U.S. Poverty Weekly Update August 7, 2018

U.S. Poverty Campaigns

Weekly Update | August 7, 2018

“Millions of American parents depend on SNAP (formerly food stamps) to stock their shelves and feed their children, but this program is currently under attack.”

– RESULTS REAL Change Fellow Jericho Asis in an August 3 letter to the editor in the Baltimore Sun

Quick Action: Tell Congress to Protect SNAP in the Final Farm Bill

Got Two Minutes? Prepare for Saturday’s Joint National Webinar, including Trying out Zoom

We are excited about the RESULTS Joint U.S. and Global Poverty Webinar this Saturday, August 11 at 2:00 pm ET. This webinar will focus on two important phases of our advocacy work in 2018. First, we’ll briefly review what happened at the RESULTS International Conference last month. The Conference is an integral part of our advocacy campaigns each year and this year was no different. Whether it was shoring up support for SNAP, educating lawmakers about the intersection of housing and the racial wealth divide, or gaining momentum for the REACH Act on our global side, the Conference was critical in moving toward our goal of the end of poverty.

We will then turn our attention to the rest of 2018. The midterm elections in November are turning out to be one of the most contentious elections ever and we have no intention of sitting it out. If we want to shape what the next Congress does on poverty in 2019, we must start now and candidate engagement is how we do it. Join us on the webinar to learn what part you can play.

Finally, remember to invite action network members, coalition partners, and infrequent action-takers to join you for the webinar. It’s a great way for them to see how they connection to RESULTS is making a difference and how they can help make ending poverty an election issue.

TAKE ACTION: Take two minutes to prepare for the RESULTS Joint U.S. and Global Poverty National Webinar this Saturday, August 11 at 2:00 pm ET. Confirm when and where your group will be meeting for the webinar. If you live in an area with both global and U.S. poverty advocates, do the webinar together and share about recent events and coordinate actions during the August recess. Also, reach out to people who’ve helped you with letters, calls, and other actions and encourage them to join you to hear about how their work is making a difference.

Remember, Zoom is our new webinar platform. Joining is easy. Just like Fuze, you can join online or by phone. Join online at: https://results.zoom.us/s/510407386 or dial in by phone at (669) 900-6833 or (929) 436-2866, Meeting ID: 510 407 386. We’re expecting a large crowd so plan to join the webinar no later than 1:55pm ET on Saturday. If you have questions or need help, please contact Jos Linn.

Got Ten Minutes? Meet with Lawmakers to Protect SNAP During August Recess (August Action)

Both the House and Senate are on recess this week. With everyone home, use this opportunity to push lawmakers to protect SNAP in farm bill negotiations. Before leaving last week, the Senate named their members of the farm bill conference committee: Agriculture Committee Chair Pat Roberts (R-KS), Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), John Boozman (R-AR), Sherrod Brown, (D-OH), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Heidi Heitkamp, (D-ND), John Hoeven (R-ND), Patrick Leahy, (D-VT) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

These senators will negotiate with the House conferees on a final farm bill package. Most of these negotiations will be around SNAP. To get a deal, there will be tremendous pressure on senators to “give the House something” in negotiations, which could likely be harmful changes to SNAP (just last week, President Trump tweeted that he wanted strong work requirements for SNAP). We must meet that pressure with our own. Use this month’s recesses to protect core investments that lift and keep people out of poverty.

TAKE ACTION: Take ten minutes to contact House and Senate schedulers to set up lobby meetings during the August recess. Use our online request to send e-mails or make a call to the scheduler. Be sure to ask about town halls and check www.townhallproject.com for events as well. The August Action has tools to help you engage members of Congress and candidates at town halls to talk about SNAP, housing, and tax policy. Once you get a meeting or town hall in your calendar, please contact Jos Linn ASAP to set up a lobby prep call to help get you ready.

Got Twenty Minutes? While Lawmakers are Home, Use the Media to Tell Them to Protect SNAP

In addition to meetings and town halls during this month’s recesses, media can also play a powerful role in shoring up support for SNAP. With both representatives and senators in their home states this week, submit a letter to the editor urging them to protect SNAP in the final farm bill. Congress has only until the end of September to pass a new farm bill and the thrust of negotiations between the House and Senate until then will be about the future of SNAP. The Senate has taken the right approach by crafting a bipartisan farm bill that protects SNAP. The House has chosen a partisan path that puts millions at risk of hunger. Use the media to educate both your members of Congress and your community that the only viable path forward is one where we work together to ensure that everyone has enough to eat.

TAKE ACTION: Take twenty minutes to draft and submit a letter to the editor this week urging your members of Congress to support the Senate version of the farm bill with its protections for SNAP. Remind them that no farm bill is better than a bad fam bill and any bill that makes harmful changes to SNAP is a bad farm bill. Our RESULTS Blog post from July (it’s still current) has a sample letter and tips for getting published or you can use our online template. If you need help, please contact Jos Linn (and let him know when you get published).

Quick News

Debunking the Myth about the Racial Wealth Divide. Read the excellent and final RESULTS Blog post from 2018 Emerson Hunger Fellow Funke Aderonmu where she outlines the most common myths about closing the racial wealth divide and then proceeds to debunk each of them quickly and effectively.

Trump Administration Contemplating New Tax Cut for the Rich. Last week, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced that he was considering a tax rule change that would starting indexing capital gains to inflation. Estimates are that this would cost the Treasury between $100-200 billion over the first ten years with 86 percent of the benefits going to the richest one percent of households. This rule change would not have to be approved by Congress.

Remember to Check Out Photos and Videos from the Conference. Experience the 2018 RESULTS International Conference by viewing videos and photos from it. Also, please let us know what you thought of this year’s Conference by taking the Conference Survey. Your feedback is important to us.

Upcoming Events

Go to the RESULTS Events Calendar to see a full list of RESULTS events. Also, find a list of the RESULTS U.S. Poverty staff with contact information on the RESULTS website.

Upcoming U.S. Poverty staff time off: Meredith Dodson, August 4-19. Jos Linn, August 25-September 3.

House Recess, July 30-September 3. Use our online request to schedule meetings now.

Senate Recess, August 6-10. Use our online request to schedule meetings now.

RESULTS Joint U.S. and Global Poverty National Webinar, Saturday, August 11 at 2:00 pm ET. Join online at: https://results.zoom.us/j/510407386 or by phone at (669) 900-6833 or (929) 436-2866, meeting ID 510407386.

RESULTS New Advocate Orientation, Wednesday, August 15 at 8:30 pm ET. Learn more here.

U.S. Poverty Free Agents Calls, Tuesday, August 21 at 1:00 pm and 8:00 pm ET. Join at: https://results.zoom.us/j/324294681 or dial by phone at (929) 436-2866 or (669) 900-6833, Meeting ID: 324 294 681.

RESULTS New Advocate Orientation, Friday, August 24 at 1:00 pm ET. Learn more here.

Labor Day, Monday, September 3. All RESULTS offices closed.

RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar, Tuesday, September 4 at 8:00 pm ET. Join at: https://results.zoom.us/j/873308801 or dial (929) 436-2866 or (669) 900-6833, Meeting ID: 873 308 801.

Other Resources

Get Your RESULTS Promo Materials. If you need banners, pens, stickers, or business cards for your local RESULTS work, fill out our Materials Order Form and we’ll send them to you.

Got a Question for the RESULTS Board? If you have a question, comment, or suggestion for the RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund Board, please e-mail Steven McGee at [email protected]. View published Board minutes on the RESULTS website, as well as our Annual Reports.

Please Fill Out the Lobby Report Form. After any lobby meeting, please fill out the RESULTS Lobby Report Form to let us know how it went. When you have a meeting where both U.S. and global poverty issues are discussed, please fill it out twice.