Domestic Weekly Update June 15, 2010
New and Urgent in This Week’s Update
Latest from Washington, DC
Organizational Updates
The Time Is Now — Set Up Face-to-Face Meetings with Members of Congress (June Action)This is it. Next Tuesday, June 22, is the single biggest day of the year for us in terms of convincing Congress to expand and extend Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC). All your hard work and preparation will have its greatest impact on the final day of our International Conference when we demonstrate our power as citizens by holding meetings with our representatives and senators on Capitol Hill. Last Saturday, we heard about the importance of these one-on-one meetings with our members of Congress from Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (D-OH-15) on our RESULTS June Domestic National Conference Call. Rep. Kilroy highlighted the key role citizen advocates play in the political process. She also was honest in telling us that if we want to get these changes through Congress this year, we will have to push hard. Deficit hysteria has captured Congress and if left unchallenged, low-income tax credits and other important programs will suffer. We sincerely thank Rep. Kilroy for her appearance on our conference call and her leadership in Congress. If you missed last Saturday’s national conference call, you can listen to it on the RESULTS website or the RESULTS Musings website. Our Lobby Day on the June 22 is particularly exciting because it will come at the heels of lobby meetings by Bread for the World volunteers. Bread for the World activists from around the country are coming to Washington this week and will be on Capitol Hill today urging support for millions of low-income Americans through the EITC and CTC. Don’t forget about Bread’s great low-income tax credit video. You can view it again on RESULTS What’s New in Faith in Action page. We wish Bread and its volunteers the very best in their meetings this week; it is always good to know that we have powerful friends working with us in this movement. Bread has also compiled several personal accounts from low-income families who avoided economic tragedy through EITC or CTC. You can find the full list of stories under the “Tax Credits Save Lives” section of their website. Regina Howard is one such story. Regina is a working woman whose family was repeatedly kept out of poverty’s powerful grip because of low-income tax credits:
This sense of contribution is one of the most underemphasized aspects of the EITC. The dignity an adult gets from knowing they worked hard to earn this tax credit, thereby feeding their families and giving them shelter, is invaluable. Let’s ensure that every head of household has the opportunity to experience the gratification of providing for their families. Do this by setting up face-to-face meetings with members of Congress, per the June Action. Remember, even if you’re not attending the International Conference in Washington, DC, you can still meet with your members of Congress back home and have just as strong of an impact. Many members of Congress travel back to their home states on weekends and there will be recesses in both July and August. Don’t miss these pivotal moments. To helprepare you for the conference and the June Action, the 2010 Domestic Campaigns Handbook is now available on the RESULTS website. In this packet you will find all the tools you need to effectively advocate on behalf of low-income tax credits. Remember to read over the handbook before the International Conference and bring a printed version with you to DC! Also, the handbook is not just for conference attendees; this material is designed for all our volunteers to use, in Washington and back home. TAKE ACTION: Take the June Action. Contact your local offices for your representatives and senators to set up a face-to-face meeting to discuss low-income tax credits, at the International Conference and during their next visit back to your home state. Don't be afraid to be persistent about getting a meeting; sometimes it takes several requests to get a face-to-face meeting at home. Also, contact the local offices of your members of Congress will be making any public appearances this summer and plan to attend to ask a question. You can find local contact information for members of Congress on the Elected Officials page of the RESULTS website. The RESULTS International Conference — It’s Finally Here!This coming weekend, the 2010 RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund International Conference (IC) finally gets under way. We are looking forward to a great event. Whether you are coming to the conference or not, here are some tips to help make the most of the experience. Download, Print and Read Your Legislative Handbook. RESULTS’ legislative packet for volunteers is now available on our International Conference page. This provides you a complete up-to-date overview of the issues we are highlighting this year and our current requests for members of Congress. We have both PDF and Word versions available. If you are coming to the conference, please be sure to print off and read through the handbook before you come (great plane reading). For those not coming to DC, please print and read the handbook to help prepare for your lobby meetings back home. Follow the IC Online. If you are not coming to the conference this year, you can still participate via our social media pages. All through the conference, we will be doing updates on the RESULTS blog, Facebook, and Twitter. Also, whether you are in DC or not, update your own social media pages with the happenings at the conference and share it with your networks. Key Events at the Conference. Our conference is packed full of great seminars and speakers again this year. Here are just a few of them to consider (in chronological order):
See more details and a complete agenda on our online conference agenda page. Check Out the IC Checklist. Not sure you have everything ready to go before you leave for Washington? Use our International Conference checklist to make sure. Also, see our handy travel guide for all the hotel and travel info you’ll need to get to the Washington Marriott. Continue to Schedule Your Hill Meetings. Please make sure to request meetings with your representatives and senators as soon as possible. You can download and edit this sample letter to send to their office or use our online alert to help set up your meetings. Also, please tell Lisa Marchal the date and times of your Hill meetings. This information is critical to help us support you. E-mail her today (lmarchal@results.org)! Folders for your members of Congress. At the IC, you will receive leave-behind folders with all our requests and related materials, to give to your members of Congress. Bring any additional info you’d like to include, e.g., local media you've gotten. Is your member of Congress or staff coming to the Lobby Day Reception? If so, please tell Lisa Marchal immediately. Given the timeframe, please do not e-mail her, but CALL her at (317) 529-5182. To everyone coming to DC this weekend, safe travels and we look forward to seeing you. For those of you not attending, thank you for supporting RESULTS and those in your groups coming to Washington. We hope you will follow all the excitement from back home and be sure to start planning now so you can attend our 2011 conference! H.R.4213 Reveals Misguided Priorities in Congress — Call Senators and Tell Them to Pass Critical Funding to StatesThe Senate is continuing to work on H.R. 4213, the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010. The bill contains provisions that will help American workers and low-income families make it a few extra months this year, including extending unemployment insurance benefits (UI), the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Fund, and investing in summer jobs for youth. In addition, the Senate is proposing to put $24 billion in aid to states for Medicaid (FMAP) back in the bill. Also, Senators Brown (D-OH) and Casey (D-PA) have offered an amendment to reinsert the extension of COBRA benefits. Both of these provisions were dropped at the last minute in the House bill. It is important to understand where the opposition to this bill is coming from, in both the House and Senate, because it highlights some misguided priorities in Congress. The biggest objection is coming from fiscal conservatives (both Democrats and Republicans) who argue that the bill costs too much and adds too much to the deficit. Yet, this deficit hysteria (which conveniently only applies to social safety investments, not taxes or defense spending) fails to look at the costs of not spending this money. Dean Baker, an economist with the Center on Economic Policy and Research and December 2008 RESULTS conference call guest estimates that failure to pass the $80 billion President Obama has requested for education, unemployment benefits, and aid to states will result in a $120 billion loss in gross domestic product and cost 800,000 jobs. With that much loss in productivity and tax-paying employees, our deficit problem will only get worse. The second objection concerns a tax provision for wealthy investment fund managers. Because of a loophole in the tax code, compensation paid to investment fund managers gets a privileged tax rate of 15 percent, which is much lower than the rate ordinary income is taxed. Instead of eliminating the loophole altogether, the House compromised and partially closed this loophole, which raises revenue to offset some of the cost of the bill. Unfortunately, some senators are still uncommitted because of this provision, even though the Senate version does not go as far as the House. In other words, some Democratic and Republican senators are holding up critical funding for American workers and struggling states because they don’t like wealthy investment fund managers having to pay taxes on (some of) their income like everyone else. It’s easy to see why people get frustrated with Congress sometimes. And it’s up to us to set things straight. TAKE ACTION: Call your senators toll free at (888) 340-6521 and urge them to pass the H.R.4213 as soon as possible and in particular the extension of Medicaid funding for states. Millions of Americans are counting on the provisions in this bill to help them make it through this tough economy. Furthermore, urge your senators to demand that the Medicaid funding be included in the final version of the bill that will be sent to President Obama for signature. They should also vote in favor of the Brown/Casey COBRA amendment to help unemployed workers keep their health insurance. In particular, if you live or know people in these states, please call these senators in support of H.R.4213 and the provisions mentioned above. They are swing votes on the bill: Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Diane Feinstein (D-CA), Evan Bay (D-IN), Susan Collins (R-ME), Olympia Snowed (R-ME), Scott Brown (R-MA), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Kent Conrad (D-ND), George Voinovich (R-OH), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Russ Feingold (D-WI). You can also use our online alert for your calls. Thanks to AFSCME for providing the toll free number. Bipartisan Child Nutrition Reauthorization Introduced in the HouseOn June 10, Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA-7), along with committee members Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY-4) and Todd Platts (R-PA-19) introduced The Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act of 2010. The bill:
TV cook and child nutrition advocate Rachel Ray was even on hand at the press conference urging its passage. As you know, the Senate Agriculture Committee passed the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 in March. That bill allocates $4.5 billion in new funding for child nutrition programs over the next ten years. Less than half of the $10 billion in new funding President Obama has requested. While RESULTS is pleased that the House has moved closer to the president’s goal, we urge both the House and Senate to meet (and even exceed) the $10 billion in new funding over ten years for these important programs. The Education and labor Committee is expected to mark up the bill later this month. TAKE ACTION: Childhood hunger in the U.S. is on the rise. According to the USDA, 16.6 million children were food insecure in 2008, up 4.4 million from 2007. Help reduce childhood hunger by urging your representatives and senators to include the full $10 billion increase (over ten years) for these important anti-hunger programs by taking our online action. Quick NewsEstate Tax Issue Highlighted in New York Times. Last week, The New York Times provided a good overview of the estate tax issue, highlighting the complex issues that can arise when talking about this important tax. This was a follow-up to a story about the first American billionaire to die in 2010 and pay no estate tax. RESULTS supports a fair and common sense estate tax, as provided in the Sensible Estate Tax Act, and opposes any efforts to repeal or further cut this tax. As reported in the Times story, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) says he is close to a deal to cut the tax again. When Congress is struggling to find money to help unemployed workers keep their health insurance and help cash-strapped states maintain basic, essential services, the last thing they should be doing is trying to enact another tax cut for multi-millionaire families. Tell Congress to get its priorities straight by taking our online estate tax action. AnnouncementsTake the May Action. If you have not done so, please take the May Action. Contact a VITA site coordinator in your area and see if you can set up a meeting between him/her and your RESULTS group. Listen to Recent Training Calls Online. If you were not able to participate in our recent training calls, just click on the following links to listen: Lobby 101 training call; Researching Your Members of Congress training call. Upcoming Events(Click to see a complete calendar) June 20–22: RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund International Conference, Washington Marriott Hotel, Washington, DC. July 5: All RESULTS offices closed for the Independence Day holiday. July 5–9: Congressional recess (Independence Day holiday). July 10: Joint Domestic/Global RESULTS National Conference Call, 2:00 p.m. ET. August 9–September 10: Congressional summer recess. RESULTS Contact InformationMain Office: (p) (202) 783-7100, (f) (202) 783-2818, 750 First Street NE, Suite 1040, Washington DC 20002. If mailing a donation to our DC office, please address the envelope to the attention of Cynthia Stancil. Domestic Legislative and Grassroots Support Staff: Meredith Dodson, (202) 783-7100 x116 (dodson@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. Look for our abbreviated Domestic Weekly Update during the RESULTS International Conference next week! |