U.S. Poverty Weekly Update September 24, 2019
Quote of the Week
“Expanding the EITC and CTC would ensure our tax code supports low-income Americans struggling to make ends meet.”
– RESULTS REAL Change Fellow Mackenzie Aime in a September 18 letter to the editor in the Idaho Press Tribune
The U.S. Poverty National Webinar is next Tuesday, October 1 at 8:00 pm ET. We will focus on how to influence members of Congress on the EITC and CTC during the October recess. Please make plans for where and with whom you will do the webinar. We will have more details in next week’s Update.
Got Two Minutes? Keep Submitting Media pieces on the EITC and CTC (September Action)
You are building the political will to help workers and families this year. In just two weeks, we’ve already gotten ten media pieces around the country calling for Congress to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit in any new tax bill. But we need a lot more to hit our goal of 70 published pieces by mid-October. And time is of the essence. House and Senate negotiators are already talking about what they want to include in any tax bill they might do this fall. Their goal is to finalize details in October and have a bill passed by Thanksgiving. That means we must turn up the volume now. Media telling your members of Congress to expand the EITC and CTC will do just that.
New hook! If you’re needing a new hook for your letters to the editor, in addition to the data released earlier this month, the U.S. Census will be releasing new poverty data the American Community Survey on Thursday. You can search poverty data down to the congressional district level with this data (and even some city-level data), which editors are looking for. RESULTS will send out an action alert when the data is available.
TAKE ACTION: Take two minutes to submit a letter to the editor urging your members of Congress to expand the EITC and CTC in any new tax legislation. Tailor our updated online template (use the new ACS data as a hook, i.e. “Brand new Census data released this week shows the poverty rate was ___ in Rep. Jones’ district last year”) or send a letter directly to your local paper. Use the September Action as guidance and you may also contact staff for assistance. Please submit info about your published letters to www.tinyurl.com/RESULTSMedia.
Got Ten Minutes? Schedule Meetings for the October Recess
Congress will go on recess at the end of this week and be home to meet with constituents for two weeks (September 30-October 14). With a real chance to enact meaningful improvements to the EITC and CTC on the table and the opportunity to move our housing agenda forward, this is the perfect time to meet with members of Congress. But you need to get your requests in now.
TAKE ACTION: Take ten minutes to schedule meetings for the October recess. The House and Senate will be on recess from September 30-October 14. Contact their schedulers to set up a meeting as soon as possible. Use our online request to send e-mails or make a call to the scheduler using our sample request as a script. RESULTS has all the information you need to have a powerful and effective lobby meeting, and once you get a meeting in your calendar, please contact Meredith Dodson ASAP to set up a lobby prep call to help get you ready.
Got Twenty Minutes? Leverage Your Media to Maximize Your Impact (September Action)
As you continue to get media published about expanding the EITC and CTC over the next few weeks, be sure to leverage it for the maximum impact. It’s not just about having your letter appear in the paper; it’s about making sure the people who need to see it do see it. Whether it is aides, members of Congress, or people your wanting to spur into action, use the tips below to amplify your voice for what you care about.
TAKE ACTION: Take twenty minutes to leverage your published media for maximum impact. Here’s how:
Send to aides. When you get published, send a scanned copy or online link to the tax aides in your congressional offices. Doing so lets them know that this issue is important to you and that you know how to influence public opinion on it.
Take a copy to lobby meetings. As you work to get lobby meetings during the October recess (see above), plan to take printed copies of all your recent media with you. Give them to your member of Congress and let him/her know that you look forward to submitting a piece thanking them for supporting workers and families by expanding the EITC and CTC.
Share it with new and existing advocates. Share your media with new people you want to inspire to take action. Not as a bragging point but to demonstrate how easy it is to do it. The biggest obstacle to people writing letters to the editor is fear. They don’t know how, it feels intimidating to speak up, or they lack confidence in their writing. We’ve all felt those things, but you know that they can be overcome. Sharing about your experience, reviewing each step you used to write and submit your letter, and offering to help them write their own demonstrates that it’s much easier than they think. Also, share your published media with your group members, action networks, and on social media. Urge others to use your letter as a hook to get their own published. It works!
Quick News
Senate Committee Approves Housing Funds. Congress has until September 30 to finish their FY2020 budget; a date, as in previous years, they’re not going to meet. They will pass a temporary continuing resolution (CR) through November to give themselves more time. Meanwhile, Senate appropriators are working hard to move their spending bills forward (the House has already passed most of their spending bills). Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously approved its Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development bill (T-HUD). Thankfully, the levels passed are more than $11.9 billion above the president’s request and $2.3 billion above last year’s levels. However, unlike the House version, the bill omits language stopping Administration proposals to evict mixed-status families from assisted housing and roll back LGBT protections. For additional details on the Senate spending bill, see the National Low-Income Housing Coalition’s full analysis and updated budget chart.
Public Charge Webinar This Afternoon. Join faith advocates opposing the Trump Administration’s “public charge” rule on the “Public Charge 101 for Faith Communities” webinar this afternoon, September 24 at 2:00 pm ET. Guests include leaders from NETWORK, Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC) and MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger. Register here.
Save the Date for the RESULTS Conference. Plan to join us June 20-23, 2020 in Washington, DC for the 2020 RESULTS International Conference. Next year is RESULTS’ 40th Anniversary and we already have a special guest lined up to celebrate with us – Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. Mark your calendars now and stay tuned for more details at www.resultsconference.org.
Oppose New Housing Rule. Submit your comment opposing the Trump Administration rule to make it easier for landlords, financial institutions and others to discriminate based on race, sex, national origin, disability, and other protected classes. Comments are due October 18.
Orientation and Advocacy Training Series Launches in October. Our terrific Expansion team is offering a new comprehensive volunteer advocacy training experience. Once a new advocate has attended a RESULTS orientation call, they will be invited to attend a six-week training to help them brush up on advocacy skills, dive into current campaigns, and become familiar with support tools RESULTS has available to assist them in their advocacy. This series is ideal for new people in your groups and potential volunteers you are cultivating. Veteran volunteers may join as well. Learn more on our website. Spread the word – the series begins October 17!
Upcoming Events
Upcoming Congressional Recess. The House and Senate will be on recess September 30-October 14. Submit your meeting requests today.
Tuesday, October 1: RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar, 8:00 pm ET. Join at: https://results.zoom.us/j/873308801 or dial (929) 436-2866 or (669) 900-6833, Meeting ID: 873 308 801. Find recordings and slides from previous webinars on the National Webinars page.
Wednesday, October 2: RESULTS Action Network Community of Practice webinar, 8:00pm ET. To join, log in: https://results.zoom.us/j/427674133 or dial in: 669-900-6833, Meeting ID: 427 674 133. You can also join our Facebook and e-mail groups.
Tuesday, October 15, U.S. Poverty Free Agents Calls, 1:00 pm and 8:00 pm ET. Join at: https://results.zoom.us/j/324294681 or dial by phone at (929) 436-2866 or (669) 900-6833, Meeting ID: 324 294 681.
Find other events on the RESULTS Events Calendar.
Other Resources
Learn more about the RESULTS Experts on Poverty.
Do you have a new person in your RESULTS group or info to update? Use our Volunteer Information Form to add them.
Find recently recorded advocacy trainings on the RESULTS Training Webinars page.
Report your Grassroots Successes:
- What happened at your last lobby meeting?
- What media have you gotten published?
- Have you reached out to new people lately?
If you have a question, comment, or suggestion for the RESULTS/REF Board, please e-mail Steven McGee at [email protected]. View Board minutes and Annual Reports.
RESULTS Staff directory.