[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 155 (Saturday, September 27, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H10195-H10196]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     NATIONAL WORK AND FAMILY MONTH

  Mr. ALTMIRE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on Education and Labor be discharged from further consideration of the 
resolution (H. Res. 1440) expressing support for designation of the 
month of October as ``National Work and Family Month,'' and ask for its 
immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 1440

       Whereas according to the report by WorldatWork titled 
     ``Attraction and Retention'', the quality of workers' jobs 
     and the supportiveness of their workplaces are key predictors 
     of job productivity, job satisfaction, commitment to 
     employers, and retention;
       Whereas employees who have more access to flexible work 
     arrangements enabling employees to balance family and work 
     are significantly more satisfied with their jobs, are more 
     satisfied with their lives, and experience less interference 
     between their jobs and family lives than those employees who 
     have less access to flexible work arrangements, according to 
     the Families and Work Institute 2002 National Study of the 
     Changing Workforce;
       Whereas according to the 2004 report ``Overwork in 
     America'', employees who are able to effectively balance 
     family and work responsibilities are less likely to report 
     making mistakes, or feel resentment toward employers and 
     coworkers;
       Whereas employees who are able to effectively balance 
     family and work responsibilities tend to feel more successful 
     in their relationships with their spouses, children, and 
     friends, and tend to feel healthier;
       Whereas 85 percent of United States wage and salaried 
     workers have immediate, day-to-day family responsibilities 
     outside of their jobs;
       Whereas research by the Radcliffe Public Policy Center in 
     2000 revealed that men in their 20s and 30s, and women in 
     their 20s, 30s, and 40s, identified the most important job 
     characteristic as being a work schedule that allows them to 
     spend time with their families;
       Whereas according to the 2006 American Community Survey, 47 
     percent of wage and salaried workers are parents with 
     children under the age of 18 who live with them at least 
     half-time;
       Whereas job flexibility often allows parents to be more 
     involved in their children's lives, and research reveals that 
     parental involvement is associated with children's higher 
     achievement in language and mathematics, improved behavior, 
     greater academic persistence, and lower dropout rates;
       Whereas the 2000 Urban Working Families study revealed that 
     a lack of job flexibility for working parents negatively 
     affects children's health in ways that range from children 
     being unable to make needed doctors' appointments, to 
     children receiving inadequate early care, leading to more 
     severe and prolonged illness;
       Whereas according to a Centers for Disease Control and 
     Prevention (CDC) report, breastfeeding is the most beneficial 
     form of

[[Page H10196]]

     infant nutrition, and the greater the duration of 
     breastfeeding, the lower the odds of pediatric overweight and 
     obesity;
       Whereas according to the CDC less than half of mothers who 
     work full time exclusively breastfeed their newborns;
       Whereas according to the CDC, support for lactation at work 
     benefits individual families as well as employers via 
     improved productivity and staff loyalty, enhanced public 
     image of the employer, and decreased absenteeism, health care 
     costs, and employee turnover;
       Whereas studies show that one-third of children and 
     adolescents in the United States are obese or overweight and 
     healthy lifestyle habits, including healthy eating and 
     physical activity, can lower the risk of becoming obese and 
     developing related diseases;
       Whereas studies report that family rituals, such as sitting 
     down to dinner together and sharing activities on weekends 
     and holidays, positively influence children's health and 
     development, and that children who ate dinner with their 
     family every day consumed nearly a full serving more of 
     fruits and vegetables per day than those who never ate family 
     dinners or only did so occasionally;
       Whereas furthermore, unpaid family caregivers will likely 
     continue to be the largest source of long-term care services 
     in the United States for elderly United States citizens and 
     are estimated by the Department of Health and Human Service 
     to reach 37,000,000 caregivers by 2050, an increase of 85 
     percent from 2000, as an increasing number of baby boomers 
     reach retirement age in record numbers; and
       Whereas the month of October would be an appropriate month 
     to designate as ``National Work and Family Month'': Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) supports the designation of ``National Work and Family 
     Month'';
       (2) recognizes the importance of balancing work and family 
     to job productivity and healthy families;
       (3) recognizes that an important job characteristic is a 
     work schedule that allows employees to spend time with 
     families;
       (4) supports the goals and ideas of ``National Family and 
     Work Month'', and urges public officials, employers, 
     employees, and the general public to work together to achieve 
     more balance between work and family; and
       (5) requests that the President issue a proclamation 
     calling upon the people of the United States to observe 
     ``National Work and Family Month'' with appropriate 
     ceremonies and activities.

  The resolution was agreed to.


            Amendment to the Preamble Offered by Mr. Altmire

  Mr. ALTMIRE. I have an amendment to the preamble at the desk.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Amendment to the preamble offered by Mr. Altmire:
       In the preamble, strike the tenth through fourteenth 
     Whereas clauses, and insert the following:
       Whereas according to a Centers for Disease Control and 
     Prevention (CDC) report, less than half of mothers who work 
     full time exclusively breastfeed their newborns, although 
     support for lactation at work benefits individual families as 
     well as employers via improved productivity and staff 
     loyalty, and decreased absenteeism and employee turnover;
       Whereas according to the CDC, breastfeeding is the most 
     beneficial form of infant nutrition, and the greater the 
     duration of breastfeeding, the lower the odds of pediatric 
     obesity;
       Whereas studies report that family rituals, such as sitting 
     down to dinner together, positively influence children's 
     health and development, and that healthy lifestyle habits, 
     including healthy eating and physical activity, can lower the 
     risk of becoming obese and developing related diseases;

  Mr. ALTMIRE (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous 
consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  The amendment to the preamble was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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