Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word and to lend my support to the Treasury-Postal appropriations bill before us that we are now debating and discussing. Although I unfortunately was not able to be on the floor during general debate, I really want to state my support for this bill and focus on an important provision that was included by the committee. First, I am very pleased that the pay parity language for Federal employees and the contraceptive coverage for Federal employees were included during committee markup of this bill. These are necessary changes. I applaud the committee. Secondly, I want to thank the chairman for including a 1-year extension allowing agencies to help low-income employees pay for child care. Many Federal employees are caught in a serious child care crunch. A recent study showed that one-quarter of all Federal workers had children under the age of 6 needing care at some time during the workday. In some Federal child care facilities, employees are charged up to $10,000 or more per child per year. Many Federal employees simply cannot afford quality child care. So giving agencies the flexibility to help their workers meet their child care needs encourages family-friendly work places and higher productivity.”