this online action to write a letter to your Rep. and share it with others so they can take action with you.

Tax season begins with need for Congress to act on the CTC and EITC

The 2021 tax filing season began last week with some exciting opportunities and frustrating challenges ahead. As for the opportunities, families who received the Child Tax Credit monthly payments in 2021 – the payments that kept over 3 million children from poverty – will get another CTC payment when they file their taxes this year. The CTC monthly payments amounted to one-half of each family’s 2021 CTC; they will receive the second half of their CTC as a lump sum refund when they file. Also exciting is that more low-wage workers than ever before will get the EITC this year because of the 2021 EITC expansion for workers not raising children in the home. Remember, before 2021, 5 million low-wage of these workers were taxed into poverty each year because Congress set their EITC too low. The 2021 changes fixed that problem. Important note: families and workers must file a 2021 federal tax return to receive their expanded CTC or EITC; help get the word out urging them to do so.

Now the challenges. Because of congressional budget rules, the CTC and EITC improvements only apply for the 2021 tax year. Unless extended, all the progress on reducing the number of children and low-wage workers living in poverty will be erased. Last November, the House passed the Build Back Better Act which extended the CTC and EITC changes another year, and made full refundability of the CTC permanent. But it has not gained enough support to pass the Senate. As a result, the monthly CTC payments have stopped and families are again struggling.

But no one is giving up. Yesterday, the New York Times ran a full page ad highlighting a letter signed by 250 organizations (including RESULTS) calling on Congress to extend the CTC. Last week, five senators sent a letter to President Biden urging him to prioritize the CTC in new Build Back Better negotiations. And you, the volunteers at RESULTS, got 23 media pieces published in January calling for Congress continue reducing child poverty by extending the CTC. Only that continued pressure on lawmakers can get this done. Keep it up!

TAKE ACTION: Tell your members of Congress as they get back to Washington that America’s workers and families must be their priority. Remind them of the success on child poverty we achieved in 2021 and that that progress is being erased from congressional inaction. Write, call, get media – any and every way to get their attention – urging them to extend the CTC and EITC provisions as soon as possible. Our U.S. Poverty Action and Laser Talks have talking points and background info to help. If you need help, please contact RESULTS staff for assistance.

Join National Webinar with Dorothy Brown and Rosemary Mburu this Saturday

We have an excellent lineup for you for the RESULTS National Webinar this Saturday, February 5 at 1:00 pm ET. On U.S. poverty, we are thrilled to welcome Dorothy Brown, Emory University School of Law professor and author of The Whiteness of Wealth, to discuss the impact of tax policy on racial equity in the U.S. On global poverty, we are happy to welcome Rosemary Mburu, global health advocate and Executive Director of WACI Health, who will offer insights relevant to our advocacy for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Here is the agenda for the webinar:

• 1:00-1:30pm: U.S. Poverty section with Dorothy Brown
• 1:30-2:00pm: Grassroots actions and support
• 2:00-2:30pm: Global Poverty section with Rosemary Mburu

TAKE ACTION: Please join the webinar! Register for this exciting webinar today so you don’t miss it. Once registered, you will receive login information later this week via e-mail (please check your junk or spam folders if you have not received anything by Friday afternoon). You can also access the webinar slides (and later the recording) on our National Webinars page.

Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty

Introducing our “hooks of the week”. In a new feature to help you in your media advocacy, we are including suggested media “hooks” in the Weekly Update you can use in letters to the editor. Here are our suggested hooks for this week:

• U.S. Poverty: Tax filing season began last week. Remind families and workers to claim the expanded CTC and EITC for 2021 and urge Congress to extend them so we can lift even more people out of poverty.
• Global Poverty: COVID-19 is still raging around the world. The pandemic will not end until everyone has access to vaccines. Congress must pass new funding to make that happen.

Participate in the RESULTS Housing Policy Survey. RESULTS is soliciting input from volunteers to help shape our housing campaign through a new housing policy survey. Your responses to this survey will in part guide and inform which federal housing policies RESULTS should prioritize, support and advance in the short-term and long-term and our level of engagement with different housing coalitions. Please contact Michael Santos at [email protected] if you have any questions. The deadline to respond is Friday, February 11.

BBB tax provisions advance racial equity. A new blogpost from the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy outlines the importance of passing extensions of the 2021 EITC and CTC provisions in reducing racial income disparities in the U.S. Learn more about the impact of tax policy on racial equity (and inequity) on this week’s RESULTS National Webinar with guest Dorothy Brown (see more above).

Announcements

Please complete your Group Roadmaps. January 31 was the recommended deadline for RESULTS groups to complete their 2022 Roadmaps. Thank you to all of you who got your Roadmaps done by then. If you have not completed your group’s Roadmap yet, please set a time to complete it as soon as possible. The sooner you articulate your goals, the sooner RESULTS can support you in reaching them. The 2022 Group Roadmap resources are available on our Working with Your RESULTS Group page (under “Make your group plans”). Contact Jos Linn if you have questions.

Register for our Diversity and Including 101 training. Following the anti-oppression audit conducted last spring, we are rolling out the first of our anti-oppression workshops for 2022. These 90-minute foundational workshops called “Diversity and Inclusion 101: Implicit Bias, Microaggressions and Understanding of Systemic Racism and Oppression” will be led by RESULTS volunteer advocate Dr. Christina B. Gunther, Ph.D. We have multiple offerings of the training over the next few months. Seating is limited to 40 participants, so be sure to register as soon as you can. (And please cancel your registration if you determine you are unable to attend in order to allow others to participate.) Learn more about the workshop and offering dates on the RESULTS Blog.

Join us for our RESULTS Anti-Oppression (AO) Working Group Open Forum. On Wednesday, February 23 at 8:30 PM ET, the AO Working Group will have a rich and important conversation, and you’re invited. The AO Working Group includes grassroots volunteers and staff working together to advance RESULTS’ anti-oppression values and create opportunities for ongoing learning. Want to get involved? Register here.

Check out the new RESULTS homepage. If you’ve visited www.results.org in the last week, you may have noticed something a little different. We have a new homepage! Yes, now with new graphics and resources making it even easier to find what you want on our website. Also, learn about our new accessibility options (blue button in bottom right corner), including screen reader, text spacing and size, dyslexia friendly reading, and more!

Upcoming Events

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

Unless otherwise noted, registration ends one hour prior to the start of all webinars and trainings.

Saturday, February 5: RESULTS National Webinar, 1:00 pm ET. Register today.

Saturday, February 5: Diversity and Inclusion 101: Implicit Bias, Microaggressions and Understanding of Systemic Racism and Oppression, 3:00 pm ET. Session full. Register today for another offering of this training.

Thursday, February 10: Global Allies Program for Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, 8:30 pm ET. Register today.

Thursday, February 10: Quarterly Call-in with Grassroots Board Members, 9:00 pm ET. Join via Zoom or by phone at (301) 715-8592, meeting ID 922 0921 5298, passcode 985046.

Tuesday, February 15: 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.

Wednesday, February 16: Motivational Interviewing Techniques, 9:00 pm ET. Register today.

Thursday, February 17: U.S. Poverty Monthly Policy Forum, 8:00 pm ET. Register here.

Wednesday, February 23: Anti-Oppression (AO) Working Group Open Forum, 8:30 pm ET. Register here.

Thursday, February 24: Diversity and Inclusion 101: Implicit Bias, Microaggressions and Understanding of Systemic Racism and Oppression, 12:00 pm ET. Register here.

Thursday, February 24: Global Poverty Monthly Policy Forum, 9:00 pm ET (note special date).  Register here.

Saturday, February 26: Back to Our Roots – Connecting Policy to the BIPOC Community in a Historical Context, 12:00-4:00 pm ET. More information soon.

Monday, February 28: Global Poverty Free Agents, 7:00 pm ET. If you are interested in joining, contact Lisa Marchal for more information.

Weekend of June 4. RESULTS International Conference. Keynote speaker: Jelani Cobb of The New Yorker. More information soon on this virtual event.

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.