If there's one thing moms know how to do, it's how to do two things at once.  I admit it: I'm never on the phone without a sock or dish in my hand.  So, it's a no brainer for us to deliver two things to Congress on the same day, especially when multiple  key votes are expected to happen in the next week.  That's why today MomsRising members are out in force, on-the-ground in Washington D.C. delivering not one, but TWO items with member messages to Congress today.

Here's what we're delivering right now:

ONE!

Napkins decorated with real green beans--along with petitions and stories from our members who are struggling to find work--in order to remind Congress that moms and dads are experts in detecting trickery (you can't hide a green bean in napkins in our house!) and are not gullible enough to believe that we have enough money to extend Bush tax cuts for millionaires, but not enough money to extend unemployment insurance benefits for families struggling to find work.

And....

TWO!  A book of hundreds of stories from parents across the country who are grappling with finding and affording quality child care and preschool, along with a real children's building block, to remind Congress how early learning programs (like child care and preschool) build strong families and a strong economy.

Can you back us up online with 1-click right now?  The multitasking moms who are pounding the D.C. pavement need your online support right now. Tell your Congressperson to be on the look out today in their DC offices for MomsRising moms with these two important deliveries:

http://action.momsrising.org/go/526?akid=2425.250509.yp6a6I&t=4

**With 1-click you'll be able to multitask too!  By pressing one button you'll be able to send two important messages to Congress: One message urging your Congressperson to extend unemployment insurance and be on the lookout for moms with green bean-filled napkins; along with another message to remind your Congressperson how important affordable, quality early care and education programs are to families and urging them to be on the look out for moms with blocks and books.

What's so important that we have to multitask today?

We've got to get Congress to extend unemployment insurance for families struggling to find work.

According to a report by the U.S. Congress joint economic committee,  every dollar spent on benefits increases the domestic product by $1.60.  "... a failure to extend the unemployment insurance program could hamper the fragile recovery," the report said.  It predicts that consumer spending will fall by $50 billion over the next year if benefits are not extended, and that economic growth will be reduced by 0.4 percentage points by February 2011. [PDF]

Unemployed workers spend their unemployment insurance benefits because they have to in order to survive.  That means that unemployment insurance benefits go right back into the economy, bolstering local businesses and saving jobs.

And according to most estimates, extending the Bush tax cuts for millionaires would increase the deficit by an estimated 700 billion dollars over the next ten years. In contrast, keeping the emergency federal unemployment benefits programs in place for another year for the millions of families who are still desperately looking for work would cost only a small fraction of that.

That's why we need to make sure Congress is straight with the American people about fiscal responsibility and does the right thing for America's families, and for the nation, by reauthorizing the federal unemployment insurance benefits program and keeping our economic recovery on track.

We've also got to remind Congress that quality, affordable early care and education programs (like child care and preschool) build strong families and a strong economy.

Nearly 12 million children under age 5 regularly spend time in child care arrangements, but it's a patchwork system with variable standards and finding quality care is tricky and expensive. [PDF] Yet, quality preschool and early learning programs are crucial---more than 85% of a child's core brain structure is formed by age 5. [PDF] Quality, affordable early learning programs help a children succeed in school and in life and help parents get to work. When parents do better, children do better.

So multitask with us today! Here's that link again to back up moms in D.C. today delivering two important messages to Congress: One message urging your Congressperson to extend unemployment insurance, and one message to remind our Congressperson how important affordable, quality early care and education programs are to families.

http://action.momsrising.org/go/526?akid=2425.250509.yp6a6I&t=6

And please pass this link along to all the multitasking people you know.  We've got to make sure Congress hears the multitasking-mamas coming!

Together we are a powerful voice for women and families,