RESULTS Campaigns Weekly Update June 22, 2021
Quote of the Week
“Quality education is the right of every child.”
– RESULTS West Virginia volunteer Josephine Reece in a June 16 letter to the editor in the Beckley Register-Herald
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 the Global Partnership for Education
Got Fifteen Minutes? Get signatures on the House GPE letter to the Administration
Time on the clock has been extended! We still have an important letter to the Administration on the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) circulating in the House on which you can take action. The bipartisan letter is being led by Reps. Kilmer (D-WA) and Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and is calling on the Administration to commit $1 billion over five years in support of GPE’s 2021-2025 strategy for basic education. It will now close on July 6. So far we have 37 signers, and we are tracking signatures on our letter scorecard. If your representative has previously taken action in support of global education, this would be an inspiring additional action they could take to further their commitment to the issue.
TAKE ACTION: Ask your representative to sign onto the House letter to the Administration asking for a commitment of $1 billion over five years for the Global Partnership for Education. You can track our progress of getting signatures online. Let’s take advantage of this additional time we’ve been given to gather more signatures!
Got Another Fifteen Minutes? Write a letter to the editor on global education.
We have just days to go for the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) media campaign. Help us get to our goal of 100 global education media hits from May 1 to July 1. Write your local paper about the need to support GPE’s remarkable work in the lives of young people. What hooks for education media have you found? How has education impacted your life and the life of your community? Tap into your passion for the issue and put pen to paper.
TAKE ACTION: Use our action sheet and companion action alert on global education to help you along. Don’t forget to report your media when it gets published and then leverage your published media by sending it to your legislators. Need help? Contact Jos Linn.
QUICK NEWS ON GLOBAL POVERTY
Senate TB letter open until June 25. There are still a few days to secure signatures on a bipartisan letter led by Sens. Brown (D-OH) and Young (R-IN) which asks appropriators for robust funding for bilateral global tuberculosis control programs. Find the letter and instructions for signing on our website. The letter will close June 25.
Senate appropriations – final days. Don’t let up on Senate appropriations requests for our global health and education priorities, as we have just a few days left. The Senate State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee of Appropriations (SFOPS) leadership needs to hear from other senators about their development assistance spending priorities for fiscal year (FY22) by June 29. Have you reached out yet?
Check out our appropriations memos on our website for our global education, global tuberculosis, and global nutrition requests. Make appropriations requests of your senators right away so we can meet the deadline. For assistance, contact the Grassroots Impact staff. And after you make your requests, follow up!
U.S. Poverty Campaigns Update
QUICK ACTION Submit letters to the editor today on housing and tax credits
Got Twenty Minutes? Lobby on housing and taxes; urge lawmakers to sign housing letter
Last week, Representative Ritchie Torres (D-NY-15) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) circulated a “Dear Colleague” sign-on letter urging Congressional leadership to include an expansion of housing choice vouchers with guaranteed multi-year funding, along with other housing investments, in a recovery package this year. Current recovery proposals are almost exclusively focused on expanding the supply of affordable housing and do not include funding for Housing Choice Vouchers. It is vital for you to keep the pressure on members of Congress to support this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to expand housing choice vouchers to help all those eligible for rental assistance afford their homes. As any recovery bill will likely be partisan, getting Democratic support – particularly senators – is critical.
TAKE ACTION: Take twenty minutes to meet with congressional offices urging your representatives and senators to pass policies that help people find and stay in homes and lift workers and children out of poverty. Set up lobby meetings with members of Congress and/or their housing and tax aides and urge them to:
- Housing request: Support expanding rental assistance to all eligible renters via guaranteed multi-year funding for Housing Choice Vouchers in economic recovery legislation this year. Urge members to show their support by signing onto the housing “Dear Colleague” letter (you can see who has officially signed on here).
- Tax credit request: Make the 2021 Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit provisions permanent in economic recovery legislation this year (see more about the EITC and CTC below).
After your meetings, remember to follow up with aides on your requests. You can find current request sheets, background info, and other resources on our Conference resources and Lobbying pages. Please contact RESULTS staff if you need help.
Got Fifteen Minutes? Generate media on the CTC and EITC
In March, Congress passed a major expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) families with children and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for low-wage workers. As part of the expanded CTC, a new monthly payment option was created. Starting July 15, the IRS will distribute to families their 2021 CTC each month (through December), which will help tens of millions of families looking to pay rent, buy food, and make ends meet. If all eligible families get signed up, we will see child poverty cut nearly in half, over the next year.
However, these changes are temporary. After one year, the new EITC and CTC provisions – including the monthly payment option – will disappear, forcing millions of workers and families back into poverty. We cannot let that happen.
TAKE ACTION: Take fifteen minutes to submit a letter to the editor highlighting the new CTC “child allowance” option and urging Congress to make the 2021 EITC and CTC improvements permanent in economic recovery legislation this year. Use our updated tax credit media alert to send your letter today. If published, please forward the letter to the tax aides for your members of Congress and please let RESULTS know as well. If you need help with your letters, please contact Jos Linn for assistance.
Also, remind people you know to go to www.childtaxcredit.gov if they have questions about the new CTC monthly benefit.
QUICK NEWS ON U.S. POVERTY
Thursday Senate hearing to focus on access to housing. The full Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Development Committee will hold a hearing on “Examining Bipartisan Bills to Increase Access to Housing”, this Thursday, June 24 at 10:00 am ET. We’ve seen a lot of activity from the House Financial Services Committee on housing; this hearing will provide a preview of how the Senate might prioritize housing in the upcoming recovery package. You can watch the hearing here.
Join eviction webinar this week. The current federal eviction moratorium is set to expire at the end of this month. While the Biden Administration may attempt to extend it, the Supreme Court could also weigh in on the legality of the moratorium before it expires. Meanwhile, the Bipartisan Policy Center is hosting a webinar on Eviction Prevention Now and After COVID-19 this Wednesday, June 23 at 3:00 pm ET, which will include “Evicted” author Matthew Desmond. You can register for the event here.
New housing data released. Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies released their 2021 State of the Nation’s Housing, which shows that renters and households of color were more likely to fall behind on monthly housing payments, putting them at greater risk of evictions and homelessness. In addition, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is urging Congress to address the supply of affordable housing. While she stops short of endorsing universal housing choice vouchers, she acknowledges the dire need for housing affordability.
Fair housing rule to be reinstated. On June 10, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reinstated an Obama-era policy known as the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing, which seeks to address the growing racial inequities in housing. The rule had been replaced by the Trump Administration last year. The new rule will take effect on July 31. RESULTS is working with coalition partners on public comments which are by July 12.
Announcements
Take the International Conference survey. Thank you to all of you who helped make this year’s RESULTS International Conference a great success this year. With over 600 people registered, we enjoyed seeing you and the energy you bring to all our events. Tell us about your experience by taking the 2021 conference survey today. The survey closes June 25.
Please fill out lobby report forms. As of today, RESULTS volunteers have held 78 lobby meetings this month, taking our message to directly to lawmakers about practical solutions to poverty. After you complete your meetings, please fill out the RESULTS Lobby Report Form for each meeting at www.tinyurl.com/RESLobbyReport. This tells us what happened and helps us strategize next steps for our campaigns. Please coordinate with your group who will fill out the form – only one report per meeting is needed.
Vote in Board election. The RESULTS 2021 Grassroots Board Election is taking place right now. Visit the RESULTS Blog for candidate bios, statement of intent, videos, and how to vote. Voting is open through July 17 for all active volunteers.
Conference materials available. If you need materials from this year’s International Conference, including slides from sessions, visit our Conference Resources page. If you want to listen to the recordings of sessions at the Conference, check out the event schedule for links.
Upcoming Events
Congressional schedule. The House and Senate are in session this week. Submit your remote meeting requests today.
Tuesday, June 22: Anti-Oppression Working Group Open Discussion on Next Steps, 9:00 pm ET. Volunteers and staff are working together to advance RESULTS’ anti-oppression values and create opportunities for on-going learning. Join in! Register today.
Monday, June 28: RESULTS Global Poverty Free Agent Webinar, 7:00 pm ET. Contact Lisa Marchal at [email protected] for information on how to join.
Wednesday, June 30: Action Network Monthly Webinar, 8:00 pm ET. Register today. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.
Monday, July 5: Independence Day holiday. All RESULTS offices closed.
Saturday, July 10: RESULTS National Webinar, 1:00 pm ET. Register today. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.
Saturday, July 17: Last day to vote in RESULTS Grassroots Board Election. Read about the candidates and how to vote on the RESULTS Blog.
Tuesday, July 20: Op-ed Writing Workshop, 9:00 pm ET. Register today. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.
Thursday, July 22: U.S. Poverty Monthly Policy Forum, 8 pm ET. Register today. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.
Thursday, July 22: Global Poverty Monthly Policy Forum, 9 pm ET. Register today. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.
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 advocacy successes in lobby meetings, media, and outreach activities.
To join the RESULTS listserv for more RESULTS conversation, send an email to [email protected]
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 and job postings.