RESULTS Campaigns Weekly Update December 8, 2020

Quote of the Week

“I am very concerned about the increase in hunger during this pandemic. People are being forced to choose between rent and groceries.”

– RESULTS South Dakota volunteer Victoria Borges in a November 27 letter to the editor in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader

Table of Contents

• Global Poverty Campaigns Update
• U.S. Poverty Campaigns Update
• RESULTS Announcements
• Upcoming Events
• Grassroots Resources

Global Poverty Campaigns Update

QUICK ACTION Write a letter to the editor on prioritizing global health and nutrition during the COVID-19 crisis

Got Ten Minutes? Make a call to your senators on an emergency COVID-19 response

As you may have seen in the news, there are serious rumblings on Capitol Hill about a new COVID-19 relief package, thanks in part to a group of senators championing the issue. But there is still no talk of international development assistance in the negotiation, so acting now is important for ensuring that global funding is part of the discussion. The next two weeks – particularly this week – will be a critical period for decision-making on this front.

We must continue bringing our message particularly to the Senate as crucial negotiations play out. Globally, resources normally allocated to treat and prevent infectious diseases like AIDS, TB, and malaria, or leading childhood killers like malnutrition, pneumonia, and diarrhea have been diverted to address COVID-19. As a result, we are seeing a secondary pandemic of poverty, hunger, and sickness caused by COVID-19. As the WHO has warned, between 83 and 120 million additional people globally could be facing hunger. International development assistance MUST be part of the COVID-19 relief discussions on Capitol Hill. We can’t give up now.

TAKE ACTION: Contact your senators with a request that they urge Senate leadership to act now to pass a COVID-19 relief bill that includes at least $20 billion in international development assistance. Find out the foreign policy aide names for your two senators’ offices via our Legislator Lookup. Make your calls. (Ask others to make a call by utilizing our action alert.) Then after your call(s), send the comprehensive global poverty campaigns media compilation to your senators with a note pointing out any pieces that you and/or your group got published. This compilation is also available on our Media Tools page under “I want to see what other RESULTS volunteers have published.” Reiterate your ask to your senators that they speak to leadership about a minimum of $20 billion for a global health and nutrition emergency response. (If you’re tweeting your media or any calls to action, use the hashtag #COVIDReliefNow.)

Got Sixty Minutes? Plan for 2021 with our Group Roadmap materials

Get ready to build out your group’s ideas and aspirations for 2021 – particularly for the First 100 Days Campaign. In December, we’re engaging in the planning process for 2021 so that we’re ready to start taking action in the new year. The group planning process is a great moment to determine roles that advocates will take in the group, group norms that will help your groups function smoothly and well, and much more. Free agents can plan as well. We hope you’ll complete your planning by January 8 so we’re ready to start taking action when the new Administration is sworn in.

TAKE ACTION: A 2021 RESULTS Group Roadmap form has been emailed to group leaders. (Contact Jos Linn with questions.) Additional support materials like the Roadmap Guide and Individual Planning Form can be found on our website under “My group wants to make our plans.” If you are a group leader, read through the Roadmap Guide to prepare. If you are a group member or a free agent, fill out the Individual Planning Form. Then your group can complete the process by working on the Group Roadmap form together. Make plans to plan!

QUICK NEWS ON GLOBAL POVERTY

H.Res.189 passes. Read a hot-off-the-press blog post from our colleagues at Bread for the World on the passage of global nutrition resolution H.Res.189. We celebrate this resolution finally getting passed! As a follow-on, watch the recording of the Bread for the World Institute’s recent webinar “Looking Forward to 2021: Food Systems that Nourish.”

Nutrition news. On December 9, 10-11 am ET, there will be a Twitter chat celebrating the new Country Nutrition Profiles and Nutrition for Growth Commitment Tracking by the Global Nutrition Report. Follow along and chat about this new and vital information at hashtag #DigestTheData.

Webinar on COVID-19 vaccine access. The Pandemic Action Network invites you to a webinar on December 9 at 9 pm ET titled How to ensure equitable access as COVID-19 vaccines hit the market. Register online.

U.S. Poverty Campaigns Update

QUICK ACTION Tell Congress to pass COVID relief now

Got Fifteen Minutes? Push Senators to back COVID relief

The first rays of hope finally appear. Last week, a new COVID proposal was released by a bipartisan group of senators. Since that time, momentum for that proposal has been growing. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have backed the plan as a place to start negotiations, and even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) seems to now be open to a larger deal than his $500 billion plan. If a deal comes together – which is far from assured – it will be paired with a year-end spending deal Congress needs to pass by this Friday, December 11 to avert a government shutdown. Rumors are that Congress will pass a one-week continuing resolution (CR) this week so negotiators have more time to reach agreement.

We are hearing that the proposal includes money for rental assistance (about $25 billion) and SNAP ($26 billion for agriculture and nutrition; specific SNAP money unknown). This money covers the next few months, meaning a new, larger deal will be needed in 2021. It is imperative that any deal also include another eviction moratorium. The CDC eviction moratorium ends on December 31 and even if a deal passes soon, it will take time to distribute any rental assistance money. We cannot risk anyone being evicted while the pandemic rages and temperatures grow colder.

TAKE ACTION: Take fifteen minutes to follow up with Senate housing and agriculture aides urging them to get a COVID deal that includes money for rental assistance and nutrition assistance. Here are our requests:

• Housing: The $25 billion for rental assistance should be targeted to reach low-income households most at risk of eviction – and must be combined with an extension of a national eviction moratorium to ensure families stay stably housed over next few months. It’s important to recognize that additional resources, estimated at $100 billion over 12 months, will be needed to keep families stably housed in future legislation. In your conversations, highlight a new report showing that nearly 12 million renters will owe an average of $5,850 in back rent and utilities by January. In addition, 9 million renters said they were behind on rent in November. With the dire consequences of evictions all too clear, a “down payment” on COVID relief with this short-term package is critical.
• U.S. Nutrition: Support a 15 percent boost to SNAP benefits. If the current bipartisan proposal only covers a short-term SNAP boost, policymakers will need to revisit this in future legislation.

If you’re tweeting any media or calls to action, use the hashtag #COVIDReliefNow.

Got 60 to 90 Minutes? Meet this month to do 2021 Roadmaps

On the December RESULTS National Webinar, Dr. Madhu Pai made an impassioned speech about the importance of advocacy in combatting systemic forms of poverty and oppression, which he sees in his work in health care. It was a direct and inspiring reminder that your work in pushing for policies that end poverty is growing in importance by the day. With a new Administration and Congress taking office in January, our work is just beginning.

One of the pillars of your success as RESULTS volunteers over the years is your focus on and commitment to action. Part of that comes through our annual “group planning” process. Groups meet early in the year (or late in the year in this case) to create “Group Roadmaps” outlining roles for its members, advocacy goals, and strategies for making an impact on poverty in the coming year. It is an important, dynamic – and yes, fun – process. We have a lot of important work ahead of us – let’s make it count. Please set aside time this month to do your 2021 Group Roadmaps.

TAKE ACTION: Take as much time as you need to complete your 2021 Group Roadmaps. Here’s how:

1. If you have not done so already, please set a date ASAP when your group will meet to do your planning and Group Roadmap.
2. Please invite all members of your group to your planning meeting, including any new people who have been introduced to your group in 2020.
3. Share your Group Roadmap forms (Google Spreadsheet). These forms were e-mailed to group leaders last week. If you did not receive your form, please contact Jos Linn.
4. Please read and share the 2021 Group Roadmap Guide, and 2021 Individual Planning Form with your group before you meet. The Guide explains the planning process and how to fill out the Google form. Also, please ask each person to complete the Individual Planning Form before your planning meeting – it will make your planning more effective and efficient.
5. Please complete your planning and Group Roadmap form by Friday, January 8, 2021.

QUICK NEWS ON U.S. POVERTY

Sign on to eviction moratorium extension. Please sign your local RESULTS group onto a letter urging the CDC to prevent a wave of evictions in 2021 by extending the national eviction moratorium (it expires December 31). Sign on here. The deadline is to sign on is Tuesday, December 15.

Poverty is rising dramatically. A new Columbia University study highlighted on Vox shows that “depending on the scale of the broader economic recovery, between 4.9 million and 11.8 million more people will be living in poverty in January 2021 than were in January 2020.” All the more reason to get a strong COVID relief bill done now.

A ‘lookback” provision would help working families. As Congress negotiates a new COVID relief bill, advocates are urging them to include a “lookback” provision for working Americans who receive the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC). The EITC and CTC are based on income and for very low-income workers and families, their credits increase as their earnings do. However, because many low-income Americans lost their jobs this year due to the pandemic, their 2020 incomes are expected to be low. This means they could potentially see smaller EITC and CTC refunds at a time when extra income is badly needed. A lookback provision would allow these workers the option of using their 2019 income to calculate their tax year 2020 EITC and CTC, thus increasing their refunds. Congress let corporations do a similar thing to finance debt in the CARES Act. We should now do the same for low-income workers and families.

RESULTS Announcements

Keep up your Roadmap planning! If you have not done so already, please set a date for your group to meet in December to talk and complete your 2021 Group Roadmap. Be sure to invite all members of your group to participate, especially new people who have been introduced to your group in 2020. You can find our 2021 Roadmap Guide and Individual Planning Form on our Outreach and Planning page (under “My group wants to make our plans”). Online roadmap forms were e-mailed to group leaders last week. If you have questions, please contact Jos Linn. Please complete your roadmaps by January 8.

Register for the First 100 Days Kickoff! Plan to attend the Kickoff Event for our 2021 First 100 Days campaign on Saturday, February 6. This is the normal date of the National Webinar, but this event has exciting programming most of that afternoon. Stay tuned for more details but make sure to register for this free event today.

#RESULTSat40. Over the next several weeks, we will wrap up our celebration of 40 years of RESULTS! Look for feature stories on our amazing advocates and historical moments pulled from the archives by following #RESULTSat40 on Twitter.

Receive action alerts via text. If you’d like to receive RESULTS alerts via text, please text RESULTS to 50457 to sign up.

Upcoming Events

Congressional schedule. Members of Congress are in session. Submit your remote meeting requests today.

Monday, December 14: Global Poverty Free Agents Webinars, 1:00 and 8:00 pm ET. Join at https://results.zoom.us/j/464361707 or, by phone, (669) 900-6833 or (929) 436-2866, meeting ID 464361707.

Tuesday, December 15: U.S. Poverty Free Agents Webinars, 1:00 and 8:00 pm ET. For information on how to join, please contact Jos Linn.

Wednesday, December 16: New Advocate Orientation, 8:30 pm ET. Sign up online.

Friday, December 25-Friday, January 1: RESULTS holiday break. All RESULTS offices will be closed. Happy holidays!

Saturday, January 9: RESULTS National Webinar, 1:00 pm ET. Watch for new registration link coming soon.

Wednesday, January 13: BIPOC Caucus, 8:30 pm ET. Featuring Asia Bijan Thompson, Esq., Law Guardian with the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender. The topic will be how the judicial system affects poverty and the BIPOC community. To register, email Yolanda Gordon.

Wednesday, January 20: Inauguration Day, 12:00 pm ET.

Friday, January 29: RESULTS African Diaspora Virtual Meet and Greet, 8 pm ET. The African Leadership Cohort is inviting all RESULTS volunteers of the African Diaspora to join us for a meet and greet session and an opportunity to set bold goals for 2021. For more information and to register, contact Alice Aluoch.

Saturday, February 6: RESULTS First 100 Days Kickoff Event, 1:00 pm ET. Register today.

Grassroots Resources

Learn about the RESULTS Experts on Poverty.

To update volunteer info (e.g. subscribe to the Weekly Update or action alerts, add new advocate information, update an existing advocate’s information or preferences), use our Volunteer Information Form.

Find actions and volunteer resources on our Current Volunteers page, including our anti-oppression resources.

Remember to please report your recent grassroots successes in lobby meetings, media pieces, and outreach activities.

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. Including our new special edition 2019 Annual Report.

RESULTS Staff directory.