Welcome to the RESULTS Educational Fund November 2012 U.S. Poverty National Conference Call

1. 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

2. Protect Low-Income Americans in Budget Talks 2 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.

3. Protect Low-Income Americans in Budget Talks 3 What is RESULTS? • Volunteers in over 100 communities around the country

4. Protect Low-Income Americans in Budget Talks 4 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

5. Protect Low-Income Americans in Budget Talks 5 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, Op-eds, 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.

6. Protect Low-Income Americans in Budget Talks 6 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.

7. Protect Low-Income Americans in Budget Talks 7 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

8. Protect Low-Income Americans in Budget Talks 8 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 long-term 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).  

9. Protect Low-Income Americans in Budget Talks 9 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

10. Protect Low-Income Americans in Budget Talks 10 What Would a Budget Deal Look Like? • Could be a two-phased deal: • 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 • 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.

11. Protect Low-Income Americans in Budget Talks 11 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 • Make sure the expiring improvements to the EITC and CTC are made permanent (at the very least extended) • 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

12. Protect Low-Income Americans in Budget Talks 12 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.

13. Protect Low-Income Americans in Budget Talks 13 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

14. Protect Low-Income Americans in Budget Talks 14 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=R7TwvOurc_0 Cindy Levin (right) with Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)

15. Protect Low-Income Americans in Budget Talks 15 Action 3: Call the Tax Aide on November 13 and Request In-District 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.

16. Protect Low-Income Americans in Budget Talks 16 Action 3: Call the Tax Aide on November 13 and Request In-District Meetings You can find contact info, as well as aide and scheduler names at: http://capwiz.com/results/dbq/officials/.

17. Protect Low-Income Americans in Budget Talks 17 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

18. Protect Low-Income Americans in Budget Talks 18 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!

19. Protect Low-Income Americans in Budget Talks 19 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)

20. Protect Low-Income Americans in Budget Talks 20 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).

21. Protect Low-Income Americans in Budget Talks 21 The next RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Conference Call is Saturday, December 8 at 12:30 pm ET.