[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 51 (Wednesday, March 25, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E767-E768]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           INTRODUCING THE FAMILY LEAVE INSURANCE ACT OF 2009

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 25, 2009

  Mr. STARK. Madam Speaker, I rise today with Representatives George 
Miller, Lynn Woolsey, and Carolyn Maloney to introduce the Family Leave 
Insurance Act of 2009. This legislation will support our nation's 
working families by providing 12 weeks of paid leave for all workers to 
care for a sick family member, bond with a new child, deal with the 
military deployment of a family member, or recover from their own 
serious illness.
  Sixteen years ago, Congress passed the landmark Family and Medical 
Leave Act (FMLA) to provide job-protected leave for new parents and 
individuals caring for ill family members. Since then, more than 100 
million families have benefited from this law. While the FMLA has 
proved vitally important for many families, it remains incomplete 
because it requires only unpaid leave and applies only to companies 
with 50 or more employees--less than half the workforce.
  Millions of men and women are not protected by the FMLA or simply 
cannot afford to

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take unpaid leave--especially in these tough economic times. A recent 
study found that about 75 percent of FMLA-eligible workers did not take 
leave because they could not afford it--and according to the Department 
of Labor, only 8 percent of private employers provide paid leave. This 
is taking a toll on families--a report in 1999 by the President's 
Council of Economic Advisers found that since 1969, children have lost 
22 hours per week with their parents.
  The United States is nearly alone in the world in not providing some 
type of paid family leave. Only three other countries--Liberia, Papua 
New Guinea, and Swaziland--fail to provide security for new parents or 
those caring for a loved one. The Family Leave Insurance Act would 
bring the United States up to date with the rest of the world and allow 
millions of workers to take care of their families while still being 
able to make ends meet.
  Paid leave provides real benefits for children and families. A 
Harvard School of Public Health study found that the education and 
health of children improves substantially when parents have work 
flexibility and paid leave. When parents are able to act as caregivers 
for a sick child, hospital stays are reduced by 31 percent. Parental 
involvement is also associated with higher achievement in language and 
math, improved behavior, and lower dropout rates.
  Paid leave is also a boon to businesses and workers. For workers, 
paid leave means employment and financial security and improved job 
satisfaction. For businesses, paid leave means less turnover and 
increased productivity. Research indicates that 98 percent of employees 
return to work for the same employer after taking family and medical 
leave.
  My home state of California has led the country in providing access 
to paid leave (albeit only six weeks) and flexible use of sick days. 
This law has helped California's families and businesses. According to 
a Harvard study, California had a lower rate of foreclosures than other 
states due to income loss arising from a personal illness or the need 
to care for a sick household member. Despite initial protest by 
California's business community against the paid leave law, most 
employers now agree that this investment in their workers is also a 
wise investment for their business. The Family Leave Insurance Act 
builds on California's successful experience to enact a federal paid 
leave law.
  More specifically, the bill:
  Provides all workers with 12 weeks of paid leave over a 12-month 
period to care for a new child, provide for an ill family member 
(including a domestic partner or the child of a domestic partner), 
treat their own illness, or deal with an exigency caused by the 
deployment of a member of the military;
  Creates a new trust fund to run the program. It is financed equally 
by employers and employees, who will each contribute 0.2% of employee 
wages;
  Progressively tiers the benefits so that low wage workers (earning 
less than $30,000) will receive full or near full salary replacement, 
middle income workers ($30,000-$60,000) receive 55% wage replacement, 
and higher earners (over $60,000) receive 40-45%, with the benefit 
capped at approximately $800 per week;
  Administers the program through the Department of Labor, which will 
contract with states to administer the program (similar to how the 
Unemployment Insurance program is run).
  The FMLA has helped individuals meet their employment and family 
obligations without jeopardizing their job. Now--more than ever--
workers' financial obligations must be provided the same security. I 
urge my colleagues to cosponsor the Family Leave Insurance Act. All 
workers deserve the chance to care for their families and still be able 
to pay the bills.

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