U.S. Poverty Weekly Update October 22, 2019

Quote of the Week

“If Congress takes up tax-extenders this fall, it must also fix the holes in these two credits, especially as low-income families were all but ignored by the 2017 tax cuts.”

– RESULTS Coastal CT volunteer Bill Baker in an October 9 op-ed in the Stamford Advocate

Got Two Minutes? Generate E-mails to Congress about the EITC and CTC (October Action)

Congress is making decisions about a new tax bill as we speak. Members are setting their priorities for a bill. Do you want your priorities included? Then tell them now. Use our online e-mail alert to flood congressional offices with demands that any tax bill include expansions of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) for workers and families. After you send your message, urge others you know to do the same. And mark your calendars – on November 6 RESULTS and our allies will do a national call-in day to Congress for the EITC and CTC (more details soon).

TAKE ACTION: Take two minutes to generate as many e-mails as you can urging Congress to expand the EITC and CTC in any new tax bill. Send your own e-mail to Congress and then use the message below to get your action networks and others to e-mail them too:

Leaders in Congress are working on a new tax bill to help businesses and corporations. If they do any tax bill this year, low-income workers and families must get priority. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) lifted almost 9 million people above the poverty line last year. But millions are still left out. Please e-mail your members of Congress today telling them that if Congress passes any tax bill this fall, it must include expansions of the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit for low-income Americans.

Got Ten Minutes? Please Take our National Webinars Survey

RESULTS is looking for ways to streamline how we inform and support you, our volunteers. Whether you advocate on U.S. poverty issues, global poverty issues, or both, we want to make it easy for you to stay informed and take action while still maintaining your high-quality advocacy and impact. Our monthly national webinars are a key tool in supporting our grassroots. And we want to make them better. Please share your thoughts on our monthly webinars and how we can improve them to meet your needs in our national webinars survey.

TAKE ACTION: Take ten minutes to complete our national webinars survey. Your feedback is important to us as we take steps to improve our monthly webinars. The survey will be open through Tuesday, November 12.

Got Twenty Minutes? Follow Up with Tax Aides on the EITC and CTC (October Action)

Congress still desires to do a tax bill this fall. Negotiations continue earnestly. It’s still unknown if and what kind of bill (or bills) they may do. Will it include extending expired tax credits for business and industry (“tax extenders”), a “technical correction” to the 2017 tax law for restaurant owners, and/or something else? Whatever bill they do, it cannot be one-sided. If businesses get a break, so should families. If restaurant owners are taken care of, so should their workers.

Many of you have been reaching out to tax aides urging their bosses to prioritize the EITC and CTC in any tax bill. Thank you. Now it’s time to follow up with specifics.

• Has Rep./Sen. _______________ told leadership that 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?
• Has Rep. ____________ agreed to sign onto H.R. 3157, the Working Families Tax Relief Act?
• Would your boss be willing to make public remarks in support of expanding the EITC and CTC this year?

Your follow-up should always be polite, but make no mistake, you are there to hold them accountable. And you must assume that you are the only one doing it. It’s the only way to ensure something gets done.

TAKE ACTION: Take twenty minutes to follow up with Senate and House tax aides to see if they have followed through on their commitments regarding the EITC and CTC. The October Action has resources to help you. Also, if you’ve had media published this year, make sure to send copies of it to the aides along with our updated request (and keep sending them as you generate new media). If you have not yet reached out to tax aides, please see last week’s Update for guidance on what to do and contact Jos Linn for assistance.

Quick News

Join the RESULTS Virtual Thanksgiving Feast. The biggest barrier to ending poverty is political. RESULTS advocates are raising their voices – and money – to create the political will to end poverty. Because of the power of advocacy, every dollar invested in RESULTS’ work turns into $100 to end poverty. Help us maintain and build on this success by participating in our annual RESULTS Virtual Thanksgiving Feast in November. This online fundraising campaign gives you the chance to inspire people you know to invest in RESULTS. It’s easy and it works. Go to the 2019 VTF page to get started. If you have questions, visit our donations page for resources and contact Mea Geizhals for assistance.

Attend First RESULTS Public Grassroots Board Meeting. RESULTS has four grassroots volunteers representing the interests of the RESULTS grassroots on the RESULTS Board. Based on feedback from you, they are holding their first quarterly public Grassroots Board Meeting next month. If you have needs, suggestions, concerns, thoughts, ideas, and questions, they want to hear from you. Please join them for this one-hour event on Tuesday, November 12 at 9:00 pm ET.  Join via Zoom online at https://results.zoom.us/j/292096907 or dial either (929) 436-2866 or (669) 900-6833, Meeting ID: 292 096 907#.

Upcoming Events

Congressional Recesses. The House will be on recess November 4-11. Submit your meeting requests today.

Thursdays, October 17-November 21: New Volunteer Advocacy Training, 12:00 pm and 8:30 pm ET. Learn more and register for sessions here.

November 1-November 30: RESULTS Virtual Thanksgiving Feast Fundraising Campaign. Learn more 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.

Tuesday, November 12: Public Grassroots Board Meeting, 9:00 pm ET. Join via Zoom online at https://results.zoom.us/j/292096907 or dial either (929) 436-2866 or (669) 900-6833, Meeting ID: 292 096 907#.

Tuesday, November 19: 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.

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.