Issue Position: Balancing Work and Family Life

Issue Position

Over the last few decades, the "typical" American family has changed. We used to be a nation of predominately "nuclear families," complete with one breadwinner, and one full time parent who stayed home with the kids. Today, three-quarters of all mothers work and, in about 80% of two-parent families, both parents work outside the home. Unfortunately, the laws governing work- life balance haven't kept up with these changes. In fact, our country ranks at the bottom of industrialized countries when it comes to such issues as paid sick and maternal and paternal leave; access to affordable child care; and policies that promote flexible workplaces. It's no wonder then that so many parents are finding it hard to both raise a family, as well as succeed in their career.

As the mother of four, and a grandmother of five, I know firsthand how hard this can be. That's why I introduced the Balancing Act, a comprehensive legislative package that would provide families with the flexibility that they need to meet these challenges. My legislation would improve the lives of working families by not only expanding access to the Family and Medical Leave Act, and make it easier for workers to take advantage of it. The Balancing Act also would provide paid family and medical leave, expanded child care opportunities, in-school and after-school options, and a variety of other initiatives that will help working parents. This isn't good just for workers, these policies are also good for employers. Studies have shown that workers with the flexibility to balance work and family are loyal to their employers, and tend to stay longer in their jobs.

As the former Chair of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, I held several hearings on the challenges of balancing work and family. In the 110th Congress, I introduced H.R. 3481, the Support for Injured Servicemembers Act, which amended the Family and Medical Leave Act to provide military family members up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave from their jobs for matters related to deployment of a loved one and up to six months of unpaid leave to care for injured service members. If a servicemember is about to be deployed or is wounded in defense of our nation, the last thing their family members should have to worry about is losing their job in order to care for them or take care of essential business. I am proud that my proposal was signed into law in January 2008, and became the first-ever expansion of the Family and Medical Leave Act in its fifteen-year history.

Finally, I believe that the last thing parents should have to worry about is the health of their children when they drop them off at school each morning. That's why, in the last Congress, I introduced H.R. 1324, the Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act, which raised the nutrition standards of foods and drinks sold alongside school meals in cafeterias, vending machines, and school stores so that students have access to healthy foods throughout the school day. During the House Committee on Education and Labor consideration of H.R. 5504, Improving Nutrition for America's Children Act, I offered an amendment which authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to create a pilot program to provide competitive grants to school food authorities to increase the amount of organic food offerings. Both of my provisions were included in S. 3307, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. I voted for S. 3307 when it passed Congress on December 2, 2010, and it was signed into law by President Barack Obama.

While the Balancing Act is the first step in giving workers greater ability to earn a living and care for their families, we must continue to find ways to help meet the challenges of balancing work and home life. You can be sure that I will continue to fight for our nation's families.

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