[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 1415-1416]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



           EIGHTH ANNIVERSARY OF FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, yesterday was the eighth anniversary of 
the signing of the Family and Medical Leave Act.
  Since 1993, that landmark legislation has allowed 35 million 
Americans to take time off from their jobs to be with children or 
ailing relatives without fear of losing their jobs. That is peace of 
mind for the American worker, and it is something that all workers need 
and deserve.
  But even with FMLA in place, not all parents are taking the time off 
that is available to them. In fact, a recent study by the U.S. 
Department of Labor found that 88 percent of eligible employees who 
need time off do not take it because they cannot afford to go without a 
paycheck.
  Scientific research shows that early bonding between parent and child 
is exceptionally critical to that child's future, to that child's 
success. Yet 83 percent of women who give birth are back to work within 
6 months, and 70 percent of them say it is because they need the money.
  Madam Speaker, America's children are paying the price for their 
parents' need to earn a living; and those parents are forced to choose 
between the needs of their children and putting food on the table. And 
that is not right.
  The Family and Medical Leave Act has helped millions of families. But 
what we are finding out is there are millions more who are being left 
behind. It is time that the United States joined the more than 120 
countries around the world that provide paid leave for new parents.
  Let us face it, times are changing. If today's children are lucky 
enough to have two parents living with them, chances are that both 
parents are in the workforce and they work outside of the home. Parents 
are working hard. They are commuting long hours. And it is our children 
who are being left behind due to today's hectic lifestyles.
  Studies find that parents are spending an average of 52 days a year 
less with their children than they did 30 years ago, 52 days a year 
less with their children.
  We have to give parents the tools they need to bridge the gap between 
work and family, especially when there is a new baby in the home.
  Along with Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut, I have, again with this 
Congress, introduced legislation to provide start-up funding for States 
that want to establish paid leave programs for new parents.
  Already, my State of California offers new moms paid maternity leave 
through their State Disability Insurance. Women are eligible for up to 
4 weeks of leave before delivery and 6 weeks after. That means a great 
deal for mothers. It means a lot to the newborns and the newly-adopted 
children. And, in the long-run, it will mean a great deal for the 
children as they grow up and become successful and are working on their 
futures.
  But 10 weeks is not enough time. It is too short.
  As a member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, I 
continue to work to make education our top priority. But I have come to 
realize that having the best schools and the best teachers in the world 
will not matter if kids are not ready to learn when they enter the 
classroom.
  One thing that we need to do to help them be ready to learn is have 
them bond with their parents right after birth or right after adoption.

                              {time}  1900

  As my cochairs and I on the Democratic Caucus Task Force for Children 
came to the conclusion last year that part of our children's agenda was 
paid for leave for new parents, we realize that it is more critical 
than ever to allow paid leave so that kids will get a good start.
  Madam Speaker, parents want to be there for their children. Children 
are their number one priority. As a parent and a grandmother, I know 
how important those first weeks and months are to the parent and to the 
child. Let us show America's families, their parents and their children 
that the Family and Medical Leave Act was a good start but that these 
parents, these families, deserve more. Let us make paid leave for new 
parents a priority in this Congress.
  Our children are 25 percent of our population, but they are 100 
percent of our future.

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