RESULTS Weekly Update July 2, 2024
Quote of the Week
“If the Supreme Court seeks to criminalize poverty, then it is more incumbent than ever on Congress to address it.”
– RESULTS Director of Communications Laura Labarre in a July 1 letter to the editor in the New York Times
Table of Contents
RESULTS hopes you have a safe and happy Independence Day!
Take action this week on vaccines and housing
With the holiday week, we decided to keep the Weekly Update short this week. Below are two important actions you can take to advance our work to end poverty. Thank you!
Urge your members of Congress to support Gavi. On June 20, the Biden Administration pledged at least $1.58 billion to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, over five years (read Joanne Carter’s reflections on the Paris conference). This is an unprecedented type of pledge by the U.S. in terms of size. Your advocacy played a vital role in this victory, and we need it again to build on that promise. Under the pledge, Gavi would get $300 million in fiscal year 2025 (FY25). However, RESULTS’ FY25 Gavi funding request is $340 million; that has not changed. We must keep pressure on lawmakers to support Gavi at that level in FY25. The more co-sponsors we get for the Gavi resolutions in the Senate (S.Res. 684) and in the House (H.Res.1286), the more likely we are to secure the funding we need. Please contact House and Senate foreign policy aides directly or use our online action to urge your members of Congress to co-sponsor the resolutions now.
Generate media about SCOTUS housing case. On Friday, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled on Grants Pass v. Johnson. To address people experiencing homelessness, the city of Grants Pass, OR enacted laws criminalizing actions like eating, sleeping, or laying down in public spaces. The SCOTUS ruling upheld the city’s decision to criminalize these acts, saying that the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment does not extend to laws that criminalize life sustaining acts by people experiencing homelessness. Effectively, it is now legal to punish people experiencing homelessness for tending to their basic needs in public, even when there is no alternative shelter available. Instead of solving the actual problem, this decision is likely to lead to communities around the country enacting similar laws making homelessness illegal. Grants Pass makes it incumbent on Congress to act. Please submit a letter to the editor today urging Congress to take action now to end homelessness (and read RESULTS’ press release in response to the decision).
Announcements
Learn from CMF’s Brad Fitch on the July National Webinar. Join us on Saturday, July 13 at 1:00 p.m. ET for an exciting monthly National Webinar. The theme is “Advocacy with Congress in a Post-Pandemic World” with Brad Fitch of the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF). In December 2023, CMF conducted an exclusive survey of congressional staff, the first such survey since Congress resumed meetings with constituents in Washington, DC. In the survey we explored:
- Do congressional staff prefer virtual or in-person meetings with constituents? – How do best practices differ between virtual and in-person meetings?
- Which pre-pandemic advocacy strategies still work in a post-pandemic world?
Additionally, participants will receive the results of CMF’s survey research conducted with congressional staff over the last two decades. Mr. Fitch will offer all this guidance in the context of the 2024 election season, offering tips on how to employ these advocacy strategies in a campaign setting. Don’t miss this informative webinar. Register today!
Upcoming Events
Congressional schedule: This week, both the House and Senate are on recess.
Find these and other events on our website Events Calendar.
Thursday July 4: Independence Day. RESULTS is closed July 4 and 5.
Tuesday, July 9: Debriefing Policy Landscape Post-Supreme Court Term, 12:00 p.m. ET. Join at: https://results.zoom.us/j/97208821151?pwd=ZHmGWRyZxrsB1qaliuj858rnmNyQhF.1&from=addon.
Thursday, July 11: Outreach and Event Planning Office Hour, 2:00 p.m. ET. Drop in at https://results.zoom.us/j/94004748060, meeting ID 940 0474 8060.
Thursday, July 11: Global Allies Program (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers), 8:30 p.m. ET. Learn more.
Saturday, July 13: National Webinar, 1:00 p.m. ET. Guest: Brad Fitch, President and CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation. Register for the webinar.
Tuesday, July 16: Together Women Rise advocacy chapter webinar, 8:30 p.m. ET. Learn more about this opportunity.
Wednesday, July 17: Making the Elections About Poverty, 8:30 p.m. ET. Learn how to find and talk to candidates about poverty issues during election season. Learn more and register today.
Thursday, July 18: City of Grants Pass v. Johnson Grassroots Townhall, 1:00 p.m. ET. Learn more about and how to respond to the Supreme Court’s ruling on making homelessness a crime. Register today.
Monday, July 22: Global Poverty Free Agents, 7:00 p.m. ET. Contact Lisa Marchal for more information.
Tuesday, July 23: U.S. Poverty Free Agents, 1:00 p.m. ET and 8:00 p.m. ET. Contact Jos Linn for more information.
Wednesday, July 24: Media Office Hour, 2:00 p.m. ET. Join any time at https://results.zoom.us/j/93668005494 or call (312) 626-6799, meeting ID 936 6800 5494.
Typically, registration ends one hour prior to the start of all webinars and trainings.