[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992-1993, Book II)]
[September 22, 1992]
[Pages 1625-1626]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Message to the Senate Returning Without Approval the Family and Medical 
Leave Act of 1992
September 22, 1992

To the Senate of the United States:
    I am returning herewith without my approval S. 5, the ``Family and 
Medical Leave Act of 1992.'' This bill would mandate that public and 
private employers with 50 or more employees provide their employees with 
leave under certain circumstances.
    I want to strongly reiterate that I have always supported employer 
policies to give time off for a child's birth or adoption or for family 
illness and believe it is important that employers offer these benefits. 
I object, however, to the Federal Government mandating leave policies 
for America's employers and work force. S. 5 would do just that.
    America faces its stiffest economic competition in history. If our 
Nation is to succeed in an increasingly complex and competitive global 
marketplace, we must have the flexibility in our workplaces to meet this 
challenge. We must ensure that Federal policies do not stifle the 
creation of new jobs or result in the elimination of existing jobs. The 
Administration is committed to policies that create and preserve jobs 
throughout the economy--serving the most fundamental need of working 
families.
    My Administration is also strongly committed to policies that foster 
a complementary relationship between work and family and encourage the 
development of a strong employer-employee partnership. If these policies 
are to meet the diverse needs of our Nation, they must be carefully, 
flexibly, and sensitively crafted at the workplace by employers and 
employees, and not in Washington, D.C., through Government mandates 
imposed by legislation such as S. 5.
    Therefore, I have transmitted to the Congress legislation to 
establish an alternative flexible family leave plan that will encourage 
small and medium-sized businesses to provide family leave for their 
employees.
    My flexible family leave plan is based on a refundable tax credit 
for businesses that establish nondiscriminatory family leave policies 
for all their employees. A refundable tax credit of 20 percent of 
compensation (for a credit of up to $100 a week--to a maximum total 
credit of $1,200) would be available for all businesses with fewer than 
500 employees, for a period of family leave up to 12 weeks in length. 
Family leave would include the birth or adoption of a child or the care 
of a seriously ill child, parent, or spouse. It also would cover a 
serious health condition that prevents the employee from performing his 
or her job. This approach will cover almost all workplaces--smaller 
companies that S. 5 does not cover that are less likely to provide leave 
to their employees. My plan covers about 15 million more workers than 
would be eligible under S. 5 and 20 times the number of workplaces. 
Those not affected by my plan work for large businesses, which generally 
have established family leave policies.
    I want to emphasize again that my bill will help where the concern 
is most acute--with small and medium-sized businesses and the workers in 
those businesses. S. 5 misses these key workplaces by excluding 
businesses with fewer than 50 employees. We know that these hard-pressed 
small companies usually offer fewer benefits than large firms, that they 
generate most of our new jobs--in fact, they provide the majority of 
people with their first job--and that they are more likely to employ 
women and reentrants to the labor force. Under my proposal, many more of 
the millions of men and women employed by smaller businesses

[[Page 1626]]

would be able to take advantage of family leave.
    The tax credit approach to the family leave issue will provide the 
flexibility workers and employers need to enable them to establish the 
optimal package of benefits that meets their particular needs. This way 
the parties can decide which package of benefits is best suited to them. 
In addition, because a tax credit is not a mandate, it does not put 
struggling firms at an economic disadvantage in the global marketplace. 
It maintains the competitiveness of American business while providing 
the benefits American workers need. It provides positive incentives, not 
mandates with veiled costs that impede growth.
    Both the House and Senate passed family leave legislation almost 1 
year ago, but they have kept it in the filing cabinet until now. That is 
nearly an entire year with no action or any willingness to depart from a 
federally mandated approach, only an interest in politicizing the issue.
    I have proposed a truly flexible family leave program. I am willing 
to work with the Congress to get it passed and signed into law 
immediately.
    There appears to be a pattern here. Three years ago, my 
Administration had a fundamental disagreement with these same 
congressional committees on child care policy. It took the Democratic-
controlled Congress more than a year to get the point--I would not buy a 
Government-controlled and mandated child care program. When they got 
serious, we rapidly hammered out flexible child care legislation 
patterned after my proposal, that allowed individuals to choose their 
benefits.
    The same holds true for family leave. If the Congress is serious 
about encouraging family leave, I ask those Members of Congress who have 
joined me in the past in opposing Government mandates to work with me 
again. The Congress should pass a family leave bill quickly that 
provides positive incentives for family leave and is responsive to the 
needs of workers and employers.

                                                             George Bush

The White House,
September 22, 1992.