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Hillary Clinton: Expand Family Leave Act
2008 presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton is calling for a massive expansion of the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act, saying that an updated version should offer time off from work for parental participation in children's school activities and health care, as well as personal time to care for aging parents. "We make it about as hard in our country as possible for people to do the most important job there is in any society - and that is raising and nurturing the next generation," Mrs. Clinton told a Brown University audience during a speech on women's leadership last week. "Since the Family and Medical Leave Act was passed in my husband's administration, more than 50 million men and women have taken advantage of it," she explained. "Well, I think it needs to be updated and it needs to be expanded somewhat." Mrs. Clinton insisted that "there should be time available for teachers conferences and doctors appointments, to be involved in your childrens' lives and to increasingly care for your aging parents."
Story Continues Below The former first lady said that as Americans live longer they would "increasingly be caretakers longer," making longer job absences a necessity for average workers. The Family and Medical Leave Act already mandates that employers grant workers 12 weeks time off to care for newborn children. Mrs. Clinton did not offer any estimate of the costs to businesses under her expanded family leave program - or explain how her new proposal might affect the nation's unemployment rate.
Editor's note:
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
2006 Elections
Inside Cover Stories
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