Welcome to the RESULTS Educational Fund
November 2012 U.S. Poverty National Conference Call
Protect Low-Income Americans in Budget Talks
Special Guest Speaker: Barbara Ehrenreich
Saturday, November 10, 12:30 pm ET
(888) 409-6709
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Protect Low-Income Americans in
Budget Talks
Welcome!
We are thrilled to have you on the RESULTS National
Conference Call this month. Now that the election is over,
Congress returns to Washington this next week with a long
to-do list. One key issue will be the fate of the Earned Income
Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit (CTC), which are critical
supports for low-income working families. It is time to hold
lawmakers accountable for the promises they made in this
year’s election. Today’s call will focus on mobilizing both
existing and new volunteers to take action in support of
working families.
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Protect Low-Income Americans in
Budget Talks
What is RESULTS?
• Volunteers in over 100 communities around the country
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Protect Low-Income Americans in
Budget Talks
What is RESULTS?
• Grassroots advocacy organization working to create the
political will to end poverty
• Empowering individuals to have breakthroughs in
exercising personal and political power
• Over 30 years of advocacy experience
• Time tested strategies and tactics
• Active and engaged network on building relationships
with legislators, the media and local communities
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Protect Low-Income Americans in
Budget Talks
What is RESULTS?
• Everyday people who want to make a difference
• In 2011, our activists had…
• Over 250 meetings with congressional offices, including 87
face-to-face meetings with U.S. House members and 23
face-to-face meetings with U.S. Senators
• 215 strategic media placements, including editorials, Opeds, and letters to the editor
• Over 100 outreach and community events around the
country
• We host national conference calls every month to educate and
train our 30 U.S. poverty chapters and network of “Free Agent”
advocates.
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Protect Low-Income Americans in
Budget Talks
Guest Speaker: Barbara Ehrenreich
• Popular author and activist who has written
extensively about low-income families in America.
• Wrote Nickel and Dimed (2002) about her time
working in low-wage jobs.
• Author of 20 books.
• Has written for Time Magazine, The Progressive, New
York Times, Mother Jones, The Atlantic Monthly, Ms,
and the New Republic.
• Currently working for the Economic Hardship
Reporting Project: www.economichardship.org.
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Protect Low-Income Americans in
Budget Talks
What to Expect in the Lame Duck
• Begins November 13 and runs through December
• Many issues Congress must address:
• Expiring improvements to the Earned Income Tax Credit
and Child Tax Credit
• Expiring Bush tax cuts
• “Sequestration”: automatic 9 percent cuts to a variety of
annually funded programs, what those in Washington call
• President and Senate leaders may let all the tax cuts expire
and then reinstate tax breaks for middle class and working
families in January
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Protect Low-Income Americans in
Budget Talks
This is a Critical Time for Low-Income
Americans!
• This is a very dangerous time for low-income families, since the
decisions Congress makes in the next few weeks will have a longterm impact on a variety of services that help break the cycle of
poverty.
• Some talking about deep cuts to the Earned Income Tax Credit and
Child Tax Credit
• Also proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps), our nation’s first defense
against hunger and is particularly important for children
• Care about access to health care? Pay attention to the proposed
cuts to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program
(CHIP).
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Protect Low-Income Americans in
Budget Talks
Why are the EITC and CTC so important?
• Most effective poverty reduction
programs in the U.S.
• Lifted 9.2 million people out of
poverty in 2010, more than half of
them children
• Expiring improvements alone lifted
1.6 million out of poverty in 2010
• If the improvements expire, 13.1
million families including 25.7
million children will see the EITC and/or CTC cut or eliminated
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Protect Low-Income Americans in
Budget Talks
What Would a Budget Deal Look Like?
• Could be a two-phased deal:
1. Some sort of framework for reducing the deficit.
Depending on how the negotiations go, this will happen in
December or might get pushed back into early January.
• Critical to lock in protections to key anti-poverty
programs in this framework
2. Then we’ll see various committees in Congress work on
more detailed legislation in 2013, where they will specify
what cuts will be made to which programs.
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Protect Low-Income Americans in
Budget Talks
TAKE ACTION:
Congress Must Protect Tax Credits for Working Families
• Need to keep pushing members of Congress about the EITC
and CTC
• Two key messages for congressional leadership
1. Make sure the expiring improvements to the EITC and
CTC are made permanent (at the very least extended)
2. Any deficit reduction framework must include principle
that specifically protects EITC and CTC
• Latter point is very important. Without it, EITC and CTC will be
on chopping block in deficit reduction
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Protect Low-Income Americans in
Budget Talks
Action 1: E-mail Congress about Protecting the EITC and CTC
Tell your representatives and senators to put working families first. Scan this
QR code with your mobile device to send an email to your members of
Congress urging them to protect tax credits for working families. Do it TODAY!
If you don’t have a way to scan the code, go to
www.tinyurl.com/ProtectWorkingFamilies to send your e-mail today.
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Protect Low-Income Americans in
Budget Talks
Action 2: RESULTS Tax Credit Call-in Day – November 13
Call the Capitol Switchboard and ask for your House and Senate offices. When
connected, tell the receptionist:
My name is _________ and I am calling from ________________. I am calling in
support of the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. These credits are
critical in helping working parents support their families and stay out of poverty.
People like firefighters, police officers, nurses, child care workers, and military
personnel benefit from these credits. Yet I am very concerned that Congress will let
recent, much-needed improvements to the EITC and CTC expire at the end of this
year. I am also concerned that Congress will cut the EITC and CTC as part of deficit
reduction.
I urge Sen./Rep. ___________ to make the expiring improvements to the EITC and
CTC permanent and support a principle that specifically protects the EITC and CTC
from cuts in any deficit reduction framework.
Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121
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Protect Low-Income Americans in
Budget Talks
Call-in Day Share
Cindy Changyit Levin of RESULTS
Chicago shares how easy it is to call
Congress about the issues you care
about. In fact, it’s as easy as baking a
cake.
Watch Cindy making her call at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7Twv
Ourc_0
Cindy Levin (right) with Rep.
Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
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Protect Low-Income Americans in
Budget Talks
Action 3: Call the Tax Aide on November 13 and Request InDistrict Meetings
For existing RESULTS volunteers or new folks looking to take your advocacy to the
next level, call the tax aide next Tuesday in your House and Senate offices to
talk about the importance of protecting the EITC and CTC. Use the helpful
talking points, background information, and data about the impact of letting the EITC
improvements expire on children and families in your state in the November Action
Sheet when you call: http://tinyurl.com/RESULTSAction-Nov-12.
Also, keep requesting face-to-face meetings with your representative and senators.
97 percent of congressional staff say that face-to-face meetings are the best way to
influence members of Congress. Contact the scheduler to set up in-district meetings
to talk to them directly about protecting tax credits for working families.
If you are new to these actions, have no fear. RESULTS help train you on how to talk
with aides and lawmakers about our issues.
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Protect Low-Income Americans in
Budget Talks
Action 3: Call the Tax Aide on November 13 and Request InDistrict Meetings
You can find contact info, as well as aide and scheduler names at:
http://capwiz.com/results/dbq/officials/.
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Protect Low-Income Americans in
Budget Talks
Face-to-Face Lobby Meeting Share
Ginnie Vogts of RESULTS Columbus shares about a recent meeting the Columbus
group had with Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-OH) to talk about the EITC and CTC.
RESULTS
Columbus meets
with Rep. Tiberi:
(from left) Rachel
Dorothy, Rep.
Tiberi, Marge
Lynd, Ginnie
Vogts, Bill
Owens
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Protect Low-Income Americans in
Budget Talks
What Can You Do Next?
Thank you for being on our call today – and a special “Thank You” if this is
your first RESULTS event! Here are a few things you can do to get involved
and make a difference on ending poverty in America:
• Join our next RESULTS Introductory Call. This 30-45 min gives you a basic
overview of RESULTS and our work. The next call is this Wednesday,
November 14 at 9pm ET. You can register at
http://tinyurl.com/RESULTSMeetandGreet
• Mark Your Calendars! The 2013 RESULTS International Conference will take
place July 20-23, 2013 in Washington, DC. The keynote speaker will be Dr.
Muhammad Yunus, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Noted author and
speaker Marianne Williamson is also confirmed. Want to make a difference?
Plan to attend!
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Protect Low-Income Americans in
Budget Talks
RESULTS Announcements
• RESULTS Free Agents Call is this Tuesday, November 13 at 9pm ET. This
support call is for advocates in areas with no active RESULTS group. To
participate, dial (218) 486-1611, passcode RESULTS# (7378587#).
• Join the RESULTS New Activist Orientation Series. This two-call series
provides a more detailed overview of RESULTS and advocacy training. This is
great for new members to a local RESULTS group. The calls are November
28 and December 12 at 9pm ET. To participate, dial (712) 432-3100,
passcode 761262. RSVP to Lisa Marchal at lmarchal@results.org. (Note: we
will repeat the first call on December 5 at 9pm ET).
• Thank you to our RESULTS groups in Detroit, Houston, Santa Fe, and
Washington state for their recent fundraising events. We appreciate all the
hard work they put into these successful events. Upcoming fundraisers:
Inland Empire, CA (11/9), Austin, TX (12/2), Olympia, WA (12/5)
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Protect Low-Income Americans in
Budget Talks
RESULTS Announcements
• We have a brand new RESULTS Celebrations site to help you to fundraise
for your birthday or other milestones. Our Race to End Poverty site is still
active for anyone doing a Turkey Trot or Jingle Bell run before the end of the
year. Visit either site and click on the "Register" tab to get started. Contact
Cindy Levin at clevin@results.org with questions.
• Thank you again for attending today’s call. If you have any questions or
would like more information about RESULTS, please contact RESULTS staff
persons Meredith Dodson (dodson@results.org) or Jos Linn
(jlinn@results.org).
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Protect Low-Income Americans in
Budget Talks
The next RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Conference Call
is Saturday, December 8 at 12:30 pm ET.