Bill Clinton: “Hello. Thank you. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. The people here with me at the podium are, obviously, Secretary…”

“Hello. Thank you. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. The people here with me at the podium are, obviously, Secretary Herman, but also Katie and Eric Banks and their son, Collin, of Fairfax, Virginia; Jonathan and Teresa Graham, and their two children, from Baltimore; Darsie Cahall and James Baker, and their three children, from Takoma Park, Maryland. I'll say a little more about them in a moment. You can see this is a family event. [Laughter] We've orchestrated the children. Before I leave for the World Trade Organization meeting on the west coast, I want to talk a little about how we're using the strength of our economy to help strengthen working families. Yesterday I signed a budget that maintains the fiscal responsibility that has given us what will be in February the longest economic expansion in our history and at the same time lives up to the values of the American people. We have no higher value than family, but too many of our families are having trouble balancing the demands of home and work. Today I'm using my Executive order--authority--to give these parents new tools to succeed at home and on the job. The surging technology and soaring prosperity we currently enjoy are the result of a lot of hard work and very long hours by the American people. In fact, today many working parents are forced to make the unacceptable choice between being good workers and good parents. Too often, in our round-the-world, round-the-clock economy, there just don't seem to be enough hours in the day for parents to do what they need to do. That's why we've worked hard to help parents balance work and family. Last May I asked Secretary Herman to develop new ways to address this problem. Today I'm announcing a proposed Labor Department rule that lets States use their unemployment insurance to offer paid leave to new parents. This initiative is totally voluntary for States. It helps them empower more working parents, like the ones standing with me today. With this act, the United States joins the rest of the world's advanced economies, all of whom already have some form of paid leave for parents. When little Collin was born, his mother, Katie, was working as a waitress; his dad was working as a head electrical technician for a small company. Unfortunately, he was born ill and had to be in intensive care for several weeks. Katie took unpaid leave and eventually quit her job to be with her son. Collin's dad, Eric, wanted to take leave but couldn't afford to do so. Once Collin was well enough, Katie looked for and, fortunately, landed another job. But both Katie and her husband would have and should have been able to take paid leave to care for their son. That's what this parental leave initiative is all about. I believe giving States the flexibility to experiment with paid employment leave is one of the best things we can do to strengthen our families and help new mothers and fathers meet their responsibilities both at home and at work. State flexibility and the voluntary nature of this effort are key to its success. In our strong economy, we hope States will take advantage of this new option, and we believe those that do will balance this new benefit with the imperative of maintaining a fiscally sound unemployment insurance program. This effort builds on our commitment to giving working families more tools to help them adapt to the new economy, from expanding the earned- income tax credit to our welfare-to-work efforts, from increasing funding for child care to HOPE scholarships. In the budget bill I signed yesterday, we fought for and won a doubling of resources for after-school programs to give young people a safe place to study between the end of their school day and the end of their parents' work day. I'm especially proud that the first bill I signed as President, in 1993, was the family and medical leave law. Since then, millions of Americans--we believe well over 20 million--have used it to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a newborn or sick relative without losing their jobs. The importance of this benefit has been confirmed by the testimony of experts and parents at the first-ever White House Conference on Early Childhood Development, in 1997, and from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics. They all reinforce what we already know from common sense, giving parents and primary care givers time to bond with children leads to healthy development including boosting critical language and literacy skills. But the current law meets just a fraction of the need. And the number one reason families give for not taking advantage of family and medical leave is that they simply can't afford to take time off without a paycheck. The actions we take today will go a long way toward alleviating that burden if the States take up the challenge. I believe it will strengthen parents' bonds with both their children and their jobs. As I've said, on the eve of this new century, we ought to set a goal that all parents can take time they need for their families, without losing the income they need to support them. The new State authority will move us in the right direction and gives another tool in our national efforts to both strengthen our families and reward the dignity of work. Thank you very much. Seattle Round”