RESULTS Weekly Update January 11, 2022

Quote of the Week

“The Child Tax Credit is giving Montana kids the basics and better futures.’’

– RESULTS Montana volunteer Audrey Murray in a December 26 letter to the editor in the Billings Gazette

Table of Content

• Tell your senators to pass Build Back Better now
• Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty
• Announcements
• Upcoming Events
• Grassroots Resources

Tell your senators to pass Build Back Better now

As noted on the RESULTS National Webinar this past weekend, progress on legislation to cut child poverty, help families stay housed, supplement low-wage worker income, and vaccinate the world has stalled in Congress. Before the holidays, provisions to address these issues were passed as part of the House’s Build Back Better Act (BBB). Since that time, you have been pushing the Senate to pass their version of BBB as soon as possible. However, on December 19, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced that he would not support BBB in its current form. This essentially ended any hopes of getting our priorities passed in early January.

Sen. Manchin continues to object to various provisions, particularly the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC), which is one of RESULTS’ top priorities. He still insists that Congress reinstate a work requirement for the CTC – which would take it away from the lowest-income children who got the CTC for the first time in 2021 – and also opposes a short-term extension of the credit. Now it appears neither side is talking and the fate of BBB is in doubt.

Let’s remember what’s at stake here. Millions of families who benefitted from the CTC payments that started in 2021 will get no payment on January 15. These payments consistently kept nearly 4 million children out of poverty. 27 million children who received the CTC for the first time, or the full value of the CTC for the first time, are again excluded. Just as new COVID-19 surge threatens families with higher costs, school closures, and job disruptions, it is unconscionable that some senators are content to let families in hardship fend for themselves.

For the next couple of weeks, Senate leadership is putting BBB on the back-burner, perhaps to allow tempers to cool, while it focuses on another critical issue for the country, voting rights. Once votes on voting legislation (and possible changes to the filibuster to pass it) are exhausted, BBB could come back to the fore. But not without your help.

The only way the anti-poverty provisions in BBB get passed is continued pressure from everyday Americans. It appears that Sen. Manchin does not consider the CTC, EITC, Housing Choice Vouchers, and vaccine funding to be priorities… yet. Pressure from the grassroots on him and his colleagues is critical. Lawmakers must hear from you – their constituents – that failure to pass a bill with these provisions is unacceptable.

TAKE ACTION: Tell your senators to pass the Build Back Better Act now. Focus on the Child Tax Credit this week since this is the week families will first feel the impact of no CTC payments. You can e-mail senators and their staff directly or write a letter to the editor that urges them publicly to take action. Our January 2022 U.S. Poverty Action has talking points and background to help with letters (you can also take action directly through our website). In your letters, remember to share any personal stories of how the CTC helped you or someone you know, or just why this issue matters to you. If you need help with drafting your letters, please contact RESULTS staff for assistance. For more details on BBB, see the January 10 entry on our RESULTS Blog.

Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty

Your work on supplemental vaccine funding. Late last year, you worked quickly and effectively to secure signers on a bicameral letter calling for appropriators to put $17 billion (supplemental) toward global vaccination. Check on how it all shook out, complete with a list of 81 signers, on our blog.

Data shows alarming food insecurity rates among transgender population. New data from the U.S. Census shows chronic discrimination and ostracization of transgender people has led to them experience food insecurity three times as likely as cisgender people in the U.S. In addition, less than a third of eligible transgender Americans are enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the nation’s largest nutrition assistance program. See more information about RESULTS work to strengthen federal nutrition programs.

Announcements

Please complete your Group Roadmaps this month. Annual group planning is one of the keys to RESULTS advocacy successes over the years, helping volunteers articulate the key roles and goals for building the political will to end poverty. Your 2022 Roadmaps build on your 2021 plans and successes. The 2022 Group Roadmap resources are available on our Working with Your Group page (under “Make your group plans”). Please complete your 2022 Roadmap by January 31. To help, we discussed group planning and our 2022 legislative campaigns in more detail on the January 8 RESULTS National Webinar.

Register for January Policy Forums (special time for Global Forum). We are excited to be hosting our first set of Monthly Policy Forums for 2022 on January 20. Please note that to accommodate our guests from No White Saviors, the Global Forum will be at a special morning time (11:00 am ET). They will be joining us from Uganda, and we’re delighted that we will be able to learn from them. The U.S. Forum will be at the normal time of 8:00 pm ET the same day. Register for the U.S. Poverty Monthly Policy Forum and the Global Poverty Policy Forum today.

A don’t-miss essential anti-oppression workshop. Learning about oppression is a life-long personal journey through which we can strive to learn about issues and perspectives we aren’t aware of and ourselves. Following the anti-oppression audit conducted last spring, after continuous work over the last five years, we commit to continue to embark on this journey of becoming an anti-oppressive organization and volunteer network. The first of our anti-oppression workshops will be led by volunteer advocate Dr. Christina B. Gunther, Ph.D. of RESULTS Coastal Connecticut, and a researcher and clinical assistant professor at Sacred Heart University. Dr. Gunther will lead a 90-minute foundational workshop, “Diversity and Inclusion 101: Implicit Bias, Microaggressions and Understanding of Systemic Racism and Oppression.” The first of our workshop offerings will take place on Saturday, February 5 at 3:00 p.m. ET following the National Webinar. You may register here up to one hour before the webinar. Seating is limited to 40 participants per session, so be sure to sign up as soon as you can! If you can’t attend these session, additional offerings will be held throughout the year and listed on our Events calendar. By registering, volunteers will have an opportunity to support Dr. Gunther’s research anonymously via participation in an optional survey before and after the workshop.

Miss the National Webinar? No problem. If you were not able to join Saturday’s RESULTS National Webinar, or you want to view it again, you can find the recording and slides on our National Webinars page. Get an excellent overview of our 2022 U.S. and global poverty campaigns, hear about the personal goals many of our volunteers want to achieve this year, and see all the great happenings we have for you in the coming weeks.

Experts on Poverty applications open. Our extraordinary Experts on Poverty (EOP) cohort generously and passionately share their stories of lived experience to highlight both the power of our advocacy campaigns and what’s at stake if we don’t seize opportunities to change policies that are detrimental to individuals and families. Read more about the Experts on Poverty program’s 2021 achievements and consider applying to become an EOP. The application deadline is next Monday, January 17.

Let your voice be heard! Join your Grassroots Board Members on Thursday, February 10 at 9:00 pm ET for a quarterly call-in. Join via Zoom or by phone at (301) 715-8592, Meeting ID 922 0921 5298, passcode 985046.

Report your advocacy actions for 2021! If you have outstanding lobby meetings, published media, or community outreach from 2021 that you have yet to report, please let us know about these exciting successes ASAP.

Upcoming Events

Congressional schedule. The House and Senate are in session this week.

Tuesday, January 11: Discovering Yourself as a Leader Using the GALLUP CliftonStrengths Tool, 8:30 pm ET. Contact Karyne Bury ([email protected]) for more details.

Thursday, January 13: Global Allies Program for Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, 8:30 pm ET. Register today. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.

Monday, January 17: Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. All RESULTS offices closed.

Tuesday, January 18: U.S. Poverty Free Agents, 1:00 pm and 8:00 pm ET. If you are interested in joining, contact Jos Linn for more information.

Wednesday, January 19: Action Network Webinars, 12:30 pm ET and 8:00 pm ET. Register for the afternoon session or evening session. Registration ends one hour prior to each webinar (in 2022, Action Network webinars will take place every other month).

Thursday, January 20: Global Poverty Monthly Policy Forum with No White Saviors, 11:00 am ET (note special time).  Register here. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.

Thursday, January 20: U.S. Poverty Monthly Policy Forum, 8:00 pm ET. Register here. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.

Monday, January 24: Global Poverty Free Agents, 7:00 pm ET. If you are interested in joining, contact Lisa Marchal for more information.

Tuesday, January 25: At the Intersection of Global Health and Climate Change. 8:30 pm ET. Hosted by NPCA affiliate groups RPCVs for Environmental Action and Global Allies Program: Partners Ending Poverty with RESULTS. Register here. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar. All welcome.

Wednesday, January 26: Motivational Interviewing Techniques, 9:00 pm ET. Register today. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.

Saturday, February 5: RESULTS National Webinar, 1:00 pm ET. Register today. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.

Saturday, February 5: Diversity and Inclusion 101: Implicit Bias, Microaggressions and Understanding of Systemic Racism and Oppression, 3:00 pm ET. This workshop is a foundational 90-minute workshop for all advocates in the RESULTS network. Register today. Registration ends one hour prior to the webinar.

Thursday, February 10: Quarterly Call-in with Grassroots Board Members, 9:00 pm ET. Join via Zoom or by phone at (301) 715-8592, meeting ID 922 0921 5298, passcode 985046.

Saturday, February 26: Back to Our Roots – Connecting Policy to the BIPOC Community in a Historical Context, 12:00-4:00 pm ET. More information soon.

Weekend of June 4. RESULTS International Conference. Keynote speaker: Jelani Cobb of The New Yorker. More information soon on this virtual event.

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 Volunteers Hub, 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.