RESULTS Campaigns Weekly Update June 8, 2021
Quote of the Week
“We have a historic opportunity in American history to permanently reduce child poverty by half.”
– RESULTS Arkansas volunteer Chandrasimha Penthala in a June 3 letter to the editor in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Table of Contents
U.S. and Global Poverty Campaigns Update
Got 30 Minutes? It’s Conference week – here’s how to get ready!
It’s finally here! The biggest event of the year at RESULTS – the RESULTS International Conference. We are all excited about what we have planned for you this weekend. We have Paul Farmer, Clint Smith, Mehrsa Baradaran, Maryjacob Okwuosa, Ziauddin Yousafzai, and more. We have sessions on housing, global education, nutrition, and child poverty. We have trainings on lobbying, media, and organizing. You definitely don’t want to miss it. The amazing speakers, exciting agenda, not to mention the chance to connect with your fellow advocates from around the world, are first and foremost about bolstering your advocacy. We want to make sure you have everything you need to have an inspiring experience this weekend and powerful lobby meetings afterward. Here are a few tips to help:
- Register for the Conference. If you have not done so, you can still register for the Conference. You won’t regret it. But please do it soon – registration for the Conference closes this Thursday, June 10 at 11:59 pm ET. Note: registrants will receive the online access code to the Conference in an e-mail on Friday.
- Set up your lobby meetings. If you have not reached out to schedule lobby meetings for next week’s Advocacy Week (or beyond), please do so this week. Request face-to-face meetings you have yet to have, connect with new policy aides, or to follow up on requests you made during the First 100 Days Campaign. Use our sample meeting request to schedule your meetings.
- Plan lobby meetings with your fellow advocates. Stay connected with others from your state to plan your specific lobby meetings. Set up calls with others from your state to plan meeting agendas, compile materials, and practice. If you need help connecting with others from your state, or recordings from recent lobby prep calls, please contact Jos Linn or Lisa Marchal.
- Read our policy briefs. To help prepare for lobby meetings, read our U.S. and Global Campaigns policy materials, found on our Conference Resources page. These materials for everyone (not just IC attendees), providing the background and data to best understand our current advocacy issues and campaigns.
- Share your media. Media you’ve generated can be a powerful influencer on policy decisions. RESULTS has compiled all the media pieces RESULTS volunteers have generated over the last few months into new U.S. Poverty and Global Poverty Media Packets (found on our IC Resources page). Share them with your congressional offices.
- Review the IC Checklist. To help you make sure you have done everything to get ready for the Conference, review our 2021 International Conference Checklist. It will help you have a good experience before, during, and after this weekend. And please visit the Conference Resources page to find materials you need for lobby meetings, including materials and recordings of sessions from the Conference.
As always, if you have questions about the Conference or need help getting ready, please contact RESULTS staff. We are here to help. See you this weekend!
QUICK NEWS ON GLOBAL POVERTY
Resolutions on GPE. Has your representative cosponsored H.Res.225 in support of the Global Partnership for Education? Has your senator cosponsored S.Res. 240, also in support of the Global Partnership for Education? This is a great request for a member of Congress who joined a global education sign-on letter. Check out the cosponsor lists for H.Res. 225 and for S.Res. 240. Contact your members of Congress if they are not yet on the resolution(s). Remember also to thank your legislators if they have cosponsored!
In case you missed it. Fellows from both the RESULTS U.S. and Canada fellowship programs recently had the opportunity to gather together virtually for the first time. The Fellowships offer hands-on advocacy training programs for the next generation of activists, and the event included a Q&A, shares from current fellows, and a networking session to allow the Fellows to build community across borders. Read more on our blog.
QUICK NEWS ON U.S. POVERTY
New legislation to expand housing vouchers. Exciting news from Capitol Hill! Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA-43), along with Reps. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO-5) and Ritchie Torres (D-NY-15) are introducing the End Homelessness Act of 2021, which would significantly expand rental assistance. This bill would:
- Fund 500,000 new Housing Choice Vouchers for FY2022 (in addition to funding for current vouchers)
- Fund 1,000,000 new HCVs per year for FY2023, 2024, and 2025 (in addition to funding for current vouchers)
- Make HCV/tenant-based rental assistance an entitlement in FY2026 and thereafter, which would guarantee assistance each year for all who are eligible
- Prohibit housing discrimination based on source of income or veteran status
- Allocate $1 billion per year to the National Housing Trust Fund for the next five fiscal years (FYs 2022-2026) with priority for housing those experiencing homelessness
RESULTS will have more about this and other housing bills in the coming days. In the meantime, tune into the House Financial Services hearing tomorrow at 12:00 pm ET “Universal Vouchers: Ending Homelessness and Expanding Economic Opportunity in America”, where they will discuss legislation to expand housing and reduce homelessness. And, we urge you to sign your local RESULTS group on to this organizational letter to show support for expanding rental assistance.
Biden administration rolls back restrictive rules. During the tenure of former President Trump, federal agencies issued several restrictive rules that limited the ability for low-income families to rely on social safety nets. President Biden has indicated to many federal agencies a need to review and re-evaluate many of these rules. In a new blog post, RESULTS Hunger Fellow Max De Faria discusses what changes have been made already and what steps advocates recommend to support people in need.
RESULTS Announcements
Nominate someone for Cameron Duncan Award. Each year, RESULTS recognizes a journalist or editor for outstanding work on issues related to poverty with the Cameron Duncan Media Award. If you would like to nominate a journalist, editor, or RESULTS volunteer for the award, please send a short e-mail to Jos Linn with your reasons for nominating them and links to recent media pieces demonstrating the nominee’s dedication to poverty issues.
Upcoming Events
Congressional schedule. The House and Senate are on recess this week. Submit your remote meeting requests today.
Saturday June 12 and Sunday, June 13: 2021 RESULTS International Conference. Registration is open and will close June 10. Advocacy Week will be the week following the conference.
Monday, June 14: Advocacy Week Office Hour, 4:00 pm ET. Join at https://tinyurl.com/ICAdvocacyWeekPrep, passcode 2030.
Wednesday, June 16: Advocacy Week Office Hour, 12:00 pm ET. Join at https://tinyurl.com/ICAdvocacyWeekPrep, passcode 2030.
No Monthly Policy Forums in June.
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, 8:30 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.
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.