RESULTS Weekly Update January 9, 2024
Quote of the Week
“Every time [the child] tax credit is expanded to children from families with low incomes, child poverty drops. No other tool works better at lifting kids from poverty.”
– RESULTS St. Louis U.S. volunteer Zachary Godfrey in a December 24 letter to the editor in the Wisconsin State Journal
Table of Contents
- Congress closer to a budget deal. Whether it includes the Child Tax Credit may be up to us.
- Please complete your 2024 Group Roadmaps
- Announcements
- Upcoming Events
- Grassroots Resources
Congress closer to a budget deal. Whether it includes the Child Tax Credit may be up to us.
Happy New Year to you all! As Congress returns to Washington, DC, this week to start the new year, progress has been made to avoid a government shutdown in 10 days’ time. Over the weekend, House and Senate leaders agreed to the “top-line” numbers for the FY2024 spending bills. In other words, they agreed on the overall size of the spending pie. The agreement mostly mirrors the spending numbers Congress passed back in May to avoid a U.S. government default.
Now that the pie has been baked, Congress must divide up the pieces. Will they get it done by the January 19 deadline? We don’t know. They’ve given themselves precious little time, and already some House Republicans are balking at the spending levels.
For RESULTS, our focus is on whether a tax package that expands the Child Tax Credit (CTC) will be added to any final spending agreement. Yesterday, tax leaders said they are “90 percent” done on a tax package and could reveal details this week. Will it include an expansion of the CTC that reduces child poverty and, if so, will leadership include the tax deal in a final budget agreement?
Getting a “yes” to these questions may come down to us. We are not interested in cosmetic changes to the CTC. No deal is better than a bad deal. And even if it’s the kind of CTC expansion we want, leadership may not add it to the spending bills. That’s why we need to speak up now.
TAKE ACTION: Contact your representatives and senators THIS WEEK. Ask them to tell House and Senate leaders to include a tax deal in the FY2024 budget deal that expands the Child Tax Credit to more low-income children. Time is of the essence. Decisions will be made over the next few days. Use our updated CTC action alert to both call and e-mail today. Also, if you have a relationship with the tax aide in your House and Senate offices, please contact them this week urging them to support expanding the CTC to more children in low-income families and to include such an expansion in any final spending agreement. If you need assistance, please contact our staff tax expert David Plasterer.
Please complete your 2024 Group Roadmaps
RESULTS volunteers annually take time in January to plan out their advocacy goals for the year. This planning is a big reason you are such effective volunteer advocates. To kick off a strong 2024, please schedule your group’s roadmap planning meeting now. This meeting is a chance for you to reflect on your 2023 successes, outline roles for members of your group, and set goals for your advocacy in 2024. This is an integral part of our work each year, and RESULTS staff is here to help you.
TAKE ACTION: 2024 planning materials on the Working with Your Group page under “Make your group plans”. Also, your group’s 2024 Roadmap has been added to your group’s existing Roadmap spreadsheet. If you need help finding your Roadmap or materials, please contact RESULTS staff. Happy planning!
Announcements
“Reclaiming Our Democracy” by RESULTS Founder Sam Daley-Harris. Sam Daley-Harris launched RESULTS in 1980, and he has written about the founding of RESULTS – and the wider importance of civic engagement – in a completely revised and updated 2024 edition of Reclaiming Our Democracy. This volume is being released today, January 9. Isn’t that remarkable? A book about our story . . . YOUR story!
Important Anti-oppression Applied Learning Simulation coming up on January 19, 12 pm ET. Join us for the Tribunal on Residential Segregation and Environmental Racism. Participants will play various roles, analyzing the transformation of legal Jim-Crow segregation into the geographic segregation of affluent white suburbs and impoverished inner-city segregated area. Included in the discussion will be evidence of continuing racial disparities as inequality is currently perpetuated. Completion of our anti-oppression 101, 201, and 301 workshops is encouraged but not required. Our facilitator will be Dr. Christina Gunther, Ed.D., who volunteers with the RESULTS Coastal Connecticut group. She is also an assistant professor and chair of the Health Sciences Department at Sacred Heart University. Register today for this special 90-minute learning opportunity.
What is Quiet Leadership? Regional Coordinator Misty Novitch will be taking us through a two-part series on David Rock’s book Quiet Leadership. This is a potent and compelling coaching tool that provides you with resources to support others in their clarity of thinking. All advocates welcome. Register for the two-part Quiet Leadership training on January 25 and February 1 at 9 pm ET.
Upcoming Events
Congressional schedule: The House and Senate are in session this week.
Typically, registration ends one hour prior to the start of all webinars and trainings.
Thursday, January 11: Outreach and Event Planning Office Hour, 2:00 pm ET. No registration necessary. Join via https://results.zoom.us/j/94004748060 or (312) 626-6799, meeting ID 940 0474 8060.
Thursday, January 11: Global Allies (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers) Monthly Webinar, 8:30 pm ET. Learn more.
Monday, January 15: RESULTS offices closed in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Tuesday, January 16: U.S. Poverty Free Agents, 1:00 pm ET and 8:00 pm ET. Contact Jos Linn for more information.
Wednesday, January 17: Media Office Hour, 2:00 pm ET. Join any time via Zoom at https://results.zoom.us/j/93668005494 or (312) 626-6799, meeting ID 936 6800 5494.
Wednesday, January 17: Together Women Rise advocacy chapter webinar, 8:30 pm ET. Learn more about this opportunity.
Friday, January 19: Anti-Oppression Applied Learning Simulation, 12:00 pm ET. Join us for this special 90-minute session.
Monday, January 22: Global Poverty Free Agents, 7:00 pm ET. Contact Lisa Marchal for more information.
Wednesday, January 24: Action Network Manager webinars, 12:30 pm ET and 8:00 pm ET. No registration necessary. Join via https://results.zoom.us/j/93412877476 or dial (312) 626-6799, meeting ID 934 1287 7476 for the 12:30 pm ET session. Join via https://results.zoom.us/j/98134593550 or dial (312) 626-6799, meeting ID 981 3459 3550 for the 8:00 pm ET session.
Thursday, January 25: Quiet Leadership training series. Register for this two-part training series on coaching (finishing February 1).
Wednesday, January 31: Quarterly New Advocate Mentor Community Call, 8:00 pm ET. Join in by registering.
Saturday, February 3: National Webinar, 1:00 pm ET. Register for the webinar today!
Grassroots Resources
Learn about the RESULTS Experts on Poverty.
Find actions and volunteer resources on our Volunteers Hub, including our anti-oppression resources. To join the RESULTS listserv for more RESULTS conversation, send an email to [email protected].
Remember to please report your recent advocacy successes in lobby meetings, media, and outreach activities. Also, use our Volunteer Information Form to add or edit volunteer info and to sign up for updates and alerts.
If you have a story about advocacy you feel could inspire others, use our new online form to tell us your story. Also, if you want to celebrate the actions of a new volunteer, sharing about the experience today.
If you have a question, comment, or suggestion for the RESULTS/REF Board, please e-mail [email protected]. View Board minutes and Annual Reports.
RESULTS Staff directory and job postings.