U.S. Poverty Weekly Update December 11, 2018

Quote of the Week

“SNAP is a lifeline for so many families trying their best to find their footing.”

–  RESULTS Snohomish volunteer Teresa Rugg in a November 28 letter to the editor in the Snohomish Tribune

Got Two Minutes? Your Advocacy in Action – Final Farm Bill Protects SNAP

It’s almost done! The final farm bill is out and, as you have been pushing for the last year, it protects SNAP. Gone are the harsh work requirements, the bloated, underfunded jobs program, and the restrictions on state flexibility from the House version of the farm bill. The House bill would have resulted in 9 billion meals being lostover the next decade. This is a tribute to your important advocacy this year urging Congress to reject the House changes and protect SNAP. Congress will now move quickly to pass the bill this week (the House could vote as early as tomorrow). The bill is expected to get bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.

TAKE ACTION: Take two minutes to call your House and Senate offices today and urge them to vote YES on the final farm bill. Call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to each office (or look them up and call the offices directly) and leave the following message:

My name is _____________ and I am a constituent from ___________________ and a RESULTS volunteer. I am pleased that Congress has come up with a bipartisan farm bill compromise that ensures SNAP will continue to provide critical food assistance to hungry families across America. Will you please tell Rep./Sen. ___________________ that his/her constituents support a bipartisan farm bill that protects SNAP?

If you want to learn more about the final farm bill, join the farm bill call tomorrow, December 12 at 2:30 p.m. ET from FRAC and CBPP. To join, dial (866) 710-0179, passcode: FARMBILL. Please RSVP at http://bit.ly/Dec12FBcall.

Got Ten Minutes? Keep Pushing for Meetings with New Members of Congress

New members of Congress are finished with their congressional orientation programs and are working to get things ready for when they take office in early January. They may be available to meet with constituents in the next few weeks before heading to DC. This gives you the chance to introduce RESULTS to new members (existing members are likely to be in DC at least through next week) and our priorities for the next Congress.

Meeting with members of Congress face-to-face is still the most effective action we can take to influence policy. But how do you set them up when they don’t have official offices yet? Some members are taking meetings through their campaign websites, so start there. For others, it may take a little more creativity. Reach out to a donor you know or other contacts from their campaign to ask for help in getting a meeting. Visit the members’ social media sites for contact information. Looks for public events this month you can attend. All of these and other ways can help you get that first meeting set up. We know not everyone will succeed but your persistence could make a good first impression.

TAKE ACTION: Take ten minutes to reach out to new members of Congress to set up face-to-face meetings as soon as possible. For new members, visit their campaign pages for contact information and leverage contacts you know from their campaign. Use our updated meeting request (online or Word doc) to send your personal request for a meeting (if you need help, please contact Jos Linn). Once you get a meeting, please contact Meredith Dodson for coaching on requests. And remember to invite new advocates to attend these meetings with you to show them the importance of advocacy in creating change (see more in our Post-Election Action).

Got Sixty Minutes? Join a 2019 U.S. Poverty Campaign Strategies Webinar on December 13 or December 17

Do you want to learn about our possible 2019 U.S. Poverty Campaigns? Would you like to help shape our strategies for implementing our campaigns next year? Then join one of our upcoming 2019 U.S. Poverty Campaign Strategies webinar. On these webinars, RESULTS Director of U.S. Poverty Campaigns Meredith Dodson will overview our ideas for 2019 issues (tax and housing issues) and how to best implement them (ppt). But most importantly, we want your feedback. What do you think of the campaigns? What ideas do you have for carrying them out in your community? What resources do you need from RESULTS? Join us to let us know.

To be ready for the discussion on housing, we encourage you to listen to last week’s U.S. Poverty National Webinar and/or review the slides before joining one of the calls. You can find the recording and slides on our National Webinars page.

TAKE ACTION: Take sixty minutes to join one of our RESULTS 2019 U.S. Poverty Campaigns strategies this Thursday, December 13 at 7:30 pm ET or next Monday, December 17 at 2:30 pm ET. To participate, join online at https://results.zoom.us/j/584823247 or dial (929) 436-2866, Meeting ID: 584 823 247.

Quick News

Last Week to Sign onto SAVE for All Principles. The deadline to sign your local RESULTS group onto the new SAVE for All principles is this Friday, December 14. Please sign your local RESULTS group (e.g. “RESULTS Bremerton”) onto the principles today to build momentum for making poverty a priority in the next Congress.

Thank You for Your Public Charge Advocacy. The deadline to submit comments opposing the Trump Administration’s new public charge rule ended yesterday. The advocacy community had a goal of 100,000 comments by the deadline, but you didn’t reach that goal – you helped shatter it! The final number of comments is 210,889. That is amazing and by all accounts, out of the ordinary for a rule proposal like this. We know that some of those comments are in support of the rule, but it is believed those are in the minority. In addition to helping get official comments, you have also gotten 48 media pieces published across the country opposing the rule. Thank you for all your hard work on this issue. The Trump Administration must now read all the comments and then decide on whether to proceed with the rule, amend it, or discard it. That is expected to take several months.

January Webinar is January 8. Because the first Tuesday in January is New Year’s Day, the RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar will be held a week later on Tuesday, January 8 at 8:00 pm ET.

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.

U.S. Poverty Team members planned time off: Meredith Dodson: Friday, December 21 (afternoon)-Tuesday, January 1. Jos Linn: Thursday, December 20-Sunday, January 6.

U.S. Poverty Free Agents Calls, Tuesday, December 11 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.

2019 U.S. Poverty Campaigns Strategies Discussion, Thursday, December 13 at 7:30 pm ET. Join at https://results.zoom.us/j/584823247 or dial (929) 436-2866, Meeting ID: 584 823 247.

RESULTS New Advocate Orientation, Thursday, December 13 at 8:30 pm ET. Get started here.

2019 U.S. Poverty Campaigns Strategies Discussion, Monday, December 17 at 2:30 pm ET. Join at https://results.zoom.us/j/584823247 or dial (929) 436-2866, Meeting ID: 584 823 247.

Holiday Break, Tuesday, December 25-Tuesday, January 1. All RESULTS offices closed.

RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar, Tuesday, January 8 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. Find recordings and slides from previous webinars on the National Webinars page.

RESULTS Action Network Community of Practice webinar, Wednesday, January 9 at 8:00pm ET. To join, log in: https://results.zoom.us/j/427674133 or dial in: 669-900-6833, Meeting ID: 427 674 133.

RESULTS International Conference, July 13-16, 2019. Learn more at www.resultsconference.org and share your ideas for speakers and sessions by completing our IC suggestion form.

Other Resources

Learn more about the RESULTS Experts on Poverty at: https://results.org/issues/experts_on_poverty.

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

If you have a question, comment, or suggestion for the RESULTS/REF Board, please e-mail Steven McGee at [email protected]. View Board minutes and Annual Reports on our website.

Please fill out the RESULTS Lobby Report Form after any lobby meeting to let us know what happened. In meetings that cover both U.S. and global poverty issues, please fill it out twice.