U.S. Poverty Weekly Update October 31, 2017

U.S. Poverty Campaigns

Weekly Update | October 31, 2017

“So even if you believe corporations and millionaires deserve huge tax cuts, should the most vulnerable among us end up paying for them?”

– RESULTS Boston volunteer Alison Hall in an October 22 letter to the editor in the Boston Globe

Quick Media Action: Use Media to Oppose Tax Cuts that Increase Inequality​

Got Two Scary Minutes? Tell Congress to Renew Health Care for Kids – House Vote This Week

This may be Halloween where kids around the country are excited to dress up and scare their neighbors into giving them candy. But for 9 million low-income children and their families, there is a much bigger fear looming – the loss of their health care. That’s because Congress let the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) expire on September 30 and has yet to renew it. For twenty years, CHIP has been helping low- and moderate-income parents get their children the health care they need. Even Abby Normal knows that without a prompt renewal, states will run out of money to cover these kids (some starting this month).

Fortunately, CHIP has bipartisan support and some congressional leaders are working to reauthorize the program. But politics is delaying the process, with each day putting kids at risk of losing critical health care. The House is set to vote on a reauthorization bill this week. You can help by calling your representatives and senators today telling them to pass a “clean” CHIP bill now.

TAKE ACTION: Take two minutes to call your member of Congress and tell them to stop playing politics with children’s health and pass a “clean” CHIP bill. RESULTS volunteers have pushed to reauthorize CHIP in the past and while this is not a primary campaign for us in 2017, we want to lend our support. Call (202) 224-3121 and leave the following message:

My name is ______________ and I am a constituent of Rep./Sen/. _________________. I am frustrated that Congress has once again let a critical deadline pass without getting the job done. The Children’s Health Insurance Program or CHIP, which allows 9 million low-income children to get the vital health care they need to grow up healthy and strong, has expires and Congress seems in no hurry to fix it. When kids get sick, they should be able to go to the doctor without Congress blocking the door. Please tell Rep./Sen. ________________ to pass a clean CHIP bill now.

Got Ten Frightening Minutes? Be Ready to Call Congress about the House Tax Bill… and Tell Others to Call Too

To extend the Halloween holiday a little longer, the House is planning its own trick or treat event tomorrow – the release of its tax proposal. By most accounts, the proposal will be a trick on the middle class and a treat for the rich and big corporations – with up to 80 percent of the benefits going to the top one percent. And for low-income Americans, it will be downright scary. Rumor is that the plan may include provisions that make it harder for workers to get the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC). We all might need a sedagive after reading it.

But we want you to be ready. Soon after the proposal is released, RESULTS will send out an action alert about the plan. We’ll include information about the bill, the number to call your members of Congress, and what to say when you call. Be on the lookout for it and be sure to call as soon as you can. Also, please forward the alert to your friends, family, and local action network urging them to call as well. We need to send a strong message to Congress that cutting services for low-income Americans to pay for tax cuts for the rich is unacceptable.

TAKE ACTION: Take ten minutes tomorrow to call your members of Congress about the new House tax proposal. Look for the RESULTS action alert with details and messaging for your calls (which we’ll also post on our blog and Facebook). Forward the alert to everyone you know and urge them to call too. You can copy and paste the message below into your forwarded message to your networks:

The House just released its new tax proposal and it’s as bad as we’d feared. Once again, leaders in Congress want to give huge tax breaks to the rich and use cutbacks to programs that reduce poverty to help cover the cost. Americans don’t want another tax cut that simply makes the rich richer and leaves everyone else to fend for themselves. Please use the alert below to call your members of Congress and tell them to oppose this terrible plan.

If you have questions or need help, please contact Jos Linn for assistance.

Got Twenty Spooky Minutes? Sign Up for the RESULTS Virtual Thanksgiving Feast

Thanksgiving is only three weeks away. Perhaps your mouth is already watering over the thought of kippers and Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, but we hope you’ll also think about something else during this holiday – being a part of our annual Virtual Thanksgiving Feast.

The annual Virtual Thanksgiving Feast Friends and Family Fundraising Campaign is a great way to share with people you know about the meaningful work you are doing with RESULTS. It also helps secure vital financial resources for RESULTS, which are invested back into you through the resources and staff here to support you in your advocacy to end poverty.

This year’s campaign will be held from Monday, November 13 through, Tuesday, November 28. It’s easy to get started and easy to be successful. To help you begin, the RESULTS Development Team will hold a kick-off training call on Thursday, November 9 at 8:30 pm ET (http://fuze.me/35823900 or by phone: (201) 479-4595, ID 35823900#). Join the call to learn more then plan to participate in the 2017 Virtual Thanksgiving Feast.

TAKE ACTION: Take twenty minutes to plan for the Virtual Thanksgiving Feast Friends and Family Fundraising Campaign. Start with the kick-off call next week and then plan to sign up to help us finance the important work of building the political will to end poverty. Email Ben McGarry at [email protected] with questions and to let him know you’re participating.

(Qu)Ick News

Use Media to Scare Up Opposition to Bad Tax Bill. As Congress moves forward on their tax package, supplement your direct advocacy with a letter to the editor demanding that your member of Congress reject any tax bill that cuts taxes for the rich and puts anti-poverty programs at risk. Use our online LTE alert to send your letter today.

Help Us with Our Outscreech. RESULTS staff and volunteers continue to work with leads in to grow our advocacy network. Our global and U.S. poverty volunteers in New Jersey met this past weekend to map out actions and outreach for the next few months. In addition, we have outreach events scheduled in Maine (11/15) and Anchorage, AK (11/18). Finally, we are working with leads in ME, WV, OR, MS, and AZ. If you know people in any of these states, or others who are interested in getting involved in our U.S. poverty work, please contact Kristy Martino.

Don’t Be a Ghoul, Open Enroll. Open enrollment for insurance through the ACA’s federal exchanges begins tomorrow. If you or someone you know needs health coverage, go to https://www.healthcare.gov to find a plan that works for you. The enrollment period is November 1 – December 15. The ACA is responsible for dramatically reducing America’s uninsured rate over the last four years. Let’s continue this success by signing up and sharing this information with everyone you know.

Up-from-the-ground-coming 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: November 20-24; December 18-29.

October 31 – Happy Halloween!

RESULTS Introductory Call, Friday, November 8 at 9:00pm ET. Register for an upcoming Intro Call on the RESULTS website.

RESULTS Virtual Thanksgiving Feast Kick-Off Call, Thursday, November 9 at 8:30 pm ET. Join at http://fuze.me/35823900 or by phone at (201) 479-4595, ID 35823900#.

Observance of Veterans’ Day, Friday, November 10. All RESULTS offices closed.

RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Webinar, Tuesday, November 14 at 8:00 pm ET. Participate at http://fuze.me/32255914 or (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID: 32255914#.

U.S. Poverty Free Agents Calls, Thursday, November 16 at 1:00pm and 8:00 pm ET. To participate, login at http://fuze.me/32256018 or dial by phone at (201) 479-4595, Meeting ID: 32256018#. Note the different day for November’s calls.

2018 RESULTS International Conference, July 14-17, 2018, Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, D.C. Save the date and keep an eye out for more details.

If you have a question, comment or suggestion for the RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund Board, please e-mail them to RESULTS Grassroots Board Member Steven McGee 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.