[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 147 (Wednesday, September 20, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1816]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                    THE POLITICS OF PATERNITY LEAVE

                                 ______


                        HON. PATRICIA SCHROEDER

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 20, 1995
  Mrs. SCHROEDER. Mr. Speaker, today I want to give thanks to Tom 
McMakin who in the September 25 issue of Newsweek, wrote a moving 
opinion piece that reminds us that the Government can be a force that 
helps the American family and fosters family values. In a time when 
bashing the Government is as popular as ever, Mr. McMakin took the time 
to point out how the Family and Medical Leave Act, a bill I first 
introduced in 1985 and Congress passed into law in 1993 has helped him 
in his new role as father to his 4-month-old daughter Valerie.
  Tom McMakin's words are an inspirational ``thank you'' to the many 
Members of both sides of the aisle who worked, compromised, and 
persevered so that American families could bond with their newborns or 
take care of elderly parents without sacrificing their economic 
security.
  As Mr. McMakin states in his article, the Government is not bad, but 
is ``an expression of our collective will.'' Now, as we are debating 
bills that are going to significantly effect the lives of all Americans 
we should keep in mind what is really important to the millions of 
people who are like Tom McMakin.
                    [From Newsweek, Sept. 25, 1995]

                    The Politics of Paternity Leave

                            (By Tom McMakin)
       Valerie's asleep now, having snacked most of the morning, 
     fussed and finally closed the brightest blue eyes I've ever 
     seen. Quiet moments like these are rare when you are taking 
     care of a 4-month-old. When she sleeps, it's time for me to 
     mix more formula, wipe the counter, call about life insurance 
     and then, if time allows, break open the laptop and sit down 
     to write for a few minutes. Welcome to paternity leave, a 
     spicy stew of belches and smiles. DPT shots, heavy warm 
     diapers and the odd moment of reflection.
       The idea that fathers should take time off from work to be 
     with their newborn children is a relatively new one, but it's 
     an idea that is long overdue. Two years ago, time at home 
     with Valerie would not have been possible. But thanks to the 
     Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, here I am changing my 
     daughter's diapers and enjoying her first gurgles and 
     giggles. Who would have thought it? A bunch of faraway 
     lawmakers passed legislation, and it profoundly affected my 
     life. Their law, PL103-3, requires that companies with more 
     than 25 employees allow them to take up to 12 weeks of 
     uncompensated time off to care for their children. Because of 
     this legislation my life is richer.
       Much richer. This bundle of sweet smells I call my daughter 
     has given me the gift of new sight. A trip to the supermarket 
     used to be a dreaded errand; now it is the highlight of my 
     week. Valerie has taught me to look beyond our store's 
     confusion of brands and hype and focus on the colors, shapes 
     and happy chatter that make each visit a carnival of sight 
     and sound. We squeal at the celery, spit heartily at the 
     dairy rack and shrink in terror at the sight of the frozen 
     turkeys. The moving counter by the cash register is a 
     revelation.
       A walk downtown has been similarly transformed. Everyone 
     loves a baby. And we love them back for it. People I've never 
     spoken with, but have passed on the street many times before, 
     smile and ask how old she is. To be a baby, I've learned, is 
     to live in a friendly, welcoming world. But it's not just her 
     world; it's mine too. Because of my time home with Valerie, 
     I'm also much more understanding of children and parents. I 
     rush to help a mom with a stubborn car door or a dad whose 
     youngest is on the verge of straying. I smile at mischievous 
     kids, happy to see them speeding off in this direction or 
     that, ruining their parents' best-laid plans.
       I have paternity leave to thank for teaching me these and 
     other lessons (never dump formula in cold water--it doesn't 
     mix). I am grateful to my wife and to my employer for 
     encouraging me in my decision to stay home and am grateful to 
     a government that made taking this time possible.
       Sadly, when Valerie and I walk downtown and stop at the 
     local coffee shop, we hear people talking about government in 
     two ways, neither of them very good. They say that government 
     is either ineffective or misguided, with most agreeing that 
     it is both. It is not hard to understand why the ranchers and 
     business people clustered around the small Formica tables 
     think this way. In our state of Montana, the public owns 39 
     percent of all land. That means there are legions of federal, 
     state and local managers running around doing surveys, 
     convening task forces, forming policy and interpreting 
     regulations. With so much at stake and with so many 
     bureaucrats in action, it is inevitable that these well-
     intentioned civil servants make mistakes. When they do, the 
     mistakes are widely discussed and greatly criticized.
       That's a shame. Somewhere in the rush to criticize, we have 
     failed to see the forest for the trees. While Bozo the Clown 
     may run a public agency or two, I cannot escape the fact that 
     my sitting here today trading coos with my daughter is a 
     salute to the possibility inherent in public action. On Feb. 
     5, 1993, our representatives in Washington decided it was 
     important that families be allowed to spend time together 
     when they most needed it and, more important, that wage 
     earners should not lose their jobs while caring for a dying 
     mother or recuperating from a serious operation or spending 
     time with a newborn. In my book, that bad boy of American 
     culture, Congress, did something right when it passed this 
     law.
       The citizenry of this country has expanding and contracting 
     tastes in what it wants its government to do, not unlike the 
     members of the credit union to which I belong. One year we 
     may ask the credit union's management to make sweeping 
     changes, add more services and expand the types of loans it 
     is willing to make. And then that energy runs its course and 
     the membership elects a new board or hires a new manager to 
     trim costs and services. When we ask the credit union to add 
     services, we are not suggesting that credit unions ought to 
     take over the world. By the same token, when we ask it to cut 
     services, we are not saying credit unions are worthless. It's 
     more like riding a horse up a hill: you might go to the left 
     for a while and then to the right, but, even with the zigs 
     and zags, you are still headed in one direction--toward the 
     top.
       In this current season of scaling back government--both 
     Republicans and Democrats seem to agree that this is a good 
     thing these days--my hope is we remember that government is 
     capable of doing things and doing them well. I work 40 hours 
     a week because my great-grandfather voted for a reform 
     Congress at the end of the last century. My savings at the 
     credit union are insured because my grandmother voted for 
     FDR. My dad put Eisenhower and a forward-looking Congress in 
     place in the late '50s. As a result, it takes me one hour to 
     travel to Butte and not two, on an interstate-highway system. 
     Government isn't bad in and of itself. It isn't some 
     malevolent Beltway-girdled ogre perched on the banks of the 
     Potomac. It is, rather, an expression of our collective 
     wills.
       But wait. Valerie is stirring. Little wet slimy hands 
     await. I need to warm a bottle, find a fresh diaper, pad 
     upstairs and quietly make sure she is serious about ending 
     this nap, and finally peek over the side of the crib and 
     drink in that bright, beautiful smile that never fails to 
     remind me why I so like being a dad at home.
     

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