RESULTS Weekly Update March 12, 2024

Quote of the Week

“Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin should support the passage of the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act now to relieve food insecurity for children and families in West Virginia.”

– RESULTS West Virginia volunteer Jo Reece in a March 2 op-ed in the Dominion Post

Table of Contents

• Pull out all your advocacy tools for the CTC
• Budget happenings highlight urgency of lobby meetings
• Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty
• Announcements
• Upcoming Events
• Grassroots Resources

Pull out all your advocacy tools for the CTC

In his State of the Union address last week, President Biden called on Congress to restore the fully expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC). This version of the CTC, enacted for 2021 only, cut child poverty by more than a third. The President also proposed restoring the 2021 CTC in his FY2025 budget proposal. The President is clearly aware of the transformational impact the 2021 CTC had for millions of children and families. He is right to want it again.

We can take a big step toward the President’s (and RESULTS’) goal by convincing the Senate to pass H.R. 7024, the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act. This bill would increase the CTC for 16 million children in families with low incomes and help the families of half a million children lift themselves from poverty.

The bill passed the House over a month ago by a large margin. The only thing standing in the way now are a few recalcitrant lawmakers in the Senate. Most prominent is Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID), the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee. He refuses to back the deal without changes, yet he is also refusing to negotiate. Many Republican senators say privately that they support the bill, but they are staying quiet for now in deference to Sen. Crapo. It is frustrating that a bill that has strong bipartisan support and will help a lot of kids is falling victim to power politics.

Which is why it is up to us to again break the stalemate. We need to convince more senators to speak out publicly in support of the bill and to call on leadership to bring it to a vote.

TAKE ACTION: To get the CTC expansion across the finish line, the best thing you can do right now is anything you can. Please take one or more of the following actions this week:

Get lobby meetings. If you have not set up lobby meetings with your senators – Republican or Democrat – please do so now. Ask for meetings as soon as possible to talk about the CTC. Once you get a meeting date, please let RESULTS staff know so we can provide you the latest developments and messaging for your meetings.

Connect with tax aides. If you have not contacted your Senate tax aides in the last three weeks or you have but have not heard back, contact them this week. Urge their bosses to publicly get behind the bill. Remind them that families in their states will benefit almost immediately. Use our CTC congressional request for messaging or contact RESULTS staff for assistance.

Submit letters to the editor. Call on your senators in the media to pass the CTC expansion now. If you need help, use our online CTC media alert to send a letter to the editor today.

Urge others to call senators. Urge your friends, family, and action networks to call (or e-mail) both their senators about the CTC. Call 202-224-3121 and leave this message:

Hello, my name is ____________. I am a constituent from ____________ and a RESULTS volunteer. I am calling to ask Sen. ____________ to speak out in favor of the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act. This bipartisan bill expands the Child Tax Credit for 16 million children and provides much needed relief to American families. I urge Sen. ____________  to publicly pledge support for the bill and urge Senate leadership to schedule a vote as soon as possible. Thank you for your time.

In particular, if you know people in Idaho, please urge them to call Sen. Crapo’s office with the above message.

Budget happenings highlight urgency of lobby meetings

Last week, Congress avoided another government shutdown by passing six of the twelve FY 2024 annual appropriations bills. They were later signed into law by President Biden. The good news is that the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) did receive full funding for FY2024, meaning that women and kids won’t face waiting lists this year to access food. The bad news is the global food security and nutrition programs funded out of the agriculture appropriations bill saw a nearly seven percent cut in funding. Congress must now complete the next six funding bills by March 22.

Then yesterday, President Biden released his FY2025 budget proposal. It includes a number of things to address poverty. On the U.S. poverty side, President Biden is calling for the 2021 expansions of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to be made permanent. His budget would also raise revenue and help reduce the deficit by closing tax breaks and loopholes for wealthy Americans and corporations.

On the global poverty side, the President calls for foreign aid programs to be largely funded at the same levels as FY2024. In the case of the Global Fund, funding is decreased because the U.S. commitment is capped by law at one-third of total GF funding. There is one positive note, though. The budget request of $300 million for Gavi is only the first annual contribution of an intended four-year pledge. Check the RESULTS Blog next week for more details on specific funding numbers.

All this activity once again highlights that decisions on many of our U.S. and global poverty priorities are being made now. If we want Congress to prioritize practical solutions to poverty, we need to talk to them now.

TAKE ACTION: As we continue our Community of Change campaign, request lobby meetings with your members of Congress. Our goal is to meet with every office RESULTS covers (350 in all) by the end of April. To get the, please use our 2024 lobby meeting request letter as a guide. Also take a look at this short video on top tips for booking a meeting. Be sure to request face-to-face meetings with legislators first (meet with staff if members are not available). If you need help, please contact RESULTS staff. Once you book a lobby meeting, please book a lobby prep meeting via RESULTS staff member Katie Fleischer. More support materials for your meetings are available on our 2024 Community of Change campaign page.

Quick News on U.S. and Global Poverty

IRS Direct File launches today. From our friends at the Economic Security Project: “Tuesday, March 12, 2024, the new IRS Direct File tool launches in 12 pilot states. For the first time in U.S. history, the IRS has created a free online tax filing tool to file your taxes directly with the IRS. Help promote the tool across social media and ensure it is used by as many people as possible!” Use their toolkit to spread the word.

RESULTS staff to appear on panel about poverty. Yolanda Gordon, Manager of Expansion and Advocacy, has been invited to be a panelist for the ATF Fourth World webinar “Poverty is Violence: The Intersection of Poverty, Racism, and Gender” on March 14, 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. ET for the United Nations 68th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women. Registration for this webinar is open.

Remind congressional offices about Thursday’s TB briefing. Thank you to everyone who invited members of Congress and staff to the “The Time to End TB is NOW” briefing this Thursday, March 14 at 12:00 p.m. ET. The event, sponsored by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), will feature author John Green and other crucial voices in the movement to eradicate this deadly disease of poverty. If your congressional offices plan to attend, please send a reminder to them before Thursday. Note that the event is currently at capacity, so registration is closed.

Announcements

Join Motivational Interviewing webinar tomorrow. Are you curious about learning new ways to enhance your advocacy skills? Do you feel like there are too many barriers in place for you to have a successful lobby meeting this year? Join us on March 13 at 8:00 p.m. ET to learn about Motivational Interviewing (MI). Motivational Interviewing fosters collaboration and motivates change. MI techniques can help provide you with some insight into how to be engaging, collaborative, respectful, and evocative. You do not need to have prior knowledge of MI to attend! Registration closes one hour before the beginning of the webinar.

Join Grassroots Town Hall this Thursday. Join the RESULTS Grassroots Board Members for a town hall focused on sharing your story. Grassroots Board Members will help you craft  and practice  Stories of Self; You’ll learn to articulate concisely and powerfully the value you get from being a RESULTS volunteer. In addition to receiving training on creating your Story of Self, participants will be shown resources available for on-going support. Grassroots Board Members will also invite volunteers to run for the open Grassroots position on the RESULTS/RESULTS Ed Fund Board this summer. The town hall is this Thursday, March 14 at 9:00 p.m. ET. Learn more here and join online at: https://results.zoom.us/j/92385525442 (no registration required).

Register for the April National Webinar with Sam Daley-Harris. Join us on Saturday, April 6 at 1:00 p.m. ET to hear RESULTS founder Sam Daley-Harris as he discusses the 2024 edition of his book Reclaiming Our Democracy and its blueprint for creating transformational advocacy. As Sam has written, this is a proven way to make a difference and heal our democracy in the process by helping citizens awaken to their power. This webinar is a great opportunity to hear from our founder and why his motivation for starting RESULTS back in 1980 is still relevant today. It’s also a great opportunity to introduce new people to Sam and the work of RESULTS, so invite others you know to join you for the webinar. Register today!

Join Quiet Leadership coaching training. Regional Coordinator Misty Novitch will be taking us through a two-part series on David Rock’s book Quiet Leadership, a potent and compelling coaching tool that provides you with resources to support others in their clarity of thinking. All advocates welcome. Join us for the Quiet Leadership training! The series are March 20 and March 27 at 9:00 p.m. ET, and you’ll get a reminder for each session.

Listen to March webinar recording. If you have not done so, be sure to watch the our amazing panel experts on the March National Webinar discussing the challenges and opportunities to advancing health equity, child survival, and gender equity around the globe. View the recording and slides.

Upcoming Events

Congressional schedule: This week, the House and the Senate are in session.

Typically, registration ends one hour prior to the start of all webinars and trainings.

Wednesday, March 13: Motivational Interviewing 101, 8:00 p.m. ET. Register today.

Wednesday, March 13: Session 4 of Group Leader Training, 8:00 p.m. ET. Register today for the final session of this series. The session lasts 2 hours.

Thursday, March 14: Outreach and Events Office Hour, 2:00 p.m. ET. Join via https://results.zoom.us/j/94004748060 or call 312-626-6799, meeting ID 940 0474 8060.

Thursday, March 14: Global Allies (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers) webinar, 8:30 p.m. ET. Register today.

Thursday, March 14: Grassroots Town Hall meeting, 9:00 p.m. ET.  Join online at: https://results.zoom.us/j/92385525442.

Friday, March 15: Anti-Oppression Learning Community, 12:00 p.m. ET. Register for this important 90-minute gathering.

Tuesday, March 19: U.S. Poverty Free Agents, 1 p.m. ET and 8:00 p.m. ET. Contact Jos Linn for more information.

Tuesday, March 19: Together Women Rise advocacy chapter webinar, 8:30 p.m. ET. Learn more about this opportunity.

Wednesday, March 20: Action Network Manager Calls, 12:30 p.m. ET and 8 p.m. ET. Join at https://results.zoom.us/j/95416781155 or dial (301) 715-8592, meeting ID: 954 1678 1155.

Wednesday, March 20: Media Office Hour, 2:00 p.m. ET. Join at https://results.zoom.us/j/93668005494 or (312) 626-6799, meeting ID 936 6800 5494.

Wednesday, March 20: Quiet Leadership Training (session 1 of 2), 9:00 p.m. ET. Register to learn about this unique coaching tool.

Thursday, March 21: New Advocate Orientation, 1:00 p.m. ET. Register today!

Monday, March 25: Global Poverty Free Agents, 7:00 p.m. ET. Contact Lisa Marchal if you are interested in joining.

Saturday, April 6: National Webinar, 1:00 p.m. ET. Guest speaker: RESULTS founder Sam Daley-Harris. 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.