U.S. Poverty Weekly Update January 24, 2017
U.S. Poverty Campaigns
Weekly Update | January 24, 2017
“This is an important time to be involved: much is at stake for people of color, for the poor, for our divided country, and the world at large.”
– RESULTS Salt Lake City volunteer Debbie Baskin in a January 21 op-ed in the Park City Record (while the famed Sundance Film Festival was being held there)
- Got Two Minutes? Please Submit Your Group Plan (January Action)
- Got Ten Minutes? Set Up your First 100 Days Lobby Meetings
- Got Twenty Minutes? Invite Tax Aides to February 2 Tax Briefing in DC
- Urge Your Action Networks to Generate Media about Protecting the Safety Net
- Quick News
- Upcoming Events
Quick Media Action: Remind Congress that Americans Want a Strong Safety Net
| Take Action! |
Got Two Minutes? Please Submit Your Group Plan (January Action)
We hope that all of your First 100 Days planning is going well. If you’ve finished your planning, congratulations! We hope came up with an inspiring plan that will motivate your group and make a big difference on our issues. But please don’t keep it to yourself. Please make sure to fill out our First 100 Days Group Plan Summary online so we can see your goals and support you in reaching them. If you have not finished planning, please make sure to schedule a group meeting ASAP to complete it. Studies show that writing down your goals increases your chance of reaching them by nearly 50 percent.
TAKE ACTION: Take two minutes to submit your 2017 Group Plan at: www.tinyurl.com/First100Plan. Let us know what great things you have in store. Thank you to the 11 groups and Free Agents who have already submitted their plans. Add yours to the list today! And if you are not done yet, schedule a time to finish planning this month. The January Action has a guide to help you and all the materials you need can be found on our RESULTS First 100 Days page or our Group Resources page. If you have questions about planning, please contact Jos Linn ([email protected]).
Got Ten Minutes? Set Up your First 100 Days Lobby Meetings
Thanks to everyone who has gotten our First 100 Days Campaign off to a great start. As you can see on our First 100 Days grid, groups in New Mexico, Missouri, Washington State, Minnesota, Iowa, and others have either had lobby meetings or have ones scheduled. This is great news and is getting us closer to our goal of 100 percent of RESULTS groups and Free Agents meeting with congressional offices in the first 100 days.
But these 100 days will go by fast (there’s only 76 days left). The new President and new Congress are already making decisions that will impact millions of Americans living in poverty. If they don’t hear from you now, their efforts will go unchallenged.
TAKE ACTION: Take ten minutes make sure your group’s name is on the First 100 Days grid – submit your face-to-face meeting requests today. Both the House and Senate will be on recess the week of February 20, so ask for face-to-face meetings during that week. Remember, if you cannot get a meeting with your member of Congress, ask to meet with local staff with the DC policy aide attending remotely. If you’re not sure what to say, use our lobby meeting request form to help you. You can find scheduler names and contact information on our Elected Officials page. And don’t forget to ask about town halls; that’s a great way to get some face-to-face time if you can’t get it in a sit-down meeting.
As you get your meetings or town halls scheduled, please enter the meeting info into our First 100 Days Meeting Tracker: http://tinyurl.com/100daysmeetings. Also, please contact Meredith Dodson ([email protected]) to set up a lobby prep call to help you get ready for your lobby meetings. Finally, after you meeting, please tell us what happened by filling out the RESULTS Lobby Report Form: www.tinyurl.com/RESLRF.
Got Twenty Minutes? Invite Tax Aides to February 2 Tax Briefing in DC
Tax season is gearing up, which means millions of low-wage working Americans will be claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC). These credits do wonders at lifting families out of poverty and providing some protection for financial emergencies. Yet, we know we must do more to boost long-term economic security and reduce wealth inequality, including the racial wealth gap.
On February 2, Tax Credits for Working Families and CFED will be holding a briefing in Washington, DC on how low-income tax payers can create and retain wealth. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI-4) will be speaking, along with tax policy experts, on how lawmakers can enact policies that use tax time to help low-income Americans build wealth and then keep it throughout the year. This will be an important discussion that your House and Senate tax aides should hear (and a great excuse to reconnect with those tax aides you’ve worked with on expanding the EITC). Reach out to them this week and urge them to attend.
TAKE ACTION: Take twenty minutes to contact tax aides in your House and Senate offices to urge them to attend the “Reducing Wealth Inequality and Protecting Consumers at Tax Time and Beyond” briefing on February 2 at 9:30 am ET at the Capitol Visitors Center. RSVPs are due by January 30. You can find the names of the tax aides on our Elected Officials page. If you’re not sure what to say, here is a sample script for calls or e-mails:
Hello, my name is ______________ and I am a constituent of Rep./Sen. ____________________ from _______________________. I’m contacting you to invite you to a briefing on February 2 about wealth inequality. I am very concerned that the wealth gap in America, in particular the racial wealth gap, is so large. Right now, African American households own only 6 cents of wealth for every dollar that White households own. If we are ever to have a healthy and robust economy that benefits all Americans, we must do something about this wealth gap. At this briefing, lawmakers and policy experts will discuss how we can use public policy to reduce the wealth gap and build more financial inclusion. This will be an informative and important discussion. Will you attend?
The event begins is from 9:30am – Noon on Thursday, February 2 in rooms 208-09 at the Capitol Visitors Center. It is free but space is limited so they urge you to RSVP. You can find more information and RSVP at: https://eventgrid.com/Events/29401/reducing-wealth-inequality-and-protecting-consumers-at-tax-time-and-beyond.
Urge Your Action Networks to Generate Media about Protecting the Safety Net
RESULTS volunteers have been going gangbusters with media this year. Already in January, you have 30 media pieces published in 17 states and the District of Columbia. Wow! If we want remind Congress of the importance of protecting anti-poverty programs, this is the way to do it.
But we have to keep the pressure on. The only way we can protect programs that lift and keep people out of poverty is by demanding publicly that members of Congress do the right thing. We want your members of Congress to see their name in the paper every week if possible telling them to protect SNAP and Medicaid, and to expand the EITC.
This morning, we sent a media action alert out to our e-mail network urging you to use our updated Protect the Safety Net media alert to send a letter to the editor (LTE) to your local paper. Take the action yourself and then please share our email (also on our blog and Facebook page) with others looking for a way to engage in advocacy. Many others in our communities are looking for ways to get involved, and raising our voices in the media (and getting involved with a local RESULTS group) is a great way to build momentum!
If you need help with your letters, contact Jos Linn at [email protected].
Quick News
Trump Cabinet Picks Raise Concerns. In the last few weeks, leaders in the Senate have been furiously moving President Trump’s cabinet nominees through the confirmation process. Some of these picks have raised concerns over their positions on the issues and how they might impact the social, civil, and economic rights of low-income Americans. Our friends at the Coalition on Human Needs have composed a recap of some of the nominees’ hearings. Learn more about these nominees on the CHN website.
Perdue Nominated as Secretary of Agriculture. Last week, President-elect Trump nominated Sonny Perdue, the former governor of Georgia, as his Secretary of Agriculture. This is a pivotal post in RESULTS’ work because, if confirmed, Mr. Perdue will oversee the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) and school nutrition programs at USDA. RESULTS will keep you posted on his nomination and any statements he makes concerning nutrition programs.
Join More First 100 Days Trainings. RESULTS continues to provide you a host of training webinar to help make your First 100 Days Campaign a success. This week, we have a webinar on creating champions in Congress (Jan. 26) and then webinars in early February on community mapping (Feb 1) and storytelling (Feb. 7). Find the times and access numbers in our Upcoming Events section and see the full list of training calls on our Events Calendar. Also, if you missed a webinar, you can find the recordings of past webinars on our First 100 Days page.
Join Intro Call this Friday. If you know anyone who is looking to shape how our government protects the most vulnerable, invite them to join our RESULTS Introductory Call this Friday, January 27 at 1:00 pm ET. These 30-minute, bi-monthly calls are the perfect seed for growing strong new advocates. Register for an upcoming Intro Call on the RESULTS website.
Register for the RESULTS International Conference. RESULTS is already gearing up for our biggest event of the year – the RESULTS International Conference. With many programs and services under serious threat in this Congress, having as many advocates attend our Conference to lobby Congress in DC is pivotal. The Conference is July 22-25 in Washington, DC, which is likely to be when Congress is making important decisions on tax policy and restructuring anti-poverty programs. Please plan to join us. If you register now, you can get the discounted Early Bird rate. Also, if you know someone between the ages of 18-30, urge them to apply for the REAL Change Fellowship, but do so quickly; applications are already rolling in.
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 staff vacations: Jos Linn, February 17, March 18-26.
Upcoming Congressional Recesses: House and Senate: February 20-24.
RESULTS Introductory Call, Friday, January 27 at 1:00 pm ET. If you want to learn more about RESULTS, register for an Intro Call on the RESULTS website.
Training Call: Creating Champions in Congress, Thursday, January 26, 9:00 pm ET. Login online: http://fuze.me/34116890; or via phone (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID 34116890#.
Training Call: Leading with Action: Mapping and Engaging Community Groups Powerfully with RESULTS Tools, Wednesday, February 1, 9:00 pm ET. Login online: http://fuze.me/34116910; or via phone at (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID 34116910#.
Training Call: Telling Our Stories of Self, Us, and Now to Engage Others, Tuesday, February 7, 9:00 pm ET. Login online: http://fuze.me/34116930; or via phone (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID 34116930#.
RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar, Saturday, February 11 at 12:30 pm ET. Participate at http://fuze.me/32255914 or (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID: 32255914#. Listen to previous webinars on our National Webinars page.
Presidents Day, Monday, February 20. All RESULTS offices closed.
RESULTS U.S. Poverty Free Agents Calls, Tuesday, February 21 at 1:00 pm and 8:00 pm ET. To participate, login in at http://fuze.me/32256018 or dial by phone at (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID: 32256018#.
RESULTS International Conference, Saturday, July 22 – Tuesday, July 25, 2017. Washington Court Hotel, Washington, DC. Registration is now open!
If you have a question, comment or suggestion for the RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund Board, please e-mail them to RESULTS Grassroots Board Member Vanessa Garcia at [email protected]. You can view the most recently published minutes from Board meetings on the RESULTS website, as well as download RESULTS’ most recent Annual Report.