Domestic Weekly Update November 10, 2009
New and Urgent in This Week’s Update
Latest from Washington, DC, and Beyond
Organizational Reminders and Updates
Join RESULTS National Conference Call THIS Saturday 12:30 pm ETRESULTS’ November domestic monthly conference call is this Saturday, November 14 at 12:30 pm ET. Now that the House has passed its version of health reform, what happens next? We will discuss what to expect in the Senate and beyond as health reform gets closer to being completed. We will also help prepare you for the lengthy Senate debate. We look forward to a great call. TAKE ACTION: Coordinate and gather with your group this Saturday for the national conference call at 12:30 pm ET. The call-in number is (888) 409-6709 and ask for the RESULTS National Conference call. Plan to call in no later than 12:27pm ET to give time to the operator to connect you with the call. House Passes Health Reform!Late Saturday night the House of Representatives passed the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R.3962), 220 to 215. All Republicans except Rep. Cao of Louisiana (R-LA-2) and 39 Democrats voted no. The House bill has some very encouraging changes around RESULTS’ 2009 priorities for health reform. They are:
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) issued an analysis (PDF), saying that the House bill makes significant progress in the areas of expanding coverage, ensuring affordability, slowing the growth in health care costs, and reforming the health insurance market. It will reduce the number of uninsured by two-thirds by 2019 and reduce the budget deficit by $104 billion over ten years. Despite the eventual victory, passage was not assured until the final votes were cast. In the days leading up to the vote, abortion became a key sticking point between pro-life and pro-choice forces in the House. Even though federal law (the Hyde amendment) already prohibits federal funding for abortion, Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI-1) demanded a vote on his amendment to prohibit all insurance plans in the new health insurance exchange from covering abortion procedures (as some plans already do), otherwise he had enough votes to sink the entire bill. In the end, House leadership allowed the vote and the amendment passed 240 to 194. Pro-choice groups, advocates, and members of Congress have vowed to remove the language from the final bill. Yesterday, 41 Democrats in the House signed a letter saying they would vote no on the final bill if the language is included. In the Senate, similar language was rejected by the Senate Finance Committee earlier this fall, meaning it would take 60 votes to be added as an amendment; at this time, it would likely fail. RESULTS takes no position on efforts to include or remove the Stupak amendment language from the House and Senate bills. RESULTS does congratulate the House on passing H.R.3962 and moving the process of health reform forward. The Affordable Health Care for America Act will do very good things for people living in poverty in the U.S. It will cover will provide coverage to 36 million people who would otherwise be uninsured; 15 million of them from the Medicaid expansion alone. It will also provide relief to American families who have suffered policy denials, claims denials and mountainous medical debt due to inadequate or loss of coverage. Despite its imperfections, passing the House bill was a key step forward and congratulations to you all who made calls and urged others to do the same. Without your calls, letters and e-mails, we would not be where we are today — on the verge of passing the most sweeping health care legislation since Medicare and Medicaid were created over 40 years ago. TAKE ACTION: Be sure to thank representatives who voted YES on H.R.3962. To see how your representative voted, please see our Key Votes page on the RESULTS website. In addition, please enlist your family, friends, neighbors, colleagues and others you are in contact with to call members of the Senate in support of passing a health reform bill. See the November Action on identifying the grassroots and grasstops leaders in your community who share a desire to improve health care for all Americans, particularly low-income individuals, children, and families who need it most. See our Recent Developments on Health Reform page for up-to-date comparisons of the House and Senate bills. You can also read details about other parts of the House bill at http://edlabor.house.gov/blog/2009/10/affordable-health-care.shtml. Mobilize Your Networks for the Senate Health Debate (November Action)The House floor debate this past weekend was very quick, with only two amendments allowed. That will not be the case in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is still awaiting the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) cost estimate for his merged Senate health care bill. The CBO will hopefully finish its work later this week, meaning that the Senate could begin debate as early as next week. If not, Senate floor debate will likely not begin until after the Thanksgiving break. Despite frustration with the slow process in the Senate, these delays do work in our favor. As was proven last week, generating calls, letters, and e-mails to Congress are critical to passing important legislation like health reform. Therefore, any extra time before the Senate begins debate is precious time we can use to mobilize our communities for action. The Senate bill that goes to the floor will not be as strong as the House bill, therefore we have to be ready to support changes to the bill that will make it better. We also must be prepared to fight off amendments intended to weaken the bill or kill reform altogether. The November Action focuses on preparing you to take action during the Senate floor debates. Phone calls to congressional offices will be vital during this process. RESULTS will track the process as it relates to our priorities, particularly Medicaid and children’s health, community health centers, a national health program, and the public option. When key amendments come up, we will contact you and urge you to make calls as soon as possible. We will provide talking points for each action whenever possible. We know each local RESULTS group member will take action, but you may also have a larger network in your community that is willing to act as well. If you have such a network, tell them that the Senate debate will start very soon and that we will need as many people as possible taking action in the coming weeks with phone calls and letters to Congress. Remember, even if you don’t have a formal community action network, you probably do already have a personal network to tap into. Personal e-mail lists, Facebook friends, Twitter buddies, friends and family are all potential advocates for health care for all. Don’t hesitate to contact them about such an important issue, which affects all of us. See our Activist Milestone, Create, Manage, and Activate a Community Action Network for more information about creating and managing a community action network. TAKE ACTION: Take the November Action. Plan to make calls to the Senate during floor debates on health reform. Designate “floor debate contact person” in your group and contact Meredith Dodson (dodson@results.org, (202) 783-7100 x116) with that person’s name and contact information. We will funnel information to that person when needed who can then in turn send it out to your group and networks. Contact your local action networks now and remind them of the importance of making their voices heard. Plan to send your networks updates and alerts as you get them, urging them to call senators on amendments, procedural votes, or final votes. Note: Most alerts and messaging for phone calls will be made via the weekly update, action alerts, and e-mails to the RESULTS listserv. However, in cases where specific members of Congress need to hear from volunteers, we will contact your group point person directly. Single-Payer Amendment Withdrawn before House VoteDespite rumors that the amendment to create a national health program such as Medicare for All would get a vote in the House this past weekend, it was not considered. Rep. Andrew Weiner (D-NY-9), the author of the amendment, had originally offered the amendment in committee but withdrew it when he was promised it would get a vote on the House floor. However, at the last minute, he agreed to not offer it, saying, “I have decided not to offer a single payer alternative to the health reform bill at this time. Given how fluid the negotiations are on the final push to get comprehensive health care reform that covers millions of Americans and contains costs through a public option, I became concerned that my amendment might undermine that important goal.” RESULTS continues to view this single-payer approach as the ideal way to provide quality, affordable health coverage to all Americans. We endorsed H.R.676 by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI-14). The Weiner amendment would have substituted to the language from H.R.676 into the House bill, thus creating a national health program. TAKE ACTION: Show support for a national health program as the long-term goal for U.S. health care. Urge members of Congress to cosponsor single-payer legislation. Tell representatives to cosponsor H.R.676 and tell senators to cosponsor S.703. In addition, if you live or will be in the St. Louis area this weekend, Health Care Now, a national single-payer advocacy group is hosting a strategy conference around creating a national health program. The conference is November 14 and 15 at the Sheraton Westport Plaza in St. Louis. You can find out more at http://www.healthcare-now.org/campaigns/strat-conf/. RESULTS Outreach UpdateThis past weekend, Director of Domestic Campaign’s Meredith Dodson traveled to Chicago this weekend for the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness where she presented on the importance of legislative advocacy. She got a great reception from the students at the conference, including a strong interest in tax policy and poverty, which is the focus of our Economic Opportunity for All campaign and is likely to be part of our work in 2010. She also be met with members of the RESULTS Domestic Chicago group. On November 21, Domestic Outreach Organizer Jos Linn will be returning to Miami to revisit the RESULT Domestic Miami group, which was started last May. The group is hosting a potluck dinner and RESULTS presentation, where Jos will provide an update on our health care work and how involvement in RESULTS can make a difference on issues like hunger and poverty. TAKE ACTION: If you know persons in the Miami area, please invite them to attend the potluck meeting with the RESULTS Miami Domestic group and Jos. The meeting is Saturday, November 21 at 5:00 pm ET at home of RESULTS volunteer Helene Dudley, 2151 SW 17th St, Miami, FL. RSVP to Helene at helenedudley@yahoo.com for directions and details on what to bring. Fundraising UpdateHowdy Partners! I know many of you are in the midst of your fall fundraising! Thanks for all you are doing! Your support is allowing millions of people to escape the devastating effects of poverty everyday! Your sweaty armpits and nervous fundraising stomachs are making a huge, incredible difference in the world. Thank you so much for all you do! Check Out the Latest Advocate and our New Annual Report! Back by popular demand our Advocate will be mailed out to donors in the next few weeks! Get a sneak peak and check it out online! Use our mini annual report in your fundraising letter or at your event! It fits perfectly into a business sized envelope! Thanks to Lesley Reed — this is a great marketing and fundraising piece for us! Just e-mail Cynthia Stancil in the RESULTS office to get your copies — cstancil@results.org. Check out the full Annual Report for 2008. Please forward this to donors or others who may be interested — it’s not just about our financials, it really tells the story of what we do, how we do it, and who benefits most from the work of our volunteers and staff! It’s a must read — great for new partners too! Fall Fundraising Campaign — Help Us Reach Our Goal of $50,000. Looking for tools for your House Party or Friends and Family Letter writing campaign? Look no further. We have lots of support documents to help you and your group have a successful fundraising event. See our House Party Toolkit and Letter Writing Toolkit. You’ve had your party and now you want to thank your guests? Perfect! We have just the thing for you! Super cute, RESULTS/REF thank you cards in black and white or color. Be sure to see the Fundraising section of our November 3 Update for tips on what you and your group can do once you have decided what fundraising action you are taking this fall. Other Opportunities. Make the most of the fundraising opportunities offered with the Combined Federal Campaign. Each year from September through December federal government employees are encouraged to make charitable contributions through a workplace giving program called the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). Millions of dollars are raised for thousands of participating organizations including RESULTS Educational Fund (we raise approximately $5,000 from this campaign). Do you know anyone working for the government? Let them know they can support RESULTS Educational Fund through the Combined Federal Campaign — our CFC #10683 is all they need to find us. Fundraising Support. In need of some support? Please contact Stacy Carkonen to commiserate, cajole, plan, scheme, yell, scream, or sing about your fundraising needs. scarkonen@results.org. Quick NewsEstate Tax Vote Postponed. The House Ways and Means Committee has postponed a vote on the estate tax. The vote would have made permanent the 2009 estate tax law, which currently affects estates worth more than $7 million per couple. However, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD-5) has said that the House will act before the end of 2009, so as to avoid a one-year repeal of the tax in 2010. Despite only affecting the 0.3 percent wealthiest estates in America, the estate tax generates billions of dollars in much-needed revenue each year, which supports important public service programs and helps reduce the federal deficit. As part of our Economic Opportunity for All campaign, support a common-sense estate tax by taking our online action in support of H.R.2023, the Sensible Estate Tax Act of 2009. AnnouncementsCheck out the RESULTS blog! Did you know that RESULTS has blog on our new website? Check it out here. If you find something you like, please be sure to post a comment. New Activist Milestones Now Online! Check out our new and improved Activist Milestones. Updated Outreach Action Sheets Now Available. Use our Outreach Action Sheets to engage others in your community in action around health reform. Updated Faith in Action Newsletter Inserts Now Online. For those of you looking to engage your faith community in action around domestic and global poverty issues, see our What’s New in Faith in Action page for our most recent FIA Action Inserts. Upcoming Events(Click to see a complete calendar) October–November New Activist Orientation: This session will be a repeat of the August–September training. The first call took place on October 26. Remaining calls are scheduled for November 2, November 9, and November 16. To sign up, contact Lisa Marchal (lmarchal@results.org). November 14: Monthly National Domestic Conference Call, 12:30 pm ET, (888) 409-6709. The November 17 2010 Domestic Campaigns Conference Call has been rescheduled to December 15 (see below). December 12: RESULTS Combined Global and Domestic Monthly Conference Call, 2:00 pm ET. December 15 (NOTE: This call was originally scheduled for November 17): 2010 Domestic Campaigns Conference Call. Plan to join us for a discussion of possible 2010 Domestic legislative campaigns. We want your input on what issues we should work on next year. Save the date! Tuesday, December 15, at 7:30 pm ET, (218) 486-1611, passcode 2883622#. Also, if you already have ideas that just can’t wait about possible 2010 domestic campaigns, please e-mail Meredith Dodson (dodson@results.org) with your ideas. 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). Grassroots Fundraising Support: Stacy Carkonen, (206) 715-4986 (scarkonen@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. |