RESULTSAustin.org

RESULTS Austin 2017 Newsletter

RESULTS celebrates READ Act

RESULTS global poverty teams celebrated a success 10 years in the making. The READ Act was signed into law on September 8^th. RESULTS Austin’s Congressman Michael McCaul was an original cosponsor on the bill.

The READ Act (Reinforcing Education Accountability in Development Act, H.R. 601) strengthens accountability and transparency of global education programs to ensure that U.S. investments have the greatest impact, while also advancing quality education services for children affected by conflict and emergencies.

“This remarkable victory was made possible by the persistent efforts of RESULTS advocates and partners across the country, as well as strong bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate,” said Joanne Carter, Executive Director of RESULTS. It would not have been possible without long term support from donors like you!

Fighting hard for U.S. anti-poverty programs

RESULTS U.S. poverty teams have been working hard all year to prevent cuts to anti-poverty programs in our own communities. In the first half of this year they produced more media than in any year before!

Throughout the year various health care proposals threatened to cut funding for Medicaid for millions in our communities for whom it is a lifeline. So far, the Senate has not mustered the votes to make that devastating cut. However, in September Senate Budget Committee leaders released their proposed 2018 budget which assumes that at least $1.5 trillion of their tax cuts will not be paid for. Down the line, the resulting deficits could be used by policymakers to demand cuts to basic assistance programs such as SNAP, Medicaid, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), education, and infrastructure.

SNAP (formerly food stamps) and Earned Income and Child Tax Credits respectively lifted 3.6 million and 8.2 million people out of poverty last year. Your support helps protect these crucial policies.

RESULTS Austin activities in 2017

RESULTS Austin is proud our published media:

· A feature article focused on RESULTS.

· An editorial on the Global Partnership for Education.

· Ten letters to the editor.

And our Congressional encounters:

· Eleven meetings with congressional staff.

·Meetings with Congressmen John Carter, Lloyd Doggett, Bill Flores and Joaquin Castro.

·Six of our representatives signed letters supporting appropriations requests.

· RESULTS Texas volunteers personally handed Senator Ted Cruz 109 letters urging his support for the Global Partnership for Education. (See photo above.)

Thanks to your support for expansion efforts, for the first time RESULTS advocates from all 50 states lobbied Congress in DC in July!

2017 fundraising

At the RESULTS Austin fundraiser, we shared these accomplishments and our hope for a brighter future through our advocacy at RESULTS. It is because of wonderful donors like you, that we can share these accomplishments. You and your confidence in RESULTS create the hope needed to carry on.

Dollars invested in RESULTS get perhaps the “biggest bang for the buck” of any organization. They fund staff, who support us, the volunteers. Together we help shape national policies that will bring about the end of poverty.

We ask for your continued support for RESULTS. We hope you share our vision of a world where children can grow up healthy and mothers don't die while pregnant or giving birth. We see a world where parents are surviving AIDS and tuberculosis in order to work and care for their families. We want a world where everyone has access to education and economic opportunity. With your help we can achieve this vision. Thank you for being our partner!

If you wish to donate, please either send your contribution in the enclosed envelope or contribute online at https://results.salsalabs.org/austin.