Domestic Weekly Update October 6, 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’ October domestic monthly conference call is this Saturday at 12:30 pm ET. As the Senate Finance Committee wraps up work on its health care reform bill, we will hear from an expert on the latest developments and immediate outlook. We will discuss what we as advocates can do to ensure meaningful health reform is passed this year. We will also provide other legislative updates from Washington, as well as update you on our fall fundraising campaign. We look forward to a great call. TAKE ACTION: Coordinate and gather with your group this Saturday for the national conference call at 12:30pm 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. Seek Conference Calls with Both House and Senate Health Aides on Importance of Full Federal Funding of Medicaid in Health Reform (October Action)The Senate Finance Committee has concluded inserting amendments into the America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009 and is expected to vote sometime early next week on the amended bill (see below). Assuming the Finance Committee passes its bill, it will then be up to Senate leadership and a few key senators to decide what the final Senate bill will look like. As you know, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) passed its version of health reform back in July. The Senate HELP and Finance Committee bills must be merged before a bill is sent to the Senate floor for debate. There are vast differences between the two bills (e.g. HELP has a public health insurance option, Finance does not) that must be resolved. Meanwhile, the House continues to move toward a floor debate, which could begin later this month. Right now, the House is working to reconcile the differences in their bill, the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act. In July, the three committees of jurisdiction in the House each passed its marked-up version of the bill. Those differences must also be resolved before the bill comes to the House floor for debate. While both the House and Senate bills provide for expansions of Medicaid and community health centers, there are still key issues that need attention. Blue Dog Democrats have insisted that federal financing of the Medicaid expansion must be paid for, at least in small part, by the individual states in order to meet President Obama’s criteria of a health care reform plan which pays for itself. The compromise has resulted in a Medicaid expansion which requires the states to assume at least seven percent of the financial burden; that threshold could widen before a final vote if more funds are needed. RESULTS continues to argue that the Medicaid expansion and full federal financing are not mutually exclusive. Because of the economy, states are simply not in the position to take on an additional financial responsibility for Medicaid at this time. If forced into this position, states may be forced to cut the program in other areas, such as scaled-back benefits or lackluster outreach efforts that keep enrollment down. Quite simply, full federal financing of the Medicaid expansion is the key to the success of the expansion successful. Congratulations to all of you who have had or will have conference calls with Senate aides about health reform. This is an important time in the development of health care legislation. Without persistent and consistent contact with congressional offices on our priorities for reform, they could be cut or scaled back. We therefore urge you to continue to set up conference calls with our senators and also House members or their aides to discuss the importance of health reform, including the need for a fully federally financed expansion of Medicaid to all individuals at or below 133 percent of the poverty line. TAKE ACTION: Take the October Action. Request a telephone meeting with your senators, representative, or their health aides. Coordinate with group members on times that work for the most people. For names and contact information on legislative aides, see the RESULTS “Find Your Officials” page: http://capwiz.com/results/dbq/officials/. On the call, specifically request that your members of Congress work with their leadership to expand Medicaid to everyone at least at or below 133 percent of poverty and ensure that they have access to the quality coverage that Medicaid provides, including existing benefits. Also, request that they support states in making this investment by providing full federal financing for newly eligible populations. Please let the RESULTS office know when your meeting is scheduled so we can share the latest strategies and targeted information about your senators, and be sure to report how your meeting went. If you are unable to get through to health aide, adapt the laser talk to send a detailed request via e-mail to the staff; ideally, send your e-mail directly to the key staffer rather than a general e-mail account. Senate Finance Completes Work on AmendmentsEarly last Friday morning, the Senate Finance Committee completed voting on amendments to the legislation presented by Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT). The committee put off a final vote, pending a new cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office. One of RESULTS’ top reform priorities, an expansion of Medicaid, is still part of the Senate Finance bill. Here is what the America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009 does with Medicaid:
In addition, the bill would also:
Unfortunately, the Finance Committee rejected amendments by Senators Schumer (D-NY) and Rockefeller (D-WV) to add a public health insurance plan option, aka “public option,” to the bill. The bill instead creates state-based health insurance co-operatives as an alternative to private coverage. Efforts to include a public option will continue as the Senate Finance bill is merged with the Senate HELP bill, during the Senate floor debate, and in the conference committee. The Senate Finance Committee will likely vote on its bill early next week. After merging it with the Senate HELP bill, the Senate will take up the floor debate. Hopes are that the Senate will begin floor debate later this month. Last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced that the Senate will not break the week of October 12 because of the backlog of vital work. It is hoped that this will help move the health reform debate in the Senate a little quicker.
Community Health Centers Amendment Approved by Senate Finance CommitteeLast week, the Senate Finance Committee approved an amendment, called the Medicare Access to Community Health Centers (MATCH) Act, which would remove the cap on health center Medicare reimbursements and provide for appropriate and predictable Medicare payments in the future. The National Association of Community Health Centers says that this amendment is a tremendous victory for community health centers. “Since it first went into place in the early 1990s, the Medicare cap has affected more and more health centers — to the point that today, more than 75 percent of health centers lose revenue when treating Medicare patients. If enacted into law, the amendment led by Sens. Snowe (R-ME), Bingaman (D-NM), and Lincoln (D-AR) would ensure that more of our most vulnerable seniors have full access to care in health centers.” TAKE ACTION: Use our online alert to tell senators about the need to expand community health centers and train more primary care doctors. Send the same message to your representative. For other CHC-related Senate amendments, see http://www.nachc.com/pressrelease-detail.cfm?pressreleaseID=511. Use Outreach Action Sheets to Engage Others in Reform EffortsAn important part of advocacy on health reform or any issue is engaging others in your community in similar work. Having more and more people engaging in the process, educating themselves, and taking action with members of Congress is the key to getting the solutions we want. RESULTS wants to help you with that process and to do so, we have created a series of Outreach Action sheets that you can download and distribute to others in your community. These are one-page Word documents you can distribute at events, forums, rallies, conferences, communities of faith, or other places you choose. Use these resources to expand the conversation about health reform and engage more voices in this important process. TAKE ACTION: Read and print off one or more of the Outreach Action Sheets found on the RESULTS website. Also, if you have suggestions for the format or content of our outreach actions, please feel free to contact the RESULTS Domestic Team with your ideas. We are happy to work with you on creating more and better resources to help you in your advocacy work. Opponents of Estate Tax Concede on Repeal EffortsCitizens for Tax Justice and other sources are reporting that several organizations that had been pushing for full repeal of the estate tax have dropped that objective. The organizations, which include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Businesses, will now concentrate on weakening this tax. Instead of repeal, the groups now support a permanent estate tax that exempts the first $5 million in estate assets (or $10 million in the case of a married couple) and taxes the rest at a rate of 35 percent. Although better than repeal, this proposal would still cut billions in federal revenue during a time of underfunded priorities and huge budget deficits. As you know, the current estate tax only applies to the 0.3 percent wealthiest estates in the U.S. The Obama administration has proposed extending 2009 law, which exempts the first $3.5 million in estate assets (or $7 million in the case of a married couple) and taxes the rest at a rate of 45 percent. The estate tax is set to go into full repeal next year for one year, but Congress is expected to act in 2009 to prevent that from happening. TAKE ACTION: Urge Congress to pass a common-sense estate tax. Contact your representatives and urge them to cosponsor H.R.2023, the Sensible Estate Tax Act of 2009. H.R.2023 would lower the estate tax exemption to $2 million per person and adjust that amount to inflation each year. For assets above $2 million, the tax rate would be 45 percent; for assets in above $5 million, the rate would be 50 percent; and for assets above $10 million, the rate would be 55 percent. Use our online alert to contact them. Also, visit our estate tax page, which includes information on why RESULTS is following this issue. Fundraising Support & Updates
Fall Fundraising Campaign! Please work with your group to set goals for our Fall 2010 Friends and Family Fundraising campaign (at RESULTS, we are very alliterate). We will track these and give you the support you need to make your goals a reality. You can find Friends and Family and fundraising resources here: http://www.results.org/skills_center/group_building_and_leadership/fundraising/. If you are considering holding a fundraising event for RESULTS/REF, please contact Stacy Carkonen. Whether you are considering an event big or small, support for your group is always available! Please call Stacy Carkonen for more information: (206) 715-4986 or scarkonen@results.org. Super Shout Outs and High Fives! A gigantic, yeeeehaaawwwwww, to all the partners that helped make the Detroit and Washington, DC, fundraisers a success! Detroit rocked the house with 350 plus at their event with Marianne Williamson and Sam Daley-Harris! From the words of one of the organizers: “I was in tears after, it was so inspiring and overwhelming, and you could tell that Sam loved what Marianne was saying, and she him. It was an awesome connection! Sam, your being there has inspired the RESULTS group more than I can say. YOU ROCK!!!” A huge thank you to the dynamic duo of Mary Albertson and Yvonne Wyborny who held the torch for this event — as well as all of the RESULTS volunteers who invited, sold tickets, spoke at the event and made this dream of an event into a reality! The DC staff in a whirlwind 2 week organizing window had over 40 people at their House Party and brought in several new monthly sponsors! Way to go Crickett and Meredith for spearheading this effort! Upcoming Fundraising Events. Do you know anybody in the cities listed below that you think should be invited to a RESULTS/REF event? Please let us know and they will get an invite to the event in their city!
RESULTS Domestic Outreach and Expansion UpdateIn addition to our legislative work, the RESULTS Domestic Team is actively working to engage new people in RESULTS and our work. Director of Domestic Campaigns Meredith Dodson is continuing to work with volunteers in San Jose, CA, where she started a new group in August. On September 16. Meredith represented RESULTS at the No-Lunch Luncheon event for congressional spouses in Washington, DC. The spouses were briefed on hunger in America and around the world. Meredith is also attending the Bonner Foundation Fall 2009 Student Congress on October 24 in Richmond, VA. Recent RESULTS Domestic Hunger Fellow Michael Richardson now works for the Bonner Foundation and is helping plan the event. Finally, Meredith will also be traveling to Chicago in early November for the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness and perhaps to help restart the Chicago Domestic group. Domestic Outreach Organizer Jos Linn is also busy working with new groups and new leads. The fabulous Austin, TX Domestic group continues with its new group training and already has its first conference call with a Senate aide scheduled for this week. Jos continues to work with the dedicated volunteers from the new Miami, FL group and is planning to revisit that group and hopefully recruit new members later this fall. Finally, Jos is working to reengage existing and new volunteers in Chicago and is pursuing leads provided by volunteers and at recent conferences in the following areas: Auburn, AL; Dubuque, IA; Biloxi, MS; Lincoln, NE; and Portland, OR. TAKE ACTION: If you know anyone in the above areas or in new areas who might be interested in RESULTS and our work, please contact Jos Linn at (515) 288-3622 or jlinn@results.org. The more people we have joining our work, the more powerful our voice becomes. Quick NewsNew Report Released on the Failure to Enact Health Reform. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has released The Cost of Failure to Enact Reform: Implications for States, a report projecting the negative impacts every state will feel if federal health reform efforts are not enacted. The study estimates how coverage and cost trends would change between now and 2019 if the health system is not reformed. The report provides state-by-state data showing that without meaningful reform, there will be an increased number of uninsured, declining offers of employer-sponsored insurance coverage, increased spending on public programs, and overall higher health care costs for everyone. Read the press release and full report to learn more and visit the interactive map to view your state’s data. Senate-House Conference Committee Approves Nutrition Funding. A conference committee approved the FY2010 Agriculture Appropriations bill, which includes food and nutrition funding. The conference bill also extends existing law on Child Nutrition programs for one year, but staffers say they expect reauthorization will be done within six months. In addition, the US Department of Agriculture is conducting “listening sessions” in selected cities across the country. CFED Issues New Assets and Opportunity Scorecard. The 2009–2010 Assets and Opportunity Scorecard takes stock of the current state of asset ownership and financial security. The Scorecard rates each state multiple factors such as lifting asset limits on public benefit programs. See http://scorecard.cfed.org. RESULTS has worked with Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) on individual development accounts and other legislative priorities in the past. Use our Low-Income Savings and Asset Building alert to tell Congress action needed. http://capwiz.com/results/issues/alert/?alertid=9823986. Food Stamps Turn Fifty. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly called the Food Stamp Program, was passed into law fifty years ago this month. Congress recognized then that some low-income people need help in achieving minimum levels of nutrition. Today, SNAP is a vital tool in the fight against hunger in America. In fact, SNAP usage is at a record high levels; in July 2009, SNAP/Food Stamp participation rose to a record 35,851,176 people. AnnouncementsRESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund 2010 Conference Dates Announced. The 2010 International Conference will begin the evening of Sunday, June 20, and end the night of Tuesday, June 22. The conference hotel will be the Washington Marriott at Metro Center. The subway station one block away has two lines going to Capitol Hill. See the hotel web site: https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/wasmc-washington-marriott-at-metro-center/. More details will follow in early 2010 regarding registering and booking hotel accommodations. Use October Event to Mobilize Your Community and Strengthen Your Groups. Consider hosting an event in your community on October 17, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. RESULTS is hosting a special 2 pm ET conference call (with hopefully a simultaneous webcast) with Dr. Paul Farmer from Partners In Health (PIH), Health Care for the Poor. To support groups in planning events, the RESULTS staff has created a special page on the website with resources materials. Upcoming Events(Click to see a complete calendar) October 10: Domestic Conference Call, 12:30 pm ET, (888) 409-6709 October 17: RESULTS webcast with Dr. Paul Farmer, 2:00 pm ET. October–November New Activist Orientation: This session will be a repeat of the August–September training and will take place October 26, November 2, November 9, and November 16. To sign up, contact Lisa Marchal (lmarchal@results.org). 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. You can read this update online at RESULTS U.S. Poverty Action and News page. The purpose of these updates is to inform and activate RESULTS activists to take action on our domestic campaigns. If you would like to unsubscribe from these updates, follow the link below or contact Alan Gold at gold@results.org or (202) 783-7100. |