RESULTS Weekly Update April 12, 2022

Quote of the Week

“As a U.S. citizen, I’m proud the U.S. contributes about one-third of the money the GFATM uses to help other countries.”

– RESULTS Oakland, CA volunteer Susan Oehser in an April 2 letter to the editor the Glen Falls Post Star (NY)

Table of Contents

• New deadlines for FY23 appropriations
• Use April recess to push for Child Tax Credit extension
• Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty
• Announcements
• Upcoming Events
• Grassroots Resources

New deadlines for FY23 appropriations

Our appropriations memos (containing the global health, education, and economic priorities funding levels we’re requesting) and three House “Dear Colleague” letters supporting those priorities are now all available for your action-taking. The appropriations process is speeding along, so don’t hesitate. The House’s State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee of Appropriations (SFOPS) has an April 27 deadline for receiving requests from member offices, and Senate (SFOPS) has a deadline of May 19. Share our memos with congressional offices now and ask them to weigh in with SFOPS with those memo numbers.

Also, ask your representative to sign one or more of the House “Dear Colleague” letters, as the letters will begin to close as early as April 18 (next Monday). Look for updates on various deadlines, growing letter signature lists, and sign-on letters emerging in the Senate on the RESULTS blog. You’ll even find answers to frequently asked questions and sample templates if offices ask you to fill out forms as part of making your appropriations funding requests. Then share this online action alert with others so they can take action as well.

TAKE ACTION: Read more about our funding asks and the three House letters (on global nutrition; the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and global tuberculosis) on the RESULTS blog and make your requests. Follow up with offices. Send a thank-you for funding requests forwarded to SFOPS and letters signed. Questions on this process? Contact Crickett at [email protected] or other RESULTS staff.

Use April recess to push for Child Tax Credit extension

The House and Senate are on recess for the next two weeks. Lawmakers will be in their home states and districts, giving you opportunity to push them to help struggling families. With Tax Day less than a week away (April 18), this is the perfect time to tout the Child Tax Credit (CTC) as an easy, practical solution for rising prices.

Extending the expanded CTC is the right thing to do. Over 130 economists are urging Congress to extend the CTC to help families with higher costs from inflation. As noted in this NPR story, without the CTC monthly payments, families are being forced into hard choices. For example, some claimed that the expanded CTC would prompt people to leave the workforce, which did not happen. But it is the loss of those payments that is causing some to leave work because they can no longer afford childcare.

Lawmakers may be on recess, but families are not. Families can’t postpone buying groceries, paying rent, and getting gas for work to a more convenient time. Families are struggling now and Congress is ignoring them. Let them know your disapproval.

TAKE ACTION: Use the April recess (April 11-22) to demand your members of Congress extend he CTC now. Here are actions you can take in the next two weeks.

1. Attend town hall events. Contact local congressional offices and visit https://townhallproject.com to see if your members of Congress are holding public events in your area. If you find an event, plan to attend. Use our CTC laser talk to ask a question. Note: RESULTS may contact some of you about targeted lobby meetings during the recess.
2. Invite others to write letters with you. Our April U.S. Poverty Action focuses on writing letters to members of Congress about the CTC. Use this action to invite as many people as you can to write letters with you. The more letters you have, the more noise you make. Use our Action Workshop Agenda to host your own letter-writing meeting. Plan to deliver letters in upcoming lobby meetings or send to tax aides when Congress is back in DC (April 25).
3. Get letters to the editor published about the CTC. When your representative or senator opens up the paper this week, make sure they see your letter in it. Use our online media alert to submit your letter today.

If you have question, please contact RESULTS staff for help.

Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty

Media hooks of the week. To help you in your media advocacy, here are suggested media “hooks” this week to use in letters to the editor:

• S. Poverty: The March inflation report came out April 12 showing prices for gas, food, and housing continue to rise (fueled by the pandemic recovery and the war in Ukraine). Congress has an easy solution – extend the Child Tax Credit monthly payments now.
• Global Poverty: A recent blogpost on the ONE Campaign’s Aftershocks offers stark details on hunger in Africa. For example, did you know that 1 in 3 persons in North Africa and in the Middle East already didn’t have enough food to eat before the war in Ukraine, a situation that is now being further exacerbated?

New report highlights growing food insecurity. The Center for American Progress has a new paper looking at the causes of rising food insecurity over the past two years. Low-income families face food insecurity at disproportionately higher rates and also bear the brunt of rising food costs. In the first two weeks of March, 21.7 million households reported not having enough to eat in the previous seven days, including 20 percent of Black households, 16 percent of Hispanic or Latino households, and 13 percent of LGBT households.

Webinar on conflict and global food insecurity. Invite congressional staff to an important event tomorrow, April 13, at 10 am ET. “Ripple Effects of Conflict: The Worsening Global Food Insecurity and Malnutrition Crisis” is a 90-minute webinar offered by the Nutrition CEO Council and Senate Hunger Caucus, alongside RESULTS and other anti-hunger organizations. Online registration is available.

Announcements

Register for the RESULTS International Conference. Join us June 4-5 for the 2022 RESULTS International Conference. At this virtual event, author and professor Jelani Cobb of The New Yorker will be our keynote speaker. The agenda features informative policy sessions and advocacy trainings. All this to help you have powerful lobby meetings during our upcoming Advocacy Month (May 30-July 8). Advocacy Month will include local, in-person meetings with lawmakers and staff, virtual lobby meetings, and a limited, in-person lobbying event in Washington, DC. Don’t miss out – register for the 2022 RESULTS International Conference today!

Join tomorrow’s training on researching members of Congress. Join us for our Researching Your Members of Congress training tomorrow, April 13 at 8:00 pm ET. RESULTS Regional Coordinator Allison Gallaher will demonstrate tips and strategies for finding background info on your members of Congress. These tools will make your lobbying efforts more effective. Register today for this training and bring examples of members of Congress you’d like to find background for, as this will be a live and dynamic webinar.

Register for April Policy Forums. On our April U.S. Poverty Policy Forum (April 21 at 8:00 pm ET), Barbara Duffield, Executive Director of SchoolHouse Connection, will join us to discuss how tax credits benefit young people. On our April Global Policy Forum (April 21 at 9:00 pm ET),  David McNair, Executive Director for Global Policy David McNair of the ONE Campaign, will join us to discuss global nutrition. Register for the U.S. Forum and the Global Forum today.

Be sure to submit your RESULTS Grassroots Board nominations. Ever thought of serving as a RESULTS Grassroots Board Member? Now is the time to submit your nominations for the open seat this year. Please send nominee’s full name, along with email address and phone number, to Jesse Marsden at [email protected]. Nominations are due no later than Monday, May 2.

Register for April 26 Diversity and Inclusion 101 training. Join our work to dismantle systems of oppression and help reach the goal of having all RESULTS volunteers attend our “Diversity and Inclusion 101” training this year. The next open session is Tuesday, April 26 at 11:30 am ET, with additional offerings over the next few months. Seating is limited for each session so register for an upcoming session today.

Join racial healing webinar on April 30. Our RESULTS DC volunteers are hosting the “Race Literacy and Healing 101: A Foundation for Change” webinar with Milagros Phillips later this month. This webinar will introduce vital information to help you understand the context of racial biases, how racial trauma gets passed on, and how racial conditioning affects all areas of life. This event is Saturday, April 30, 2:00-3:30 pm ET and is open to all RESULTS volunteers. Space is limited, so register today to reserve your spot.

Upcoming Events

Congressional schedule. The House and Senate are on recess this week.

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

Wednesday, April 13: Researching Your Member of Congress for Influence, 8:00 pm ET. Register here.

Thursday, April 14: Global Allies Program (for RPCVs): Ending Poverty with RESULTS, 8:30 pm ET. Register here.

Tuesday, April 19: U.S. Poverty Free Agents, 1:00 pm and 9:00 pm ET. If you are interested in joining, contact Jos Linn for more information.

Tuesday, April 19: Together Women Rise partnership webinar, 8:30 pm ET. Register here.

Thursday, April 21: U.S. Poverty Monthly Policy Forum, 8:00 pm ET. Guest: Barbara Duffield of SchoolHouse Connection. Register here.

Thursday, April 21: Global Poverty Monthly Policy Forum, 9:00 pm ET. Guest: David McNair of the ONE Campaign. Register here.

Monday, April 25: Global Poverty Free Agents, 7:00 pm ET. If you are interested in joining, contact Lisa Marchal for more information.

Tuesday, April 26: Diversity and Inclusion 101 training, 11:00 am ET. Register here.

Saturday, April 30: Race Literacy and Healing 101: A Foundation for Change webinar with Milagros Phillips, 2:00 pm ET. Register today.

Saturday, May 7: National Webinar, 1:00 pm ET. Register here.

Thursday, May 12: 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.

Saturday, June 4-Sunday, June 5. RESULTS International Conference. Keynote speaker: Jelani Cobb of The New Yorker. Registration is open! Also check out our resources for the companion Advocacy Month.

Grassroots Resources

Learn about the RESULTS Experts on Poverty.

Find actions and volunteer resources on our Volunteers Hub, including our anti-oppression resources. To join the RESULTS listserv for more RESULTS conversation, send an email to [email protected].

Remember to please report your recent advocacy successes in lobby meetings, media, and outreach activities. Also, use our Volunteer Information Form to add or edit volunteer info and to sign up for updates and alerts.

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.