[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18783]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          WORK-FAMILY POLICIES

  (Mrs. MALONEY of New York asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, a new report that just came 
out by the Government Accountability Office shows that the United 
States lags far behind other industrialized countries in providing 
policies that help families balance the competing demands of work and 
family responsibilities.
  Critics argue that implementing such policies here could have a 
negative impact on the economy, but many countries with strong work-
family policies are among the world's most competitive economies in the 
world and have unemployment rates that are the same or lower than the 
United States.
  More and more businesses are finding that doing right by workers is 
good for the bottom line. Paid parental and sick leave, flexible work 
schedules and access to child care provide a boost to worker 
productivity, retention, and recruitment that outweigh the cost of 
implementing such policies.
  U.S. workers, businesses, and the economy would benefit from stronger 
work-family policies.
  ``A copy of the GAO report is avail-
able on the JEC website at http://
www.jec.senate.gov/Documents/
Hearings/06.14.07%20Work-Life%20
Balance/GAO%20-%20Kay%20Brown%20
Testimony%20--%20FINAL.pdf.''

                          ____________________