Edwards announces paid family leave plan

[EV_Ares]

By HOLLY RAMER, Associated Press Writer

LEBANON, N.H. - When it comes to helping parents take time off from work, Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards is raising the stakes.

The former North Carolina senator on Tuesday proposed spending $2 billion a year to help states create family leave programs that offer workers at least eight weeks of paid time off to care for a newborn or ill family member. The proposal is similar to those offered by his rivals, but Edwards would put up more money — New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's plan calls for $1 billion a year; Illinois Sen. Barack Obama proposes $1.5 billion.

Edwards also would set a national goal of eight weeks of paid leave for all by 2014.

"It's really important for parents for families to be able to take this leave, to be able to do it and not lose their income, which is a huge drain on millions of families in this country," he said at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon.

Link to entire article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071113/ap_on_el_pr/edwards_family_leave_2;_ylt=Aqvybl5seXobXM7lOBbEUTlh24cA

[JDPriestly]

1. Other civilized countries have this.

It would mean raising employee and employer contributions to funds to pay for it, but we desperately need this. I meet so many middle aged professional women who would make wonderful mothers but who could not afford to raise children. Childcare in the first weeks of life is an enormous problem. Small babies do not belong in day care and should be with their mothers.

[IA_Seth]

2. As a frequent critic of Edwards...

This is him at his finest. I feel there is nothing more important, no sign more true of real civilization, than the ability to care for family. I hope that regardless of his place at the end of the nominating season he goes after this one.

[midnight]

7. I agree with your comment, And I agree with many elements

of Edwards plateform...The poor, available healthcare for all, family leave, education for those who want one, and are willing to work a few hours a week for it, and the support of unions and those who bring us the middle class.

[asdjrocky]

3. Again, Edwards is a candidate for the people.

[Bluzmann57]

4. I heard Dodd propose a plan for this last night

So either it's the issue du jour or someone is copycatting someone else. Dodd did not really go into any details, but did mention that he wants to get it done before January 20, 2009. No matter what, let's hope it gets done.

[William769]

5. I wonder who it was that actually got family leave to begin with on the Federal level.

[Freddie Stubbs]

6. Chris Dodd authored the bill and Bill Clinton signed it

[William769]

9. Yep, back when Edwards was an ambulance chaser.

[slick8790]

11. Right.

I'll take a trial lawyer "ambulance chaser" over a corporate lawyer any day.

[William769]

14. Sure why not.

The work she did for the children's defense fund did nothing but to further cooperate America.

[slick8790]

15. Who's she?

I just meant in the general sense. People bag on trial lawyers all the time, but at least they're not fighting for corporations.

*edit* D'oh. Hillary. Duh. But I didn't mean it as a smear to her personally.

[William769]

16. So much for your innuendo about the cooperate lawyer thing.

ON EDIT; and if you don't know who "she" is, why do you even bother with politics.

[Tellurian]

10. Yep, Bill Clinton signed the Bill into Law. Hillary is expanding it!

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.: Clinton has supported the legislation that would ensure that workers can take paid time off when they are sick. She co-sponsored legislation to expand the Family and Medical Leave Act to provide parents with time off from work to go to the doctors' office with their child.

This bill also provides paid family and medical leave to qualifying parents time off to attend teachers' conferences for their children. (She points out on her Web site that her husband signed the FLMA into law in 1993.)

She is also a co-sponsor of the Healthy Families Act, (with Biden) which would provide workers with seven paid days off of sick leave, giving parents time off to go to the doctor with their children or aging parents.

Also, she has joined Chris Dodd and a bipartisan group of senators to introduce an amendment to the Senate-approved CHIP bill to extend Family and Medical Leave Act to family members of wounded soldiers to six months.

Clinton also reintroduced the Choices in Child Care Act (S.820) — legislation would give qualified families greater flexibility in providing safe, quality care for their infants. The bill would help parents balance work and family, help meet the critical shortage of infant child care, provide cost savings to state child care programs, support quality care for the critical first years of a child's development, and value parenting as a form of work.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3663649&page=1

And reason enough to support Hillary for President!

[goodgd_yall]

8. This is why I'm supporting Edwards

He will fight for workers and not pander to corporations.

[obnoxiousdrunk]

12. LOL ! ... good one there.

[jillan]

13. Biden brought this up months ago!

[Milo_Bloom]

17. Why does everyone dance and clap when candidates

Do what they are SUPPOSED to do?

Have our standards really sunk this low that a candidate embracing 8 weeks of family leave by 2014 is somethimg miraculous? 6 Years to impliment??? We managed to kill a few hundred thousand people in less time in Iraq, we can't pay for fucking family leave in 2009?

How about requiring large corporations to offer day care for children up to age 4 for employees?

I am so sick of the low standards being set for these people.