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Statement

STATEMENT OF Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Executive Director, MomsRising.org, on Mobilizing Women and Mothers Across America to Take Action on the Impending Fiscal Cliff

November 21, 2012

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

“Women and moms were a decisive voting bloc in the election. We voted based on the issues that most affect us and now we will redouble our efforts to ensure a bright future and a fair shake for our families. The election may be over, but our work has just begun.  In the last few days, MomsRising members have sent letters to Congress, started organizing in-district meetings, and shared hundreds of moving stories that illustrate the fact that our family budgets can’t be stretched any farther. Congress must not sacrifice the well-being of our nation’s families in order to keep tax breaks for the wealthy.
 
“If Congress doesn’t act, massive across-the-board cuts could cost millions of jobs and hurt health care, education, aid to state and local governments, and vital programs that kids and families depend on, such as Head Start, child care, and food safety.  Even worse, some lawmakers are trying to use this high-stakes moment of legislative complexity as an opportunity to attempt to sneak in drastic cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.  Women and mothers are urging their representatives in Congress not to throw America’s families over the fiscal cliff in order to protect tax cuts for the top two percent among us.
 
“MomsRising is mobilizing its more than 1 million members to counter corporate lobbyists who are trying to help big business and billionaires while moms and families on Main Streets across the nation struggle. We simply can't balance the budget on the backs of children, seniors, families, and those most in need. It hurts our families, and our national economy alike.”
 

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MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, decrease discrimination against women and moms, and to build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families, including criminal justice reform, immigration policy reform, and gun safety. MomsRising is working for paid family and medical leave, affordable, high quality childcare and early learning, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes women — particularly moms and women of color — and so many others. MomsRising advocates for access to healthy food for all kids, health care for all, earned sick days, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.