U.S. Poverty Weekly Update December 12, 2017

U.S. Poverty Campaigns

Weekly Update | December 12, 2017

“I want to believe that our senators want to do right by all Alaskans, so here is a message I urge them to support: No child should go hungry, freeze or have an illness go untreated in order to pay for this tax cut.”

– RESULTS Anchorage volunteer Sara Buckingham in a December 6 letter to the editor in the Anchorage Daily News

Quick Media Action: Tell Congress to Reject Tax Cuts that Put Anti-Poverty Programs at Risk

Got Two Minutes? Get Ready for Tonight’s U.S. Poverty National Webinar with Laura Peralta-Schulte or NETWORK

Join us tonight at 8:00 pm ET for the RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar. As Congress negotiates a final tax bill, we are pleased to have Laura Peralta-Schulte of NETWORK as our guest speaker this month. She will update us on the latest about the tax bill, what impacts it could have on low-income populations in the U.S., and what we can do to stop it. We’ll also celebrate some of your amazing successes in 2017 and look ahead to an important agenda in 2018 – one where we will need your voices more than ever. Please plan to join us for the final webinar of 2017!

TAKE ACTION: Take two minutes to remind your local RESULTS group about the RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Grassroots Webinar tonight, December 12 at 8:00 pm ET. Remind members if your group is meeting for the call or if group members (and Free Agents) are calling in on their own. To join online, login at http://fuze.me/32255914 or dial in by phone at (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID: 32255914#. Plan to log in or call in no later than 7:55 pm ET. The webinar slides will be available on our National Webinars page before the webinar.

Got Ten Minutes? Generate Media to Protect Anti-Poverty Programs (December Action)

House and Senate leaders are working to finalize their tax bill, with a vote expected sometime next week. At this point, no one knows if leadership will have the votes to pass their final version, once everyone knows what’s in it. That means, you still have time to make a difference on this bill.

We will certainly urge you to call your representatives and senators next week when the vote gets scheduled. In the meantime, media is a great way to educate lawmakers and your communities about how bad these proposals are (and we don’t expect the final bill to be any better, and perhaps worse). RESULTS volunteers have gotten 50 media pieces published since November 1, urging Congress to reject tax cuts that put anti-poverty programs at risk. Your media can get lawmakers’ attention and perhaps convince them to think twice about supporting policies that take from those who have little to give to those who have much.

Make one last media push this week by getting a flurry of letters to the editor published telling your members of Congress by name to oppose any efforts to use anti-poverty programs as a ATM to pay for reckless tax cuts for the rich.

TAKE ACTION: Take ten minutes to take the December Action – submit a letter to the editor to your local paper urging your members of Congress to protect anti-poverty programs from any cuts. Congress must not use Medicaid, SNAP, and other assistance programs to pay for tax cuts for the rich. Use the template below to send a personalized letter to the editor and send to your local paper (or you can use our online tool)

It's clear who will benefit from the new tax plan in Washington: the rich. What we're hearing less about is who will pay the consequences – and that's hardworking, low-income Americans.

This year we've already seen attempts to gut essential programs like Medicaid and SNAP (formerly Food Stamps). So, after giving away $1.5 trillion in tax breaks to millionaires, those same critical programs will wind up back on the chopping block. With one in eight Americans below the poverty line, this is both bad public policy and just plain wrong. I am counting on our Congressional delegation to reject efforts to gut basic assistance to pay for tax breaks for the rich.

We’ll discuss the latest on tax negotiations on tonight’s U.S. Poverty webinar at 8:00 pm ET. RESULTS volunteers have published over 426 media pieces about U.S. poverty this year. Keep that record momentum going by hitting 450 by the end of this month. When you get published, please let us know.

Got Twenty Minutes? Take Your Media Work to the Next Level

As RESULTS volunteers use the media to influence the vote on a final tax bill, why not take your media game to the next level. While letters to the editor (LTE) are a great way to get a short message about an issue into your local paper, an op-ed can have a much bigger impact. Op-eds give you the opportunity to dig deep into the issue. How does the tax bill influence people in your state? What story do you have illustrating the importance of protecting Medicaid or SNAP? What specific action do you want your members of Congress to take? An op-ed gives you the room to make these arguments. And in return, the issue gets much greater attention, both in the paper and beyond (think of all the opinion pieces people share in social media – imagine your op-ed being one of them).

And the great thing is that you don’t have to start from scratch. RESULTS has a sample op-ed about the tax bill you can use to get started. Simply personalize it, submit it, and watch what happens. This is crunch time on this tax bill in Congress. With a vote expected next week, we need to pull out all the stops to oppose its passage. Do your part by submitting your op-ed today.

TAKE ACTION: Take twenty minutes to personalize the RESULTS sample op-ed and submit it to your local paper. Amplify your voice in the tax debate by making the case for opposing any bill that cuts taxes for the wealthy and puts anti-poverty programs at risk. To help personalize your piece, use this chart from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities showing how the misguided priorities in the tax bill impact your state.

Go bigger with an editorial. Want to make the biggest impact you can in print media? Contact your local paper and urge them to write an editorial in opposition of Congress’ final tax bill. Use the RESULTS editorial memo to make your request today.

Quick News

Help with RESULTS Outreach. Over the last few weeks, RESULTS volunteers and staff have held events in Anchorage, Maine, Chicago, North Dakota, West Virginia, Kansas City, and Indianapolis. These events are critical in building the political will to end poverty. We also have numerous events coming up, including one tonight in Mississippi and two this weekend in South Carolina and Pennsylvania. Please see the Upcoming Events section below for a complete list of events and locations. If you know people in these areas, invite them to come. Also, if you would like to put on your own event, please contact Jos Linn for assistance in getting started.

Virtual Thanksgiving Feast Was a Huge Success! Thank you to everyone who helped make the Virtual Thanksgiving Feast a huge success. Together, our amazing volunteers have raised over $9,000 – and still counting! The funds raised will support the training and resources that allow RESULTS volunteers to advocate for anti-poverty programs. Still want to contribute? Donate here: https://results.salsalabs.org/virtualthanksgiving/index.html.

Last Days of ACA Open Enrollment. The deadline to enroll for a health insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act is this Friday, December 15. If you or someone you know needs health coverage, go to https://www.healthcare.gov to find a plan that works for you.

Upcoming Events

Go to the RESULTS Events Calendar to see a full list of RESULTS events. Also, find a list of the RESULTS U.S. Poverty staff with contact information on the RESULTS website.

Staff Vacations: Meredith Dodson, December 21-January 1. Jos Linn, December 21-January 7. Kristy Martino, December 23-January 1.

Upcoming Congressional Recesses: House and Senate: December 16, 2017-January 1, 2018 (this is subject to change).

Mississippi Outreach Event, Tuesday, December 12 at 6:00 pm CT. Rosedale Library 703 Front St. Rosedale, MS. Contact Kristy Martino for more information.

RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar, Tuesday, December 12 at 8:00 pm ET. Participate at http://fuze.me/32255914 or (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID: 32255914#.

RESULTS Introductory Call, Friday, December 15 at 1:00 pm ET. Register for an upcoming Intro Call on the RESULTS website.

South Carolina Storytelling and Media Training, Saturday, December 16 at 10:00 am ET. Hosted by RESULTS Expert on Poverty Yolanda Gordon. York County Library, 138 Black St E, Rock Hill, South Carolina. RSVP via Facebook.

Pennsylvania Storytelling Workshop and Media Training, Saturday, December 16 at 9:00 am ET. Featuring RESULTS Expert on Poverty Asia Bijan Thompson. Misericordia University, 301 Lake St, Dallas, PA. RSVP at: https://www.facebook.com/events/126506608021972/.

U.S. Poverty Free Agents Calls, Tuesday, December 19 at 1:00 pm and 8:00 pm ET. To participate, login at http://fuze.me/32256018 or dial by phone at (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID: 32256018#.

RESULTS Holiday Break, December 23-January 1. All RESULTS office closed.

Louisiana Storytelling & Advocacy Training Session, Saturday, January 13 at 5:00pm CT. Women Resource Center, 1221 Truxton Street, Gretna, LA. Featuring RESULTS Expert of Poverty Qiana Torregano. For more information, contact Meredith Dodson.

Iowa (Des Moines) Presentation on Poverty and Young Children, Monday, January 29, 2018 at 6:30pm CT. Franklin Avenue Library, 5000 Franklin Ave, Des Moines, IA. More details soon. Contact Jos Linn for more information.

Iowa (Iowa City) Presentation on Poverty and Young Children, Tuesday, January 30, 2018 at 6:30pm CT. St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, 2675 E. Washington Street, Iowa City, IA. More details soon. Contact Jos Linn for more information.

2018 RESULTS International Conference, July 14-17, 2018, Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, D.C. Check out our new 2018 Conference flyer!

If you have a question, comment or suggestion for the RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund Board, please e-mail them to RESULTS Grassroots Board Member Steven McGee at [email protected]. You can view the most recently published minutes from Board meetings on the RESULTS website, as well as download RESULTS’ most recent Annual Report.