U.S. Poverty Weekly Update October 15, 2019
Quote of the Week
“Expanding the EITC and CTC would ensure our tax code supports low-income Americans struggling to make ends meet.”
– RESULTS Lincoln, NE volunteer Jamy Rentschler in an October 9 letter to the editor in the Lincoln Journal Star
Got Two Minutes? E-mail Congress about the EITC and CTC (October Action)
Congress is back in DC this week, which means negotiations over what kind of tax bill to pass this fall will now ramp up. Revised Census data shows that the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) lifted almost 9 million people above the federal poverty line last year. But millions are still left out. We want Congress to expand the EITC and CTC as part of any tax bill, so they need to hear from you now. E-mail them today urging them to put workers and families first in any new tax bill this fall
TAKE ACTION: Welcome your members of Congress back to DC this week by taking two minutes to send an e-mail using our online action alert telling them that any tax bill this fall must include expansions of the EITC and CTC. We need as many e-mails as we can get to please send the alert link to your action networks and urge them to e-mail as well.
Got Ten Minutes? Invite New (or Not so New) People to New Advocacy Training Starting this Week
If we want fix America’s affordable housing crisis and get meaningful expansions of tax credits for working families to reduce racial wealth inequality and end poverty, we need new people who can turn their passion into action. And we have a great new tool to help them do just that. This Thursday, we are starting the RESULTS New Volunteer Advocacy Training series, a six-week program to help people get the basics they need to be powerful advocates with RESULTS. They’ll dive into policy campaigns and get trained on how to influence policy makers through direct advocacy, the media, and organizing. If you have new people in your local RESULTS group or are working with a potential new volunteer in your area, this training is perfect for them. Please invite them to join.
TAKE ACTION: Take ten minutes to invite people you know to join the RESULTS New Volunteer Advocacy Training. The series begins this Thursday, October 17 and will be offered at 12:00 pm and 8:30pm ET over the next six Thursdays (through November 21). Send them the training page link and urge them to register for each session. If a person is new to RESULTS, we recommend they register for all the sessions in the series. Veteran RESULTS volunteers are welcomed to join the trainings too. Sessions will be recorded.
Got Twenty Minutes? Tell Tax Aides to Prioritize the EITC and CTC (October Action)
With Congress back in DC, they now have a lot to get done in a short period of time. November 21 is the current deadline to get the FY 2020 budget done. This offers us the chance to push for key tax provisions for low-income workers and their families in any new tax bill that may be included in the same budget package. With that timeline, things are going to move fast. If you have not spoken to the tax aide for your representatives and senators recently, now is the time to do so. They need to hear from you that Congress cannot ignore workers and families again if they try to pass a tax bill this year. Any tax bill they do must include expansions of the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit for low-income Americans. If you need a hook to reconnect, use the updated Supplemental Poverty Measure from the U.S. Census, which now shows that the EITC and CTC lifted 8.9 million people above the poverty line in 2018.
TAKE ACTION: Take twenty minutes to contact congressional tax aides about including expansion of the EITC and CTC in any new tax bill. Look up aide names here. Send them our EITC/CTC request sheet and use the info below in e-mails or phone calls:
- Senate tax aides: In late 2015, Congress passed a tax bill setting the precedent that if a tax bill to help businesses was passed, it also had to include Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit provisions benefitting low-income workers and families. The EITC and CTC are still our most effective tools at lifting workers and children out of poverty; together they lifted 9 million people above the poverty line last year. If Congress does a tax bill this fall, please ask your boss to tell leadership that he/she is adhering to the 2015 precedent and will only support a tax bill if it includes meaningful expansions of the EITC and CTC. How can I best follow up with you on this request?
- House tax aides: This summer the Ways and Means Committee passed a tax package that includes Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit provisions benefitting low-income workers and families. The EITC and CTC are still our most effective tools at lifting workers and children out of poverty; together they lifted 9 million people above the poverty line last year. If Congress does a tax bill this fall, please ask your boss to tell leadership that he/she is adhering to the 2015 precedent and will only support a tax bill if it includes meaningful expansions of the EITC and CTC. Also, if he/she has not done so already, please ask your boss to show their support for the workers and families by co-sponsoring H.R. 3157, the Working Families Tax Relief Act. How can I best follow up with you on this request?
Only one person from your local RESULTS group need contact an aide. If you need help with how to best reach out to your tax aides, please contact Jos Linn.
Quick News
RESULTS Advocates Help Secure Strong Commitment to Global Fund. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria has helped save 32 million lives since 2002. Advocates have been seeking $14 billion for the Global Fund over the next three years to help save an additional 16 million lives. For more than a year, RESULTS has been pushing members of Congress to maintain the U.S. commitment to fund one-third of the total needed. It worked. At the replenishment conference in France last week, French President Macron announced that the Global Fund had received pledges of $13.92 billion (with the final $80 million coming by early December), with the U.S. covering one-third of it – $4.68 billion over three years. This tremendous success is due in large part to the work of RESULTS volunteers like you. While Congress must still follow through and appropriate the money each year, which will take continued advocacy, this is a victory well worth celebrating!
Public Charge Rule Halted in Federal Court. In another victory, last Friday two federal courts blocked the Trump Administration’s new “public charge” rule, citing the irreparable harm the rule would do to low-income families in the U.S. The new rule was set to go into effect today. RESULTS and other advocates have strongly opposed this rule since it was proposed back in 2018 and many of you submitted comments opposing the rule. Thank you. It is now up to the Trump Administration to decide whether to appeal the ruling or not.
More Bad Rules Looming. Despite the victory on public charge, the Trump Administration is still rolling out rules that would have a significantly negative impact on Americans. First, this is the last week to submit your comment opposing the Trump Administration rule that would make it easier for landlords, financial institutions and others to discriminate based on race, sex, national origin, disability, and other protected classes. Comments are due this Thursday, October 18. Also, another proposed rule would change how states use utility costs to determine SNAP benefits (formerly food stamps). It’s estimated this would amount to a cut of $4.5 billion in SNAP benefits over five years. You have until December 2 to submit your comment opposing this new attack on SNAP.
Tell Us What Sessions You Want at the International Conference. The 2020 RESULTS International Conference is set for June 20-23, 2010 in Washington, DC. In addition to celebrating our 40th anniversary, we want to continue to offer the best in learning sessions for our volunteers. Help us do that by filling out this survey on what kind of sessions you’d like to see at next year’s Conference. The deadline is this Friday, October 18.
Upcoming Events
Congressional Recesses. The House will be on recess November 4-11. Submit your meeting requests today.
Tuesday, October 15: U.S. Poverty Free Agents Calls, 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.
Thursdays, October 17-November 21: New Volunteer Advocacy Training, 12:00 pm and 8:30 pm ET. Learn more and register for sessions here.
Tuesday, November 5: RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar, 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.
Wednesday, November 6: RESULTS Action Network Community of Practice webinar, 8:30pm ET. To join, log in: https://results.zoom.us/j/427674133 or dial in: 669-900-6833, Meeting ID: 427 674 133. You can also join our Facebook and e-mail groups.
Monday, November 11: Veterans’ Day. All RESULTS offices closed.
June 20-23, 2020: RESULTS International Conference. Capital Hilton, Washington, DC. More details coming soon.
Find other events on the RESULTS Events Calendar.
Other Resources
Learn more about the RESULTS Experts on Poverty.
Do you have a new person in your RESULTS group or info to update? Use our Volunteer Information Form to add them.
Find recently recorded advocacy trainings on the RESULTS Training Webinars page.
Report your Grassroots Successes:
- What happened at your last lobby meeting?
- What media have you gotten published?
- Have you reached out to new people lately?
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.
RESULTS Staff directory.