Domestic Weekly Update February 16, 2010
New and Urgent in This Week’s Update
Latest from Washington, DC, and Beyond
Organizational Reminders and Updates
Tell Congress Support Low-income Americans and the Economy via Health Reform and Tax Credits (February Action)Health reform news is few and far between this week as members of Congress return home for the President’s Day recess. Most of the attention is focused around the president’s White House Health Reform Summit on February 25. It appears that leaders from both parties, as well as many rank and file representatives and senators, are planning to attend the event. While the format has not been fully released yet, it will be televised and the White House will release a final proposal for health reform at least 72 hours before the summit. Rumors are that this proposal will mirror the apparent “deal” House and Senate negotiators were finalizing before the Massachusetts special election in January. There is cautious optimism for many health reform advocates who feared the White House might decide to significantly scale back the scope of reform. While that is still possible, it seems that the president and Congress are not favoring that option (at this point). We will keep you updated as we learn more about the White House proposal. As you know the February Action focuses on making the economic argument for investing in health reform and low-income tax credits. We know the case for health care, both morally and economically. On last Saturday’s national conference call, Monica Mills of Bread for the World clearly and effectively laid out the case for protecting and strengthening tax credits for the poor in 2010. She reminded us that President Obama has set a goal of ending childhood hunger by 2015. However, ending hunger will require more than just strengthening nutrition assistance programs like SNAP; a broad effort to reduce poverty must be part of it. Families need more income to avoid hunger and poverty and other expenses like housing, utilities and particularly health care take up significant portions of the family budget. A 2007 analysis by the RAND Corporation shows that housing and transportation make up the largest individual expenses on the family budget. Helping low-income Americans supplement their income through the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) is essential to helping these households to meet basic necessities. Especially now as state governments look are looking to cut basic services that help low-income American in order to balance their budgets. Monica also pointed out that the politics around these credits has the potential to become very partisan and could result in cuts to them, rather than much-needed expansions. That would be a disaster. She noted that if the temporary expansions of the EITC and CTC made in the economic recovery bill last year are allowed to expire this year, 7 million people would lose the EITC and 6 million children would lose the CTC. It is therefore vital that we push all members of Congress to protect and strengthen low-income tax credits, and pass health reform, now rather than later. TAKE ACTION: Take the February Action. Write a letter to your representatives and senators urging them to pass health reform and expansions to low-income tax credits in 2010. Remind them that these investments will help millions of individuals and families struggling in poverty, help create jobs, and revive our economy. Find links to background information on Health Care for All and Economic Opportunity on the RESULTS website, including brief PowerPoint presentations on our work on health reform and low-income tax credits. If you missed this past weekend’s conference call, we will have it available for listening on the RESULTS Musings website later this week. Also, we noted on that call a web video about Bread for the World’s Offering of Letters on low-income tax credits. You can watch the video on our What’s New in Faith in Action page. Congress on Recess This Week; Set Up Face-to-Face Meetings and Attend Events in Your AreaCongress is on recess all this week in observance of Presidents’ Day. If you have not done so already, try to set up face-to-face meetings with representatives and senators while they are back home in your states. With health reform unfinished and economic recovery on everyone’s mind, this is an opportune time to let your voice be heard on key issues related to poverty. If you cannot get a meeting, ask if staff will be in your area and available to meet and/or attend any public events members may be holding. You can use our Elected Officials page to find contact information for local offices in your state. Also, see our Activist Milestone: Meet Face-to-Face with Your Member of Congress for tips on scheduling and planning your meeting. TAKE ACTION: Contact the schedulers for your representatives and senators to set up a face-to-face meeting while they are back home. Use the talking points from the February Action to set your agenda. As part of your meetings, tell your members of Congress to attend the White House Health Summit and to pass meaningful health reform now. Remind them that everyday Americans are not looking for elected officials to start over on reform but to finish the job. It is time to stop playing politics with health care and get this done. See our U.S. Poverty Actions and News page to find the February Action sheet and updated laser talks for talking points, as well as a laser talk on setting up a meeting with your member of Congress. Once you get a meeting scheduled, please contact Meredith Dodson (dodson@results.org) or Jos Linn (jlinn@results.org) for questions and coaching. Be Sure to Do Your Group Planning This MonthPlease remember schedule a specific time this month for your group to do annual group planning. Group planning is an important part of our work at RESULTS and is what sets us apart in many ways. Planning gives you a vision for what kind of year you would like to have as an advocate and group member. It also provides your group a way to measure your progress throughout the year. Finally, at the end of the year, you can look back on your planning documents and celebrate the goals you met and re-strategize on how to reach the ones that eluded you. TAKE ACTION: Go to the RESULTS Group Resources page to find the RESULTS 2010 Group Planning Materials. Use the forms available to help with your planning. Be sure to complete the Individual Planning Form, and complete it before your February group planning meeting. Also, review the Economic Opportunity PowerPoint Presentation to help you understand the background for our primary 2010 campaign. You can also read more about this campaign on our Economic Opportunity pages. Once you have completed your Group Planning Form, please be sure to e-mail, mail of Fax a copy to Meredith Dodson at the RESULTS DC office. As always, if you have any questions or need help with your planning, please contact Meredith or Jos Linn. Attend RESULTS Training Calls This Week and NextRESULTS has two training calls coming up to help with your advocacy work. This Thursday, February 18, RESULTS Domestic Outreach Organizer Jos Linn will be hosting a conference call a tour of the RESULTS website. For those of you still getting used to the new RESULTS website or for people wanting a refresher, this will be a guided tour of key components of this great resource. The call will be at 9:00 pm ET and the call-in number is (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262. Please plan to be in front of your computer with internet access for the call. Then next Tuesday, February 23, RESULTS Domestic staff will be hosting an Economic Opportunity campaign conference call. Our two major domestic campaigns for 2010 are Health Care for All (i.e. finishing reform) and Economic Opportunity for All. We recognize that despite your demonstrated expertise on the health care, many of us are not as familiar with the issue of low-income tax credits and asset development. This call is designed to help educate you more about these issues, so you can be better prepared when talking with members of Congress, the media, and your communities. Please plan to join us on Tuesday. February 23 at 8:00 pm ET; the call-in number is (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262. NOTE: Again because of the bad weather in Washington, DC last week, the Coalition on Human Needs (CHN) webinar on the president’s 2011 budget was postponed again to this week. The webinar, The President’s Budget Explained, is at 3:00 pm ET this Thursday, February 18. Register at CHN’s website. Quick NewsSingle-Payer Conference Calls Online. Healthcare-NOW is an advocacy organization that supports a national health program, aka single-payer health care. RESULTS also supports a national health program as our long-term vision for U.S. health care. Healthcare-NOW holds frequent conference calls in support of single payer. Their most recent call was last night and focused on the politics of the public option in health reform. You can listen to a recording of the call online. Please note that RESULTS and Healthcare-NOW are aligned in support of single-payer health care but differ on views of the current legislation in Congress. Health Rallies and Reform Pilgrimage This Week. Health Care for America Now is organizing health reform rallies for tomorrow February 17 around the country. If you would like to attend or help organize a rally in your area, go to the HCAN website for details. Also, Pennsylvanians are joining together to March from Philadelphia to Washington DC to push Congress to pass reform. The march begins tomorrow and will arrive in DC on February 24, the day before the White House Health Summit. You can read more about the march at http://melaniesmarch.com/. AnnouncementsDon’t forget to use our online Laser Talks. To help in your advocacy work, RESULTS staff keeps up-to-date laser talks online for you to use. These talks give you an overview of a current RESULTS issue to use in your conversations or correspondence with members of Congress, the media, or others in your community. You are free to use them as written but we encourage you to tailor them to your style and tastes. You can find our current laser talks at the bottom of our U.S. Poverty Actions and News page. Also, the laser talk that Jos Linn reviewed on last Saturday’s conference call will be available online tomorrow. Donations Always Welcome. RESULTS and RESULTS Education Fund always welcome your financial contributions. Your support helps us do the work we do. Use our easy, breezy online donation form to make your contribution. Upcoming Events(Click to see a complete calendar) February 18 (postponed from February 12): The President’s Budget Explained Webinar, 3:00 pm ET, presented by the Coalition on Human Needs (CHN). Register at CHN’s website. February 18: Grassroots Website Tour, 9:00 pm ET. Still trying to figure out the new RESULTS website? Have no fear. Join Domestic Outreach Organizer Jos Linn for a tour of the key sections of the new site. Call (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262 and be sure to be in front of your computer. February 23: Economic Opportunity for All conference call, 8:00 pm ET. This call is designed to help educate you more about low-income tax credits and asset building, so you can be better prepared when talking with members of Congress, the media, and your communities. Call (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262. June 20–22, 2010: RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund International Conference, Washington Marriott Hotel, Washington, DC. RESULTS Contact InformationMain Office: (p) (202) 783-7100, (f) (202) 783-2818, 750 First Street NE, Suite 1040, Washington DC 20002. Domestic Legislative and Grassroots Support Staff: Meredith Dodson, x116 (dodson@results.org); Alan Gold, x106 (gold@results.org); Jos Linn, (515) 288-3622 (jlinn@results.org). The RESULTS Domestic Update is sent out every Tuesday over e-mail to RESULTS volunteers and allies all over the country. The purpose of these updates is to inform and activate RESULTS activists to take action on our domestic campaigns. |