Top Action: This is the Week for a "Yes" or a "No" on TB from Your Senators

Now we need our Senators to sign on to their letter to the Administration. We have 21 signatures on the letter so far – we're on our way to our goal of 34, but we only have until this Friday, August 31. Make your request, or follow up on your request this week to get to a "yes" or a "no."

21 Signers: Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Todd Young (R-IN), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Tom Carper (D-DE), Susan Collins (R-ME), Chris Coons (D-CT), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Jack Reed (D-RI), Marco Rubio (D-FL), Tom Udall (D-NM), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ron Wyden (D-OR)

Getting our Senators to sign on to the Brown, Young, Cantwell, Sullivan letter to the Administration on the UN High-Level Meeting on TB will do two things: 1) Send a message to the Administration that TB leadership at the first-ever UN High-Level Meetings on TB is important to Congress, and 2) Build our base of TB supporters in the Senate. Here are your actions and tools: 

• Contact the Foreign Policy Aide in your senators' offices and ask the senators to sign-on to the letter to the Adminstration on the UN High-Level Meeting on TB on September 26. 

• Use Our Action Alert and share it with others so they can take action with your senators on TB.

If you want to know why we are fighting for TB, listen to powerful and potent civil society voices and stories from around the world. Also, check out our blog detailing our efforts on TB and the UN High-Level Meeting. You can also take a look at a powerful documentary, Two Countries, Two Choices, focused on MDR-TB. 

Plus, Mark Your Calendars for the September 8 National Grassroots Webinar

The focus will be on our TB work. You won't want to miss it. Gather your fellow advocates! September 8, 2 pm ET. National Grassroots Webinar, Global Poverty Campaigns. Join at https://results.zoom.us/j/510407386. Or join by phone at (669) 900-6833 or (929) 436-2866, meeting ID 510407386. 

No Take-Backs on Foreign Aid

Take turns. Share. No take-backs. These are rules that kids on a playground know by heart. But the White House isn’t playing fair when it comes to foreign aid.

According to press reports, President Trump is considering using an unprecedented budget trick to take back billions of dollars in foreign aid to low-income countries – aid that Congress already approved and has been signed into law.

So what exactly is going on here? The White House proposed slashing the budget for international affairs by over a third, but Congress has largely rejected those cuts on a bipartisan basis. Having failed to persuade Congress to enact his slash-and-burn budget, the president may try to exploit a loophole by canceling funding that’s already been approved by Congress. This “rescissions” tactic would normally require the approval of Congress, but with only a few weeks left in the federal fiscal year, the president can run out the clock and funds will expire.    

Experts aren’t even sure this is legal, but there’s no doubt this is a serious and unprecedented threat to foreign aid spending that undermines Congress’ constitutional power of the purse.

Act now: ask your members of Congress to protect foreign aid.

Hear Kul Gautam, Board Chair of RESULTS, on August 29

We’ve made incredible progress on child survival and extreme poverty over the past several decades. Kul Gautam, former Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and former Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF has been a leader in these efforts. Kul has worked with many organizations throughout the years, but two of his favorites are Peace Corps and RESULTS. He is inspired by their missions and their work. His first exposure to the Peace Corps was as a student in Nepal, and he learned of RESULTS during the early days of child survival revolution, which he helped spearhead. Kul is the recipient of the National Peace Corps Association’s 2018 Harris Wofford Global Citizen Award, NPCA’s highest honor. He is also the Board Chair of RESULTS.

On August 29, Kul is bringing together the National Peace Corps Association and RESULTS to celebrate the roles these organizations have played in his life and in creating change in the world. He also wants to highlight the mutual benefits and power of a partnership between the NPCA and RESULTS. 

• Please join us in person on August 29 at 11:30 am ET at 1101 15^th Street NW, Washington, DC, 20005 in the lower-level conference room.

• Or join us remotely via webinar at: https://results.zoom.us/j/763514126, or phone at 669-900-6833, meeting ID 763514126.

• If possible, please RSVP so we know how many people to expect in-person or online.

And you are invited to read Kul’s new autobiography, Global Citizen from Gulmi. Proceeds will go to UNICEF-assisted girl’s education projects in Nepal.

RESULTS, the 2018 Mid-Term Elections, and You

The 2018 midterms will present exciting opportunities to engage members of Congress, and ensure candidates learn about our issues before they ever get to Washington.

• If you are interested in talking to candidates this fall, sign up here and Carly Pildis, Senior Associate for Advocacy and Organizing, will reach out to you with opportunities ideas, and training! She can also guide you in training people in your community. 

• When you have attended a townhall, record your activity in our Candidate Engagement Tracker. 

• For more support resources, check out a new section on our website, RESULTS and the 2018 Election! 

Bringing New Folks Into RESULTS 

Welcome Series. We find new people when we table at events, do trainings, and go to town halls. After your initial conversation, invite them to check out our Welcome Series. The series will inform them about RESULTS in an inspiring way and get them started taking simple actions via a four-part email series. If someone is already a little familiar with RESULTS and receiving our actions and communications, you can go through the series at their own pace via our website. Let us help you engage new people!

Weekly Update Sign-up. After folks get acquainted with RESULTS, they can sign up to receive the Weekly Update! Connect them to the sign-up on our website. 

Orientation Session. After experiencing the Welcome Series and getting signed up for the Weekly Update, new folks can participate in an orientation session to get you well connected and on your way. Sign up online for one that fits. 

Powerful Film Bending the Arc. RESULTS Advocates will have access to Bending the Arc to show in your community at in-home viewings and at outreach events. Contact Ken Patterson or Colin Smith if you are interested in showing the film.

Upcoming Opportunities and Calendar Items 

August 29, 11:30 am ET. Hear Kul Gautam, Board Chair of RESULTS. Join us remotely via webinar at https://results.zoom.us/j/763514126, or phone at (669) 900-6833 or (929) 436-2866, meeting ID 763514126.

September 5, 8:30 pm ET. Training and Collaboration: Join the RESULTS Action Network Community of Practice. Login: https://results.zoom.us/j/427674133 or dial in to (669) 900-6833, meeting ID 427674133. An Action Network is a loosely organized band of community-based advocates and supporters connected to a RESULTS group or chapter. Action Network members may not regularly participate in group activities and meetings, but they take actions to support the group’s advocacy and organizing efforts and may participate in fundraising efforts. As they learn that their voice matters, they are  the most likely candidates for joining our groups. The new Action Network Community of Practice will work together to identify the best ways to recruit, organize, manage, and inspire our local Action Networks. Beginner and experienced Action Network organizers welcome.

September 8, 2 pm ET. National Grassroots Webinar, Global Poverty Campaigns. Join at https://results.zoom.us/j/510407386. Or join by phone at (669) 900-6833 or (929) 436-2866, meeting ID 510407386. 

September 13, 8:30 pm ET. New Advocate Orientation. If you are new to RESULTS, know someone new to RESULTS, or want to become a RESULTS advocate, please join us for our New Advocate Orientation! During this 60-minute live webinar, you'll interact with RESULTS staff and other new volunteers, learn more about our advocacy model and issues and get information on how to take action and get connected locally. Sign up here.

September 13. Training and Collaboration: Our Anti-Oppression Work Continues, 9 pm ET. Please join us for an anti-oppression webinar to openly discuss ways we as anti-poverty advocates can better support our communities. We’ll go over why anti-oppression work matters for our advocacy, discuss methods of responding to oppressive behavior using the new RESULTS Call-in/Call-out Guide, and provide an open space for sharing our experiences and learning from one another. To join, log in at https://results.zoom.us/j/292298302 or dial (669) 900 6833, meeting ID 292298302.

September 17, 1 pm ET and 8 pm ET. RESULTS Global Free Agents Webinars (choose one).*New Login.* Join via https://results.zoom.us/j/285681999 or, by phone, dial (669) 900-6833 or (929) 436-2866, meeting ID 285681999.

September 26, 9 pm ET. Training and Collaboration: Diversifying the Movement. Stay tuned for details. 

Resources at Your Fingertips

Subscribe to the Weekly Update

Brand New Advocate? Get Started With Us!

Skills Center to Help You Learning Advocacy Best Practices and More 

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Advocacy Resources to Help You Take Action (Weekly updates, action sheets, online action alerts, and more)

Resources to Help You Run Your Group Smoothly 

Fundraising Tools

2018 IC Resources

Global Poverty Campaigns Backgrounders and Global Grassroots Calendar

Report 2018 Actions 

• Report a Lobby Meeting or Townhall Encounter

• Report an Outreach Activity

• Report a Media Piece

115th Congress Congressional Scorecard: See global poverty actions your members of Congress have taken. 

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Contact the Grassroots Board Members of the RESULTS Board. Also, you can view the most recently published minutes from Board meetings on the RESULTS website, as well as download RESULTS’ most recent Annual Report.