[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 135 (Friday, September 23, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 23, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                           CHILD CARE CENTERS

  (Ms. FURSE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. FURSE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commend 3 Oregon companies for 
being among the 100 best companies for working mothers, as selected by 
Working Mother magazine.
  Mentor Graphics, Nike, and Hanna Andersson have all been named to 
this prestigious list because of their commitment to our Nation's most 
precious resource--our children.
  All three of these companies recognize that worker productivity, job 
satisfaction, and employee morale can all be helped simply by doing the 
right thing--whether it is providing on-site child care centers, 
subsidizing child care costs for lower paid workers, reimbursement for 
child care expenses for business travel, or providing paternity leave.
  What these Oregon companies realize is that not only is it right, it 
is profitable for them to be a child-friendly company. Mentor Graphics, 
which has made the list for the second year in a row, has an excellent 
on-site child care center, and that plays a big factor in retention 
rates of 92 percent of the parents who use it. Theirs is not a fair 
weather commitment. Even when, some years ago, Mentor Graphics had a 
dip in earnings, it expanded its family-friendly benefits.
  Nike is also on the list for the second year in a row. They also 
provide on-site day care, scholarships for employees' children, and 
this year offered to subsidize child care for those employees with a 
family income of less than $60,000.
  Hanna Anderson realized that fathers should also be given leave when 
a child is born or adopted, and so they have instituted up to 4 weeks 
of paid paternity leave. Their innovative child-friendly policies have 
earned them a spot on the Working Mothers' list 4 years running.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud of all three of these companies. They are a 
shining example for all businesses.

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