RESULTS Campaigns Weekly Update January 19, 2021

Quote of the Week

“In the first 100 days of the next administration, we will have an opportunity and an obligation to act with knowledge, compassion and an appropriate sense of urgency.”

– RESULTS Boston volunteer Leslye Heilig in a January 11 letter to the editor in the Berkshire Eagle

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 Fifteen Minutes? Schedule your first 2021 lobby meetings with your members of Congress

We are getting ramped up! A central piece of the 2021 First 100 Days Campaign (officially kicking off February 6) is getting meetings with 100 percent of the Senate and 75 percent of the House as we embark on this new congressional session and Administration. The first step to that achievement is making your virtual lobby meeting requests. As COVID-19 relief talks resume, we are celebrating the Biden-Harris Transition Team’s goal of dedicating $11 billion for international COVID-19 relief. But it’s not enough. We are still asking for at least $20 billion in additional global relief versus the proposed $11 billion. This money would go to mitigating the secondary impacts of COVID-19, including hunger and malnutrition, in low-income communities. The $20 billion should include at least $4 billion for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to strengthen health systems and the fight against infectious diseases as well as $2 billion for anti-hunger efforts. You can use our draft meeting request letter and the request laser talk, available on our Lobbying support page under “I want to request a lobby meeting.” You can also get support via our January Action Sheet. Don’t wait; make your meeting requests today. Finally, plan to attend the Kick-off Event for our First 100 Days Campaign on Saturday, February 6. This is the normal date of the National Webinar, but this event has exciting programming for the afternoon (1:00-5:00 pm ET). Make sure to register for this free event today.

TAKE ACTION: Utilize our lobbying support materials to start making your virtual lobby meeting requests. Coordinate with your group members and with groups across the state on Senate meetings and be bold about also requesting meetings with your representatives. Get things moving for the beginning of the 2021 First 100 Days Campaign so that we all can have a running start filling up our online map with meetings held!

Got Another Fifteen Minutes? Write a letter to the editor on an emergency COVID-19 response

We want to shape the next COVID-19 relief conversation. As we know, global 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. So far, only 0.2% of the United States’ response to the pandemic has gone to global efforts to curtail COVID-19’s effects. That’s why, as COVID-19 relief talks resume and we see what the incoming Administration is proposing for global COVID-19 relief, we are still asking for at least an additional $20 billion for global relief (versus the proposed $11 billion) to mitigate the secondary impacts of COVID-19, including hunger and malnutrition, in low-income communities. That $20 billion should include at least $4 billion for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to strengthen health systems and the fight against infectious diseases as well as $2 billion for anti-hunger efforts.

TAKE ACTION: Set aside some time to write to your paper. You can utilize our online action alert and can share this action with others. Ask for a COVID-19 relief bill that includes at least $20 billion in international development assistance – an amount that should include $4 billion for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and $2 billion for anti-hunger efforts. If you are published, send your letter to your legislators. (If you’re tweeting your media once it’s published, use the hashtag #COVIDReliefNow.)

QUICK NEWS ON GLOBAL POVERTY

Interested in an overview of our 2021 campaigns?  We have a comprehensive 2021 campaigns summary on our blog. Read up and get excited about all we have ahead of us.

Have you read our coronavirus blogposts? We have a regularly updated section on our blog dedicated to relevant news on on-going COVID-19 relief negotiations. Check it out if you haven’t already.

U.S. Poverty Campaigns Update

QUICK ACTION Tell Congress to pass more COVID relief

Got Fifteen Minutes? Request lobby meetings to talk housing, tax, and hunger

RESULTS is working hard to start 2021 with big policy successes on the issues we care about. It won’t be easy. With millions still struggling to make ends meet and COVID-19 killing thousands per day we have our work cut out for us. But this no time to wait, nor shy. Pushing Congress to pass additional COVID relief that prioritizes low-income families must be our priority right now.

President-elect Biden is wasting no time in wanting to tackle the biggest economic and health issue we face. Last week, his team released a comprehensive COVID-19 relief plan that includes many of the priorities we have been pushing for months, including:

• $30 billion in additional emergency rental (and utility) assistance funding
• Extension of the national eviction moratorium (Mr. Biden is expected to do this via executive order soon after the Inauguration)
• Extending the boost in SNAP benefits through September 2021
• For one year, increasing the amount and expanding eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for younger workers and others without children in the home
• For one year, increasing the Child Tax Credit (CTC) amount and making it fully accessible for all low-income families

The Biden plan also includes an increase in the minimum wage, funding for state and local governments, and additional resources for COVID mitigation and the vaccine rollout. Combined with the bipartisan COVID package in December, Columbia University researchers forecast that these measures could cut child poverty by more than half. President-elect Biden understands the gravity of our current situation and what is needed in response to it. We must meet with Congress now and push them to quickly pass a strong bipartisan COVID relief package building on the President-elect’s proposal.

TAKE ACTION: Take fifteen minutes to push Congress into action on new COVID relief by submitting virtual meeting requests for Senate and House offices now. Use the January Action Sheet and new sample meeting request to contact schedulers now (you can find scheduler names on our Legislator Lookup page). Be sure to tailor your request to the issues you will discuss (language is in the sample request). If you need help with submitting requests, please contact Jos Linn for assistance. When you get meetings, please contact RESULTS staff for help in getting ready. Finally, while you wait for your meetings, please contact aides about COVID relief now.

Got Twenty Minutes? Talk to aides about COVID relief priorities

A new COVID relief bill is the first priority of the new Administration and negotiations will begin in earnest once President-elect Biden is sworn in. As you wait for your meetings to get scheduled, reconnect with relevant aides in your Senate and House offices urging them to support rent relief, the EITC and CTC, and SNAP in any new COVID deal. In particular, highlight support for the anti-poverty measures proposed by the new Administration and urge Congress to build on that proposal by:

• Including the key expansions of the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income workers and families as proposed by the incoming Administration
• Building on the proposed $30 billion increase in emergency rental assistance by also including $28 billion in additional funding to keep renters at most risk of eviction stably housed during the pandemic as needed
• Prioritizing a boost in SNAP benefits, noting the new Administration’s commitment to extend those benefits for as long as the COVID-19 crisis continues – while working to enact automatic adjustments to food assistance that reflects health and economic conditions.

TAKE ACTION: Contact Senate and House housing, tax, and agriculture aides now urging them to support the provisions listed above. Reach out to those aides you have worked with in the past on these issues (you can find aide names with our Legislator Lookup tool). If you need coaching help before contacting aides, please contact Jos Linn or Meredith Dodson with your questions. Also, keep checking our Lobbying page for materials to help in your advocacy efforts this winter.

QUICK NEWS ON U.S. POVERTY

Keep using media for COVID relief.  Submit a letter to the editor published urging Congress to pass more COVID relief as soon as possible. Use our updated online media alert to send your letter today.

Aspen Institute releases housing plan. Read the Aspen Institute’s new plan (and accompanying video discussion) on ways to promote housing security. The recommendations include (among other things) addressing housing discrimination, preserving access to low-income housing, and supporting the well-being of renters.

Race, hunger, and COVID-19. Bread for the World has a new report outlining needed policy changes to ensure a more racially equitable response to hunger during COVID-19 and beyond.

RESULTS Announcements

Register for First 100 Days Kickoff. Plan to attend the virtual Kick-off Event for our 2021 First 100 Days campaign on Saturday, February 6. Be sure to register for this exciting (and free) event. The event will be held from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm ET. Note: Registration for this event is different from our normal monthly webinars; you must register for the February 6 event separately to receive the login details. Final day for registrations is February 4.

Join RESULTS lobbying trainings this week and next. To help you hit the ground running in your advocacy this year, RESULTS is offering multiple trainings this month focused on meeting with members of Congress. Join a training on how to have effective lobby meetings this Thursday, January 21 at 8:30 pm ET. Then join us for a training on how to research your members of Congress on Thursday, January 28 at 8:30 pm ET. Find registration links in the Events section below or on the RESULTS Events Calendar.

Mark your calendars for the 2021 International Conference. The 2021 RESULTS International Conference will be held June 12-13, 2021, and like last year, it will be held virtually with a virtual Advocacy Week immediately following. Reserve these dates in your calendar and stay tuned for more details. If you have ideas for session at the Conference, please submit them here by January 31.

Please complete your group roadmaps. If you have not completed your 2021 Group Roadmaps, please do so as soon as possible. If you need assistance, contact Jos Linn.

New registration for 2021 National Webinars. Our next regular National Webinar of 2021 will be Saturday, March 6 at 1:00 pm ET. We have a new registration form for 2021 and each person will need to register to get access to the National Webinar. If you registered for the January webinar, you’re all set; once you have registered for the 2021 webinars, you are registered for the whole year. Please register today if you haven’t already. Please remember that the February 6 webinar, because it is a special event, has a separate registration form.

Listen to National Webinar recording. For an excellent overview of our U.S. and global poverty campaigns for 2021, please listen to the recording and view the slides from the January RESULTS National Webinar.

Report your advocacy. You did incredible work in 2020. Make sure it gets documented – lobby meetings, media hits, and outreach events – via our simple reporting forms.

Upcoming Events

Congressional schedule. The House will return on January 21; the Senate is in session. Submit your remote meeting requests today.

Tuesday, January 19: U.S. Poverty Free Agents Webinars, 1:00 and 8:00 pm ET. For information on how to join, please contact Jos Linn.

Thursday, January 21: How Do I Meet with My Congressional Office? 8:30 pm ET. Join us to learn the basics of how to schedule, plan, and meet with your congressional office on the issues you care about. Register today.

Monday, January 25: Global Poverty Free Agents Webinar, 8:00 pm ET. For information on how to join, please contact Lisa Marchal.

Thursday, January 28: Researching Your Members of Congress, 8:30 pm ET. Want to learn more about your member(s) of Congress so that you can engage in more effective advocacy? Join this webinar to learn about tips and tools that you can use to get to know your legislators – their backgrounds, current committee work, and more. Register today.

Friday, January 29: RESULTS African Leadership Cohort Virtual Meet and Greet, 8:00 pm ET. The African Leadership Cohort will be hosting the first-of-its-kind virtual get- together in January. We are inviting all RESULTS volunteers of the African Diaspora to join us for a meet & greet session. Please email Alice Aluoch for the login information.

Saturday, February 6: RESULTS First 100 Days Kickoff Event, 1:00 pm ET. Register today. Note that this is a separate registration from our normal National Webinars. You will receive login info for the event a day or so before it begins. The last day for registration is February 4.

Thursday, February 11: Quarterly call-in with Grassroots Board Members, 9:00 pm ET. Click for Zoom link to the call-in.

Monday, February 15: Presidents’ Day. All RESULTS offices closed.

Saturday June 12 and Sunday, June 13: 2021 RESULTS International Conference. We will have more information on this virtual event soon, including registration info.

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.

RESULTS Staff directory.