RESULTS Weekly Update September 20, 2022

Quote of the Week

“I implore our members of Congress to expand the child tax credit to all low-income families, with a monthly payment option, in any tax legislation this year.”

–RESULTS Dallas volunteer Marty White in a September 18 letter to the editor in the Dallas Morning News

Table of Contents

• We need more congressional support for the End TB Now Act
• Have you contacted tax aides this month about the CTC?
• Join Monthly Policy Forums on Thursday
• Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty
• Announcements
• Upcoming Events
• Grassroots Resources

We need more congressional support for the End TB Now Act

With limited resources diverted to fight COVID-19, tuberculosis (TB) cases are on the rise again after a decade of decline. That’s why RESULTS is pushing for passage of the End TB Now Act. As with many problems that impoverished communities face, the key is not only more resources but also how you use them.

RESULTS has a history of focusing on solutions that target resources to the people who need it most. The End TB Now Act requires the U.S. to establish bold goals for reaching the most vulnerable populations to detect, cure, and prevent all forms of TB. It also supports research to better fight the disease. The legislation promotes a holistic approach to fight TB by promoting partnerships and coordination across allied groups. Finally, it embeds accountability into our TB strategy by requiring reporting and evaluation on the impact of these initiatives.

Right now, there are only 13 co-sponsors for the End TB Now Act (10 House, 3 Senate). This makes its future uncertain. If the bill does not pass by the end of this congressional session, the process must start all over again in the next Congress. And with an election around the corner, who knows if the next Congress will be willing to consider the legislation. With lives on the line, it is imperative we get the End TB Act Now passed this year.

TAKE ACTION: Contact your senators and representatives to co-sponsor the End TB Now Act (S.3386/H.R. 8654). The September 2022 Global Poverty Action has resources to help you. You can also send a message using our TB action alert. If you’ve already asked them, follow up on the status of your request. See our global poverty tracking chart to see who has already co-sponsored the bill. Find additional resources to help on our Fall 2022 Campaign Resources page.

Have you contacted tax aides this month about the CTC?

Congress will be in Washington for only 10 more days before leaving to campaign. They won’t return until mid-November. These two weeks are an important opportunity to talk to their offices about expanding the Child Tax Credit (CTC).

Doing so is two-pronged approach. The first prong is for the congressional point person in your local RESULTS group to contact the tax aide for the office(s) they cover. Reach out to them to check in on what they are hearing about tax negotiations and the CTC. Remind them that you know Congress wants to pass a tax bill after the election. You want to make sure a CTC expansion is part of it.

We have resources you can use in these communications. The September 2022 U.S. Poverty Action for talking points, in particular that Congress must not pass tax breaks for wealthy corporations without also helping children and families. Share the new Census poverty data showing that child poverty dropped 46 percent between 2020 and 2021, primarily due to the CTC. Remind them that stubbornly high rent and food costs are putting a strain on family budgets. The CTC would be a financial boost for families. Also, if you are contacting moderate or conservative offices, read this RESULTS Blog post for messaging tips (and join our U.S. Policy Forum this Thursday (see below)).

The second prong is what other members of your RESULTS group – and potential new volunteers – can do. You want those volunteers to amplify the message the person contacting the tax aide is sending. Do that by e-mailing, calling, and tweeting their members of Congress urging them to expand the CTC. In addition, submit letters to the editor urging Congress to not pass tax cuts for the wealthy without also expanding the CTC. These are ideal first actions for new volunteers. Remind them that their advocacy can make a difference on getting a CTC extension this year.

TAKE ACTION: Use these last two weeks before Congress goes on recess again to make your case for the CTC in tax legislation this year. Use the guidance above to work with tax aides and amplify your CTC message at the same time. Contact your House and Senate tax aides this week. See additional resources on our Fall 2022 Campaign Resources page.

Join Monthly Policy Forums on Thursday

Our monthly Policy Forums are this Thursday, September 22. On the U.S. Poverty Forum at 8:00 pm ET, David Plasterer, RESULTS Senior Policy Associate, will discuss how to make the best pitch for expanding the Child Tax Credit to conservative lawmakers. He’ll outline how to respond to common objections you might hear, and also save time for you to ask questions about the CTC and your members of Congress.

The Global Poverty Forum immediately follows at 9:00 pm ET. Global Education Policy Manager, Dr. Meg Gardinier, will discuss the current challenge of the global learning crisis. She’ll share insights from the recent Transforming Education Summit at the United Nations. Finally, she’ll discuss ways that the U.S. Government is providing aid and support to achieve global Sustainable Development Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

TAKE ACTION: Join us for this month’s Policy Forums. Register for the September 22 U.S. Forum at 8:00 pm ET and/or the Global Forum at 9:00 pm ET. You will receive an e-mail from RESULTS with the login information before the webinars. If you have questions, please contact Jos Linn.

Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty

Leaders meet in NYC to discuss global education; READ Act moves. Education experts are meeting at the United Nations in New York City for the Transforming Education Summit. The summit “seeks to mobilize political ambition, action, solutions and solidarity to transform education.” Another way the U.S. can mobilize in support of global education is by passing the READ Act Reauthorization Act of 2022. This bill builds on the success of the original READ Act by requiring USAID to update its strategy to improve foundational literacy and numeracy in basic education and implement rigorous. And there’s good news! The READ Act is on the House suspension calendar for this week, so it could come up for a vote soon. No word on the Senate. Use our READ Act action alert to ask your senators to co-sponsor this bill today (and visit our global poverty tracking chart to see who already has). Finally, learn more about our global education work with RESULTS’ Meg Gardinier on this Thursday’s Global Policy Forum.

New tool makes it easy to dive into poverty data. The Center for American Progress has launched a new poverty data project today that contains U.S. Census Bureau poverty data on the national, state, and congressional district level. You can also compare data between states and explore the data using a map tool. CAP also has a new report contextualizing the 2021 Census poverty data in “Expanding the Safety Net During a Recession Prevents Worsening Economic Pain.” These are great resources to review and share in your corresponding with tax aides and letters to the editor.

Help people claim their CTC and EITC refunds. GetCTC allows low-income families to claim the Child Tax Credit and missing third stimulus payments quickly and easily. It is available for free in English and Spanish at https://www.getctc.org until November 15. In addition, younger workers and others who do not claim dependents can still claim their expanded 2021 Earned Income Tax Credit. They must file their taxes by October 17, 2022. Visit GetYourRefund.org by October 1 to find out more.

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:

• U.S. Poverty: Continue to use the new Census poverty data release as a hook for letters to the editor urging Congress to expand the Child Tax Credit this year.
• Global Poverty: Use the Global Fund Replenishment Conference happening this week in New York as a hook to get letters to the editor urging Congress to fully fund the Global Fund and pass the End TB Now Act.

Announcements

Join media office hour tomorrow. If you need help finding hook, data, or need editing help for your latest media piece, join RESULTS staff for our media office hour tomorrow, September 21 at 2:00pm ET. Join via Zoom at: https://results.zoom.us/j/93668005494 or (312) 626-6799, meeting ID: 936 6800 5494.

New to RESULTS? Join our orientation webinar tomorrow. If you or someone you know would benefit from a RESULTS 101 overview (e.g., a new volunteer you personally recruited), sign up for a RESULTS New Advocate Orientation. This 60-minute presentation is a great intro to our work, giving people the foundation to start their advocacy with RESULTS. The next orientation is Wednesday, September 21 at 8:30 pm ET. Sign up today!

Learn how to best welcome new advocates to your local group. Join our “Build the Movement: Nuts and Bolts of Supporting New Advocates” workshop on Wednesday, September 28 at 8:00 pm ET. This will be a deep dive into how we can build the RESULTS movement. Onboarding and training new volunteers are hard work! There is no “one size fits all” to help new advocates succeed. This webinar space is to co-learn and share best practices about how we can build meaningful relationships with new people in our communities. This workshop is for New Advocate Mentors, Group Leaders, and volunteers who are wanting to up their mentorship skills and group–building skills. Register for this workshop today.

Listen to recordings from “Five Pillars” and Social Media trainings. RESULTS co-hosted with CLASP the “Reimagining the Five Pillars of the White House Hunger Conference” webinar. It focused on hearing the voices of those who have lived experience with poverty and how the upcoming White House Conference on Hunger could better incorporate these essential voices in its agenda. Listen to the recording here. Also, RESULTS hosted a Social Media Advocacy training over the weekend. The speaker did an excellent job at explaining how to use social media to influence policymakers and attract new volunteers. Contact Jos Linn if you would like a link to the recording.

Apply for the 2023 RESULTS Fellowship. We are now accepting applications for the 2023 class of the RESULTS Advocacy & Organizing Fellowship. For all the details on eligibility and how to apply, check out our website. Applications close October 31.

Join candidate “bird-dogging” training in October. October will be a big month for candidate engagement. This is a perfect time to tap into the energy and angst around elections to advance our issues and recruit new advocates. Join RESULTS and Right to Health Action to learn how to make the most of election town halls and other public events. In addition to learning the tactics of “birddogging” candidates, you’ll get ideas about engaging people in your community in the transformational advocacy of birddogging. The webinar is Thursday, October 6, 2022 at 08:30 pm ET. Register here.

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.

Tuesday, September 20: U.S. Poverty Free Agents, 1:00 pm and 9:00 pm ET. Contact Jos Linn for more information.

Tuesday, September 20: Together Women Rise Advocacy Chapter with RESULTS, 8:30 pm ET. Learn more.

Wednesday, September 21: Media Office Hour, 2:00 pm ET. Join via Zoom at: https://results.zoom.us/j/93668005494 or (312) 626-6799, meeting ID: 936 6800 5494.

Wednesday, September 21: Action Network Managers Webinar, 8:00 pm ET. Register here.

Wednesday, September 21, New Advocate Orientation, 8:30 pm ET. Register for the orientation here.

Thursday, September 22: U.S. Poverty Policy Forum, 8:00 pm ET. Register here.

Thursday, September 22: Global Poverty Policy Forum, 9:00 pm ET. Register here.

Wednesday, September 28: Build the Movement – Nuts and Bolts of Supporting New Advocates, 8:00 pm ET. Register today.

Saturday, October 1: Monthly National Webinar, 1:00 pm ET. Register here.

Tuesday, October 4: Diversity and Inclusion 101, 12:00 pm ET. Register here.

Thursday, October 6: Candidate engagement “birddogging” training, 8:30 pm ET. Register here.

The next Global Poverty Free Agents meeting will be held in October.

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.