U.S. Poverty Weekly Update March 7, 2017
U.S. Poverty Campaigns
Weekly Update | March 7, 2017
“We must stand up against schemes to undermine the effectiveness of anti-poverty health and nutrition programs via structural changes such as ‘block grants’.”
—RESULTS REAL Change Fellow Shams Al-Badry in a February 28 letter to the editor in the Lincoln Journal Star (NE)
- Got Two Minutes? Back Up RESULTS Volunteers in DC by Calling Congress Today to Protect Anti-Poverty Programs
- Got Ten Minutes? Prepare for the U.S. Poverty National Webinar this Saturday at 12:30 pm ET
- Got Twenty Minutes? Use Medicaid Threats to Highlight the Need to Grow Our Movement (March Action)
- Join Book Club Webinar on “The New Jim Crow” Next Week
- Quick News
- Upcoming Events
Quick Media Action: Urge Congress to Protect Americans Struggling in Poverty
| Take Action! |
Got Two Minutes? Back Up RESULTS Volunteers in DC by Calling Congress Today to Protect Anti-Poverty Programs
Today, dozens of our REAL Change Fellows are in Washington, DC lobbying members of Congress on U.S. and global poverty issues. They are in DC as part of the REAL Change Mid-Year Retreat. They’ve been in Washington since Sunday getting trained and ready for their lobby day today. In addition, several RESULTS Experts on Poverty are in DC this week to speak at the National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference and will be lobbying as well in support of nutrition assistance programs. Show your support for their work and for the millions who face dire circumstances if Congress goes through proposed changes to anti-poverty programs and funding.
TAKE ACTION: Take two minutes to call your members of Congress TODAY to let them know that cutting anti-poverty programs is unacceptable. Support REAL Change Fellows and Experts on Poverty who are right now sending the same message on Capitol Hill. Use our new call-in alert to call Congress now!
Got Ten Minutes? Prepare for the U.S. Poverty National Webinar this Saturday at 12:30 pm ET
Join us for the RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar this Saturday, March 11 at 12:30 pm ET Twith guest speaker Tricia Brooks of the Georgetown Center for Children and Families. We continue our First 100 Days push with an emphasis on health care and engaging others. Congress is moving this week (see more below) to make drastic changes to Medicaid, which could be a precursor for other programs such as SNAP later this year. Last month, we heard about specific threats to SNAP. This month, we’ll turn out attention to Medicaid and educate you on the newest proposals to cut and restructure this vital program. We’ll also discuss the March Action, which focuses on engaging new people in our work at this important time. Finally, we’ll hear from our Experts on Poverty and shares from the grassroots.
TAKE ACTION: Take two minutes to remind your local RESULTS group about the RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Grassroots Webinar call this Saturday, March 11 at 12:30 pm ET. Coordinate with your group where you will meet for the call. The webinar is done through Fuze meeting. 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 12:25 pm ET. The slides for the March Webinar will be available later this week on our National Webinars page.
Got Twenty Minutes? Use Medicaid Threats to Highlight the Need to Grow Our Movement (March Action)
We’ve been talking for months about the potential threats to anti-poverty programs in Congress. Those threats just got real. Yesterday, House leaders released their proposal to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act. It would keep some features of the ACA, like pre-existing conditions and young people coverage, but makes significant changes in other areas, including the tax credits to help afford insurance.
The plan would also end Medicaid as we know it (the House Energy and Commerce Committee will meet to mark up the Medicaid changes tomorrow). It would continue the ACA’s Medicaid expansion until 2020 but then “freeze” it by not allowing any new enrollees. The plan would also cap the amount of funding states would get from the federal government under traditional Medicaid, which is in essence a “block grant” of the program. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that these Medicaid changes would shift approximately $560 billion in costs to states over the next ten years. This will inevitably force states to cut or deny services to both existing and new Medicaid patients. All this is in addition to Congress’ plans.
These actions, in addition to efforts to block grant SNAP and enact tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy, have motivated many Americans to get involved in the political process. But many don’t know what to do and how to do it. You, as RESULTS volunteers, can help. As RESULTS works to make the First 100 Days of 2017 a strong statement to lawmakers about protecting our most vulnerable, reach out to new people in your community and invite to get involved in our work at this critical time.
TAKE ACTION: Take twenty minutes to discuss with your group your outreach plans for this spring. The March Action has information to help, including new information from the Congressional Management Foundation on what works best in influencing members of Congress. Share this information with others and remind them that RESULTS has been using these techniques with great success for decades. The Action also includes ideas for different types of outreach and a sample agenda for an outreach meeting. In the coming days, we’ll also have additional resources to help you including PowerPoints and materials to help. If you have questions or need coaching to do outreach this month, please contact Jos Linn ([email protected]) for assistance.
Join Book Club Webinar on “The New Jim Crow” Next Week
Are you interested in exploring the critical relationship between advocacy and anti-oppression? Want to better understand the link between racism and incarceration rates in America? If so, please join RESULTS volunteers on Thursday, March 16 at 8:00 pm ET for a virtual conversation around the book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration In the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander. This will be the first of four webinars to discuss the book (about every two weeks) and is part of RESULTS’ continued efforts to better understand the link between race, poverty, and oppression. To participate, login at http://fuze.me/34326078 or dial in by phone (201) 479-4595 Meeting ID: 34326078#.
Quick News
Getting Too Many E-mails? RESULTS does its best to keep you up-to-date on the issues and effective actions you can take. But we don’t want to overwhelm you with e-mails. If you feel like you get too many e-mails (or not enough), go to http://capwiz.com/results/mlm/verify/ and scroll to the bottom of the page to manage your subscription with RESULTS.
Help Us Get Your Local Action Networks Connected. Many of you have spent months and years developing a strong Local Action Network of people willing to take action on RESULTS issues from time to time. However, many times it falls on you to forward all the information we send out. If you’d like RESULTS to send alerts and weekly updates directly to your Local Action Networks, please send us your list (names and e-mails are necessary and physical addresses (or at least zip code or state) are helpful). Send your lists to Jos Linn at [email protected]. All persons will be signed up for weekly updates unless otherwise indicated.
Please Send in your Group Plans. Please finish and submit your First 100 Days Plan ASAP at: www.tinyurl.com/First100Plan.
Register for the RESULTS International Conference. The 2017 RESULTS International Conference is coming (July 22-25 in Washington, DC). Join hundreds of advocates from around the world at this great event. Early bird registration will be available until mid-May. Register today.
Urge Young Advocates to Apply for REAL Change. RESULTS is now accepting REAL Change Fellowship applications. The Fellowship is open to 18-30 year olds who want to become powerful advocates for the end of poverty. It includes attending the RESULTS International Conference and ongoing training throughout the year. If you know any young potential new advocates, please urge them to apply today. Slots will fill up quickly.
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: Kristy Martino, March 10; Jos Linn, March 18-26.
Upcoming Congressional Recesses: Senate, March 21-April 1; House, April 10-21.
RESULTS REAL Change Mid-Year Retreat, March 5-7. Washington, DC. Apply for the 2017-18 REAL Change Fellowship today.
RESULTS Introductory Call, Wednesday, March 8 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 National Webinar, Saturday, March 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.
Training Call: Creating Bi-Partisan Support for our Issues in our Communities: A Learning and Sharing Lab, Wednesday, March 15 at 9:00 pm ET. Login online: http://fuze.me/34116938; or via phone (201)479-4595, Meeting ID 34116938#.
RESULTS Race and Advocacy “Book Club” Webinar, Thursday, March 16 at 9:00 pm ET. Join this conversation around the book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration In the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander. To participate, login at http://fuze.me/34326078 or dial in by phone (201) 479-4595 Meeting ID: 34326078#.
RESULTS U.S. Poverty Free Agents Calls, Tuesday, March 21 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. 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.