U.S. Poverty Weekly Update July 11, 2017

July 11, 2017

U.S. Poverty Campaigns

Weekly Update | July 11, 2017

“This is a killer bill, and we need to let all (lawmakers) everywhere know we don’t want to see our loved ones die for tax cuts to corporations and the very wealthy”

– RESULTS Albuquerque volunteer Sandy Duckert in a July 4 letter to the editor in the Albuquerque Journal

In This Week’s Update:

Quick Action: Keep Pressure on Senators to Protect Medicaid

Take Action!

Got Two Minutes? Get Ready for TONIGHT’s U.S. Poverty National Webinar with Debbie Weinstein at 8:00pm ET

Tonight, July 11 is the RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar… and we have a lot to cover. In the Senate, leaders are working hard to craft a health deal that at least 50 senators will support while the House is moving forward with a budget plan that could fast-track cuts to basic assistance programs, including SNAP and Medicaid. To help us navigate this terrain, we are thrilled to have our dear friend Debbie Weinstein, Executive Director of the Coalition on Human Needs, as our guest speaker this evening. Debbie will update us on the health care state of play, help us understand other threats to anti-poverty programs in the 2018 budget, and discuss how you can make a difference on these issues at the RESULTS International Conference and beyond.  We’ll also hear from Kali Daugherty, one of our Experts on Poverty, and you’ll get a chance to meet our Grassroots Board nominees. Please join us.

TAKE ACTION: Take two minutes to remind your local RESULTS group about the RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Grassroots Webinar tonight, July 11 at 8:00 pm ET. Remind members if your group is meeting for the call or if group members (and Free Agents) are calling in on their own. To join online, login at http://fuze.me/32255914 or dial in by phone at (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID: 32255914#. Plan to log in or call in no later than 7:55 pm ET. The slides for the July Webinar are available on our National Webinars page. If your group is listening to the call later, we’ll put a link to the call on this page after the webinar.

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Got Ten Minutes? You Are Protecting Medicaid – Keep it Up (June Action)

Your advocacy is working to protect Medicaid. Just as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) feared, the July 4 recess has made it more difficult to find a compromise on the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), the Senate’s bill to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act. But he is not giving up. The latest news is that leaders plan to release a revised bill this Thursday, get a new score from the Congressional Budget Office early next week, and vote later next week. Sen. McConnell and President Trump plan to push very hard over the next week to get this across the finish line.

This bill cannot be fixed, no matter the tweaks. It ends Medicaid as we know it and forces more than 20 million Americans to lose health coverage. For as long as it is alive, it is a threat to Medicaid and the health care of millions of Americans. Keep the pressure on – it’s working – until this bill is put to rest once and for all.

TAKE ACTION: Take ten minutes to call Senators and generate media about protecting Medicaid. Use the June Action to make your calls (which can be sent to others to call as well) and draft your letter to the editor (LTE) to send to your local paper (and add to your record-breaking media haul this year). The Action has sample scripts and letters you can use. Need a “hook” for yet another call or to tweak and resubmit an LTE? Use this new information on the impact of the Senate’s proposed Medicaid cuts on kids. If you are pressed for time, use our online LTE alert to send a letter right now telling senators to leave Medicaid alone. We’ll discuss the current threats to Medicaid on tonight’s National Webinar.

BONUS ACTION: We know that real stories about the importance of Medicaid are critical in shaping this debate, so RESULTS launched a special project to do intensive work with people in key states who want support to share their own story of how Medicaid has impacted them or their children. In addition to on-the-ground organizing in Maine and Louisiana, one of our Experts on Poverty, Asia Bijan Thompson, is working with advocates to help them share their own stories with decision-makers and in local media. If you know anyone who lives in ME, LA, AK, TN, WV, AR, AZ, NV, CO, or OH, put them in touch with Asia at: [email protected]. On social media? Consider sharing Asia’s Instagram or Facebook posts, and/or these published pieces about the impact of Medicaid:

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Got Twenty Minutes? Take SNAP Off the Table Before It Even Gets Served (July Action)

2017 has proven that advocacy works. In a year when House and Senate leaders and the White House anticipated repealing the Affordable Care Act, making cuts to SNAP, and beginning a re-write of the tax code all in the first few months of the year, things have not happened the way they thought. The reason? You. You and advocates across the country, standing up for programs and services that help low-income Americans make ends meet, are what have brought this poverty-worsening agenda to a crawl.

While health care is still front and center, it will likely be resolved one way or another this month, and the next threat will come to the fore. Basic food assistance, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps), could be the next program in the cross-hairs. Fortunately, SNAP has you. Lay the groundwork now so that when Congress comes calling for SNAP cuts to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy, they’ll already be staring at a wall of resistance.

TAKE ACTION: Take twenty minutes to invite friends and colleagues to write letters about protecting SNAP from cuts or block grants. Once written, gather these letters and plan to hand-deliver during lobby meetings in DC (or August recess meetings if no one in your group is coming to the Conference). Host a local letter-writing party during tonight’s National Webinar or within the next week before people leave for the Conference (around July 21). The July Action has tips getting the word out as well as an Outreach Action Sheet (PDF or Word) you can download and give to people to write letters. Plan to set a goal for how many letters you plan to bring to the Conference. We’ll even have stickers you can place on your name badge showing that you are a letter-delivering champ! If you have questions or need help with getting your letters to DC, please contact Jos Linn ([email protected]).

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The RESULTS Conference Almost Here!

With less than two weeks to go, the excitement and frenzy of the RESULTS International Conference is getting palpable. Whether you’re coming to DC or supporting those who are, here are things to focus on this week:

  • Set Up Your Lobby Prep Call. Most of our U.S. Poverty volunteers have either done a lobby prep call with Meredith Dodson or have one on the calendar. If you have not scheduled a call to get you ready for your lobby meetings in DC, please contact Jos Linn ([email protected]) ASAP to get one set up.
  • Schedule Lobby Meetings. We’ve taken on protecting basic health and nutrition programs as our top campaign priority this year, and we will focus on the threats to SNAP and Medicaid in the FY2018 federal budget as our top priority during meetings on Capitol Hill. This means, for most meetings, in addition to a face-to-face with your members of Congress, you want to request the aide that handles nutrition issues be present. In some meetings, we will also talk to decision-makers about the importance of ensuring that tax policy does not put anti-poverty programs at risk and addresses wealth inequality and the racial wealth gap. Your specific priorities for meetings will be discussed in your state’s lobby prep call.
  • Tell Us What Meetings You Have. Please fill out our Lobby Meeting Schedule Form for each meeting you get scheduled at the Conference (or back home).
  • Review U.S. Poverty Background Packet. Our legislative policy background packet will be available this week on the 2017 RESULTS Conference Resources page. Use this resource to get ready for lobby meetings both in DC and during the August recess.
  • Invite Your Members of Congress to our Advocacy Day Reception. Use our customizable invitation to invite your members of Congress to join us for this special celebration the evening of July 25.
  • Sign Up for Special Advocacy and Media Trainings. RESULTS will be doing special trainings on Saturday morning (July 22) and Wednesday morning (July 26).  Sign up to attend one or both of these trainings.
  • Conference Live Streaming. Parts of the Conference will be live-streamed. Visit the RESULTS Blog in the coming days for details on what will be viewable and how to watch it.
  • Resources Page Keep Growing. For all your Conference-related resources, including background packets, sample meeting requests, and our IC Checklist, go to our 2017 RESULTS Conference Resources page. 

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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 Congressional Recesses: House and Senate: July 31-September 4.

RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar, Tuesday, July 11 at 8:00 pm ET. Participate at http://fuze.me/32255914 or (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID: 32255914#. Listen to previous webinars on our National Webinars page.

RESULTS Introductory Call, Wednesday, July 12 at 9:00 pm ET. If you want to learn more about RESULTS, register for an Intro Call on the RESULTS website.

RESULTS U.S. Poverty Free Agents Calls, Tuesday, July 18 at 1:00 pm and 8:00 pm ET. To participate, login 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. Register today!

RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar, August 15 at 8:00 pm ET – NOTE DIFFERENT WEEK. Participate at http://fuze.me/32255914 or (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID: 32255914#.

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.

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