U.S. Poverty Weekly Update November 10, 2015


November 10, 2015

U.S. Poverty Campaigns

Weekly Update | November 10, 2015

“New House Ways and Means leadership must bring strength, unity and improved tax policy. Failing to consider all American families will only further damage our current safety net programs.”

– RESULTS Houston volunteer Cacie Waters in an October 30 letter to the editor the Houston Chronicle

“Children growing up in poverty… is an incredible waste of human potential for our country.”

– RESULTS South Central PA volunteer Bruce Kessler in a November 8 op-ed in the Chambersburg Public Opinion

In This Week’s Update:

Quick Action: Urge Congress to Protect Familes and Children Getting the EITC and CTC

Take Action!

Got Two Minutes? Prepare for the U.S. Poverty National Webinar with Bread for the World and Feeding America this Saturday

The RESULTS U.S. Poverty Monthly National Webinar is this Saturday. We have two exciting guests joining us this month. The Rev. David Beckmann, President of Bread for the World, and Lisa Davis, Senior Vice President of Government Relations at Feeding America, will join us to talk about using the 2016 election campaign to make ending hunger and poverty a top priority for the next President and Congress. This is the focus of the new Vote to End Hunger Campaign, which RESULTS is co-sponsoring and is the subject of our November Action. On the webinar, we’ll also update you on the latest happening around saving the improvements to the key Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit provisions. We’ll include training on our current actions and shares from the grassroots. We look forward to you joining us on this important call.

TAKE ACTION: Take two minutes to remind your local RESULTS group about the RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar this Saturday, November 14 at 12:30 pm ET. Coordinate with your group where you will meet for the call. We use Fuze Meeting for these monthly webinars; to join the meeting online, login at http://fuze.me/28130766. If you cannot join online, you can dial in by phone at (201) 479-4595, meeting ID: 28130766#. Plan to log in or call in no later than 12:25 pm ET. If you have questions about Fuze or how to log in, please contact Jos Linn at [email protected]. The slides for this month’s Webinar will be available later this week in the Take Action box on the RESULTS Homepage. We urge you to download them and have them ready to scroll through on your own during the Webinar.

Got Ten Minutes? Contact Debate Moderators Urging Them to Ask Questions about Hunger and Poverty (November Action)

As we wait to see the next step for Congress on our tax policy work, we’re taking this month to highlight the new Vote to End Hunger campaign. The campaign is designed to raise awareness of hunger and poverty in the current election cycle and urge Presidential and congressional candidates to make ending hunger and poverty a top national priority in 2017. Influencing candidates has an impact on public policy. As highlighted by the Washington Monthly in 2012, Presidents tend to keep their campaign promises more than not. A 1984 study showed that from Woodrow Wilson through Jimmy Carter, U.S. Presidents kept 75 percent of their campaign promises and Politifact found that President Obama has broken his campaign promises only 22 percent of the time. Therefore, getting candidates to commit during an election is a good indicator of their priorities when in office.

This week, both the Republican and Democratic candidates for President will participate in debates. The Republican debate is tonight at 9:00 pm ET and the Democratic debate is this Saturday, November 14 at 9:00pm ET. Use these opportunities to push the debate moderators to ask candidate what they will do as President to end hunger and poverty in the U.S.

TAKE ACTION: Take ten minutes to call on debate moderators to ask the Vote to End Hunger question at this week’s Republican and Democratic debates. Here are some sample Tweets to send them TODAY:

  • .@TeamCavuto Ask candidates re: plans to end hunger & poverty to build stronger nation. @RESULTS_tweets & others say let’s #VoteToEndHunger!
  • .@MariaBartiromo @TeamCavuto  @gerardtbaker Hunger is an economic issue – pls ask candidates how they'd solve. #VoteToEndHunger #TalkPoverty
  • .@Kobradovich Thx for speaking at #VoteToEndHunger! Pls keep conversation going-ask candidates re plans to fight hunger & poverty #DemDebate
  • .@nancycordes @jdickerson Ask candidates their plans to fight hunger and poverty to build stronger nation. Let’s #VoteToEndHunger #DemDebate

If you don’t use Twitter, go to the Fox Business Facebook page (Republican debate) and the Face the Nation Facebook page (Democratic debate) and post this message: “Please ask the candidates in the upcoming debate that if elected, what will they do to end hunger, alleviate poverty, and create opportunity in the U.S. and worldwide. Americans want leaders who will Vote to End Hunger.” To amplify the Vote to End Hunger message on social media, make sure you're following RESULTS on Facebook and Twitter.

Read the November Action for more details on how you can get candidates and voters to vote to end hunger. Also, if you get a meeting with a candidate or an opportunity to attend a candidate event, contact Director of U.S. Poverty Campaigns Meredith Dodson ([email protected]) for coaching, materials, and tailored requests.  

Finally, save the Date for the Vote to End Hunger Training on November 19. RESULTS, Bread for the World, and Feeding America will be holding a Vote to End Hunger training next Thursday, November 19 at 2:00 pm ET on how to effectively engage candidates  on the issue of ending hunger and poverty. RESULTS Director of U.S. Poverty Campaigns Meredith Dodson will co-lead the training. Plan to attend this informative webinar; we’ll have login details in next week’s Update.

Got Twenty Minutes? Schedule Face-to-Face Meetings with Representatives and Senators

House members are on recess this week and both the House and Senate will be on recess the week of November 23. As the House and Senate work on the final budget for fiscal year 2016, this is another important opportunity to meet with them to talk about saving the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) provisions. The latest “intel” is that congressional leaders might add business tax extenders legislation into final budget legislation. Congress needs to pass its FY2016 spending bills (either separately or as one large “omnibus” bill) before December 11 or face another government shutdown. In meetings with lawmakers this month, either as sit-down meetings or town halls, you can send a strong message that any tax legislation that permanently extends business tax credits (whether part of the budget or not) must include a permanent extension of the EITC and CTC provisions.

TAKE ACTION: Take twenty minutes to contact your House and Senate schedulers to set up face-to-face meetings in November (use the RESULTS Elected Officials page to find scheduler names and contact info). If you’re not sure what to say, see our sample meeting request. Ask if you can get meetings this week (for House members), the next time they are in town, or during the Thanksgiving recess. This will likely be the last opportunity you’ll have to speak with them face-to-face before the December 11 budget deadline. Be sure to also ask if they are holding any town hall events in the next few weeks that you could attend. Here is a sample question you could ask at these events:

Hello, my name is ________________ and I am a constituent from _________________ and a RESULTS volunteer. I am very concerned that Congress is ignoring the needs of America’s working families. The Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit are pro-work tax credits that lifted 10 million people out of poverty last year, half of them children. But key provisions to the EITC and CTC will expire soon, forcing 16 million people into or deeper into poverty. My understanding that many in Congress are pushing to make some business tax breaks permanent. Will you speak directly to House and Senate tax leaders about saving the EITC and Child Tax Credit provisions if Congress makes any permanent tax changes this year?

IMPORTANT: Once you get a meeting scheduled, please contact Meredith Dodson ([email protected]) to set up a lobby prep call; she can provide insights and coaching for your particular senators. 

RESULTS Outreach: Welcome Kansas State and Kansas City: On to Chicago and Points South

RESULTS staff have been very busy lately, working to expand the RESULTS advocate network. Last week, Grassroots Manager for U.S. Poverty Campaigns Jos Linn traveled to Kansas and Missouri to start new U.S. Poverty groups. He first did a meeting at Kansas State in Manhattan, KS and met with some of our REAL Change Fellows and potential new volunteers. Jos then traveled to Kansas City, in the midst of the Royals’ World Series Championship celebration, for a meeting, organized by more of our REAL Change Fellows. We’re happy to say that both meetings were a success: K-State now has a new group of 6 people and Kansas City has a new group of 24 people. Both groups will start their New Group Training next Tuesday, November 17 at 6:00 pm CT. If you know people in these areas who might be interested in getting involved, please contact Jos ([email protected]) to get them connected to these new groups. In the meantime, welcome K-State and welcome Kansas City!

Looking ahead, RESULTS Real Change Fellow Matt Cooper will be holding a RESULTS Informational Meeting tonight at Truman State University in Kirksville, MO. Also, Jos will be in Chicago later this week working with REAL Change Fellow Hadiya Housepian and former RESULTS Hunger Fellow Tade Mengesha to start a new group there as well. The RESULTS Chicago Informational Meeting is this Thursday, November 12 at 7:00 pm CT at 33 W. Monroe, Ste 2400 in Chicago. If you know people in Chicago, please invite them to attend.

Finally, our fabulous U.S. Poverty Organizer Kristy Martino will be working to expand RESULTS’ presence in the Deep South next week. This Sunday, November 15, she’ll be holding a RESULTS Informational Meeting in Atlanta, GA at 5:00 pm ET (location TBD). Then on Monday, November 16, she’ll be in Alabama in Birmingham, Moody, and Montgomery connecting one-on-one with potential new advocates. If you know anyone in these areas, please contact Kristy ([email protected]) so she can meet with them while she’s there. 

Finally, if you know of someone who would make a great RESULTS advocate or someone you just want to introduce RESULTS to, invite them to join in our RESULTS Introductory Call tomorrow, November 11 at 9:00 pm ET. These 30-minute calls are an easy and inspiring way to learn about RESULTS and how to get involved. People can register for the call on the RESULTS website.

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.

Congressional Recesses: House: November 6-15; Senate: November 21-29. Request face-to-face meetings.

RESULTS Introductory Call, November 11, at 9:00 pm ET. If you want to learn more about RESULTS, register for an upcoming Intro Call on the RESULTS website.

RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar, November 14 at 12:30 pm ET. Join the meeting online at http://fuze.me/28130766 or dial in by phone at (201) 479-4595, meeting ID: 28130766#. Listen to previous conference calls and meetings on our National Webinars page.

RESULTS U.S. Poverty Free Agents Calls, November 17 at 1:00 pm and 8:00 pm ET. Join online at: http://fuze.me/27491886; or by phone at (201) 479-4595 and enter Meeting ID: 27491886. For more information, contact Jos Linn ([email protected]).

Thanksgiving Holiday, November 26. All RESULTS offices are closed November 26 and 27.

2016 RESULTS International Conference, June 25-28, 2016 in Washington, DC. Save the dates!

If you have a question, comment or suggestion for the RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund Board, please e-mail them to RESULTS Grassroots Board Member Lydia Pendley at [email protected]. You can download RESULTS’ most recent Annual Report at: https://results.org/about/annual_report/

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