Yesterday, I received a phone call from Paul Wommack, a Beaver Valley NOW member and activist. He alerted me to an online effort to influence Congress to support President Obama’s proposed budget.

This budget was officially released this morning. Part of the proposed budget would add new investments in child care programs and increase access to community colleges across the country. It also will, if passed, start to reverse the damage that has been made to social service programs due to, among other things, the sequestration mandate of the past several years.

As a result of this positive change that could come at the Federal level IF Congress listens and passes a budget to “Stop the Cuts” to our social network fabric, the Coalition on Human Needs has organized a “#StopTheCuts” Twitter Storm for Tuesday February 3, 2015 at 2 pm EST/11 am PST. Here’s their announcement with details in case you too would like to participate.

Twitterstorm 2/3: Tell Congress to #StopTheCuts

Join the #StopTheCuts TwitterStorm on February 3, 2015.

This coming Monday the President will present his budget request to Congress for FY2016. We look forward to reviewing the President’s proposals, and we’ve already heard about important investments he’d make in child care and community college. We’ve heard he will start to reverse damaging cuts to human needs programs. Our next step: we need you to join us in telling Congress our request – stop the cuts.

On Tuesday, February 3rd at 2pm ET/11am PT, join the Coalition on Human Needs, MomsRising.org, MoveOn.org, and other national organizations [including the National Organization for Women] for a Twitterstorm (sample tweets and graphics below!). Tell Congress that their FY2016 budget must protect programs that promote shared prosperity and help our nation’s most vulnerable.

Strong, well-funded federal programs create jobs, grow the economy, reduce inequality, and keep millions out of poverty. In 2013, 3.7 million people were kept out of poverty by SNAP benefits. Similarly, unemployment insurance kept 1.2 million people out of poverty. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit lifted 10.1 million people, including 5.3 million children, out of poverty in 2012. And the list goes on…

But if the new Congress drafts a budget anything like the one the House passed last year, these successful programs will be slashed, along with education, housing, nutrition, and other services young and old alike need to escape poverty.  These will be on top of years of cuts that are keeping us down.  It’s time to tell Congress to #StopTheCuts.  

Tell Congress real people are being harmed. On February 3rd raise your voice for human needs and share the real struggles people in your community face and the impact of cuts. Below are sample tweets – but we encourage you to tweet at your Senators and Reps with personal stories, too.

Who? You and/or your organization

What? A twitterstorm telling Congress to stop cuts to the programs that are most important to our nation’s future shared prosperity and ending poverty in America.
Where/When? Twitter, February 3, at 2pm ET / 11am PT

How? Post the tweets and graphics below telling Congress to #StopTheCuts because #CutsHurt. Have you or someone you know benefited from the programs facing cuts? Get personal!
Please spread the word and email your networks and this event. Here is the link to our blog post with this info. If your organization plans to participate, please RSVP to Joanna at jsandager@chn.org so that we can list you as a participant.
And make sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter at @CoalitiononHN for the latest.

Sample Promotional Tweets:

• Join @CoalitiononHN @MomsRising @MoveOn 4 a twitterstorm on 2/3 @ 2PM ET! Tell Congress to protect essential programs b/c #CutsHurt
• Tell Congress to #StopTheCuts in #FY2016! Join the twitterstorm + tweet at your Reps/Senators 2/3 @ 2PM ET #TalkPoverty #EndPovertyNow
• 3 mil Americans live in #poverty. On Feb 3, 2pmET Tell Congress cuts to human needs programs are bad for America, our economy  #CutsHurt

Sample Tweets

• We need more investments, not less, in programs that keep even more people out of #poverty
• We need a #FY2016 budget that works for all, not just corporations and the wealthy #TalkPoverty
• Continued cuts to human needs programs are bad for America, our economy #TalkPoverty #CutsHurt
• In 2013, 3.7 million were lifted out of poverty by #SNAP. #CutsHurt this progress. #TalkPoverty
• Only 1 in 4 households eligible for federal rental assistance receive it due to lack of funding #Sequester #CutsHurt #FY2016 #Budget
• Federal rental assistance is effective, lifts millions out of #poverty. @RepTomPrice stop the cuts, stop sequestration #cutshurt #FY2016
• Housing instability limits opportunity. Restore voucher funding so those eligible are not left waiting! #cutshurt
• 3 million children were lifted out of poverty by #EITC and #CTC in 2012. #CutsHurt this progress. #TalkPoverty  #FY2016
• Research shows children of #EITC recipients do better in school, attend college & earn more as adults #TalkPoverty #cutshurt @RepTomPrice
• 1/4 people without a high school degree are living in poverty. Tell Congress to support job training in #FY2016 #TalkPoverty #JobsNotCuts
• FACT: Since FY2010, 136 important human needs programs have been cut, 51 by more than 15% #CutsHurt #FY2016

Sample Graphic

We need a 2016 budget that works for all. #StoptheCuts