[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 107 (Friday, August 5, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 5, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                              FAMILY LEAVE

  (Mr. KLINK asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute, and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KLINK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on the first anniversary of the 
passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act. This is an important piece 
of legislation, one I was very happy to work on in my first session 
here in Congress as a member of the Committee on Education and Labor. 
Unfortunately for my brother, who lives in Colorado, who was a veteran 
and who was injured in service to his country, he ended up losing his 
job because he broke his wrist in an automobile accident just before 
this piece of legislation became law.
  But I do remember the many people who came to me when I was running 
for this office and said, ``You know, we hate to have to make that 
decision between taking care of a child or parent or a spouse who is 
sick and our jobs.'' It is just not right, and that is why this Family 
and Medical Leave Act is so important.
  It simply provides 12 weeks of unpaid leave in the case of a medical 
emergency in a family. That is unpaid leave. Most industrialized 
countries require 12 to 14 weeks of paid leave. This is unpaid leave.
  The American family has changed dramatically over the years. The days 
are gone when you usually had a single breadwinner at work and another 
parent who is at home. So we really need to commend the chairman of the 
committee, the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Ford], and the subcommittee 
chairman, the gentleman from Montana [Mr. Williams], for what they did, 
and we also need to commend the President for signing this bill. It has 
made a tremendous difference in the lives of Americans.

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