    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book II)]
    [August 5, 1995]
    [Pages 1207-1208]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    August 5, 1995

        Good morning. Today I'm at the Children's Inn at the National
    Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, with young patients and
    their families, some of whom are guests of the inn. For them, the
    Children's Inn is home while their children get well. The inn is built
    on a simple premise that even with the best doctors, medicine, and
    technology, no treatment is complete unless it includes the family.
        Children know that better than anyone, that it's their mothers and
    fathers who carry them through the tough times. And that's true for all
    of us. But we all know, too, that our families all across America are
    going through tough times today. Right now, our families are feeling
    real pressure. Too many are working harder for less. Too many are afraid
    of losing their jobs or their retirement or their health care. Too many
    live in fear that their children are exposed to violence and drugs.
        We have to do what we can to strengthen our families and to help
    them through these changing times. That's what we did with the very
    first law I signed as President, which took effect 2 years ago today.
    It's called the Family and Medical Leave Act. It could be called the
    working family protection act. Under this law, if you get sick, if your
    child gets sick, or your parent needs medical care, you can take time
    away from work without losing your job. Sometimes this time off can be
    the most important time in a family's life. It can also be the toughest
    time. But it would be a lot tougher if the family couldn't face it
    together.
        If you know a family who's needed to use this leave, you know why
    it's so important. I know some of these families, and three of them are
    here today. Kenny Weaver, a Texas petroleum worker, took guaranteed
    leave to be with his daughter, Melissa. Diane Atwood of Little Rock,
    Arkansas, needed leave to fight her own battle with Hodgkin's disease.
    J.C. Shardo of Atlanta needed to take a leave when her brother Swartz
    needed her by his side when he became ill. Because of this law, families
    in crisis can be together, and the breadwinners need not fear they'll
    lose their jobs.
        The family and medical leave law is good for our families and it's
    good for our businesses because it allows our people to be both good
    parents or good children or good siblings and good workers. It supports
    family stability and family responsibility.
        I want to make sure that if you're eligible for guaranteed leave,
    you know about it. As many as 50 million Americans are eligible, and as
    many as 3 million people a year may need to use it. If you work in the
    public sector or in the private sector for an employer who employs 50 or
    more people, you qualify to apply for a leave of 12 weeks for family or
    medical reasons.
        The U.S. Labor Department has backed the claims of thousands of
    workers who were denied leave or fired when they tried to use this law.
    That's illegal. We'll protect your rights and the rights of your family.
    This law shows that we, as a nation, can value families through the
    choices we make together.
        We've got a lot of other family choices to make in the weeks and
    months ahead. This week the Senate finally will take up welfare reform,
    which is also all about helping people become good workers and good
    parents. We've reached agreement on requiring teen mothers to live at
    home and stay in school, requiring parents to pay the child support they
    owe or work off what they owe. Now we need a bipartisan agreement that
    requires people on welfare to work but makes sure they get the child
    care

    [[Page 1208]]

    they need to stay off welfare for good and to be good parents.
        Family values are a big part of our national budget. Two years ago,
    our national budget reduced the deficit; that's good family values. But
    we increased the number of children in Head Start, we provided for
    immunizing all our children under 2, we made college loans more
    affordable and easier to repay, we increased tax relief for working
    parents, and we increased job training. We need to build on that family
    agenda, not tear it down.
        The congressional majority seems to be determined to cut back on
    programs that advance our family values. How can you talk about family
    values in one breath and, in the next, take Head Start away from 50,000
    poor children or cut back college loans and grants for students who need
    and deserve them or cut back worker training for people who are
    unemployed? But all that happened in the House of Representatives this
    week. They call it change. I say it shortchanges America's families in
    the fight for the future. This vote is antifamily, and I won't let it
    stand.
        It's not too late to build a legacy--to build on the legacy of
    family leave. We ought to invest in education, invest in our families,
    raise the minimum wage, target tax relief to raising children and
    educating them, protect the Medicare of our seniors, and protect the
    right of people to keep their health insurance if they change jobs or if
    someone in the family gets sick. These are the kind of things that are
    worthy of the legacy of family leave. We have to work hard so that we
    know that our families will be better off, so that we can make tomorrow
    better than today for every family.
        Thanks for listening.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:06 a.m. from the Children's Inn at the
    National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD.