Transcript of Pelosi, House Democratic Leaders Event Commemorating 20th Anniversary of Family Medical Leave Act

Washington, D.C. – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Congressman George Miller, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, Congresswoman Susan A. Davis, Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge, and Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici held an event commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the Family Medical Leave Act in the Gabe Zimmerman Room of the Capitol Visitor Center.  Below is a transcript of the event: 

Leader Pelosi.  Good afternoon, everyone.  We are gathered here to celebrate something so momentous, when it passed twenty years ago in the Congress, and was sent to President Clinton, he said: "Family and medical leave is a matter of pure common sense and a matter of common decency.  It will provide Americans what they need most: peace of mind.  Never again will parents have to fear losing their jobs because of their families."

How brilliant, how wonderful.  That was twenty years ago, but there was a lot of work that went into it for several years before.  Last year, some of our guests here, Judy Lichtman and others, talked about Chris Dodd and [how] he had introduced the bill over and over again.  Congresswoman DeLauro was his assistant at the time and helped advance the bill, and others – our colleagues will talk about how we got here – as a relatively new Member of Congress at the time, his top assistant at the time, and helped advance the bill.  Others – well, my colleagues will talk about how we got here, but as a relatively new Member of Congress at the time, it was exciting to see, year in and year out, how we tried to advance it, and then finally we had a President who was going to sign the bill.  We had, had two vetoes before President Clinton and we had President Clinton elected, and as you can see, we were only a week or two after the inauguration, so this was the first bill that President Clinton signed.

Some years later, President Obama's first bill that he signed was Lilly Ledbetter [Fair Pay Act].  Again, talking about women in the workplace, families in the workplace, and at his inaugural he declared in his stirring address: "Our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers and our daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts."  But this isn't just about women, it's about families, and it's about men, too, who have taken family and medical leave for the good of their families.

So, here we are to celebrate – how could it be twenty years later?  Well, we'll hear from George Miller, who was really a champion in that effort at the time, and from some of our other colleagues [who] address[ed] the issue.  But our very special and important guests today are Matari and Vivian, who will tell us their real life experience.  I don't know what George is going to say, but I know one thing I want him to say is that we want family and medical leave paid.

Are you up to that, are you going to talk about that?

[Mr. Miller Comes to the Podium]

Mr. Miller.  Leader Pelosi, thank you so much, thank you for bringing us together to celebrate this twenty years that have remarkably changed the landscape for millions of families.  It gives me an opportunity to think back, when as Chair of the Select Committee on Children, Youth, Families, we were able to initiate the first hearings on healthy babies, health – maternal health, and healthy families and the workplace.  It was back in 1984.  And then to sit on the legislative committee when Chairman Bill Clay championed this issue of FMLA for the, for the rest of the country.  And the battles we went through, the vetoes we went through.

Which tells us, as remarkable as this legislation is, and what [it] has meant to so many families, and to the healthy development of so many babies and families being able to reconcile work and family life – it's hard work to get to this stage.  But we also know very well on this anniversary that this job is not done, and that today only half of the nation's workers are able to take job protected leave under the Family [and] Medical Leave Act, and the law only guarantees that you can take unpaid leave – unless you're in California, you can have paid leave.

But so, we understand as we celebrate the milestone of twenty years of this law and all that it has meant, as you will hear from, from the testimony a bit later from these mothers and families and their babies, what that means.  We know we have got a lot of work to do to now move this country so that all workers have this opportunity to provide for healthy children, a healthy workplace, and healthy families and this is critical to that, to that legislation.  And we also must understand that we [have] got to find a way to extend paid family leave to a – to all workers so that they can have the ability to exercise this right that changes the outcomes of these children, changes the outcomes for families, and changes the outcome for the workplace.

So, thank you so much for bringing us together, and to everybody who contributed to that.  I'd like to now recognize Rosa DeLauro.

[Ms. DeLauro Comes to the Podium]

Ms. DeLauro.  Thank you, and tell our friend, don't take her away.  We're all used to babies crying, it's okay!

Thank you so much.  What a great day it is today.  Thanks for being here, and to all of you, especially to the little ones.  First, let me just say a thank you to our Leader, to Nancy Pelosi, for her hard work on behalf of American families.  So, I mentioned this at an event last night, she has a singular focus and that's American families – at the top of her agenda.  And she demonstrates that every single day.  I also want to say a thank you to my colleagues who are here today as well.   And especially to George Miller, he highlighted this issue with the Select Committee on Youth and Families, – Children, Youth, and Families – and he started the discussion on family economic policies in 1984.  And to the men and women who are sharing their stories this morning; to Matari, to Vivian, we thank you so much for being willing to speak up on how this legislation has affected your lives.  And again, I can't go on without talking about the National Partnership and Judy Lichtman.  And it was President Clinton who said that Judy Lichtman was a national treasure, and indeed she is.

So, here, here!

Since the Family and Medical Leave Act passed in 1993, workers have used the up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave it provides, over one hundred million times, to care for their newborn children, to care for sick or injured family members, or just to get better themselves.  Nine out of ten employers say that the act has either improved productivity and growth, or had a neutral effect.  And FMLA has made a particularly profound difference for women.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 37 percent of all women in firms with 100 employees, or more, were eligible for unpaid maternity leave in 1990.  Now it is available to virtually all working women in firms with over 50 employees or more.  Women make up 56 percent of employees who took leave in 2011.  While 40 percent of workers took less than 10 days of family medical leave, women caring for new children were able to take, on average, 58 days of leave to help to give their children a healthy start.  This is a good first step.  We have to expand eligibility and we need paid leave.

Women make up almost two-thirds, 64 percent, of those who need but do not take leave.  Among the millions of women who benefitted from FMLA is Mrs. Matari Jones-Gunter of San Antonio, Texas.  Matari has two sons, aged 2 and 11.  She took family and medical leave to be with her children after their birth.  Her story is just one among the 100 million [about] how we can act together to make life better for families who have so many pressures today.  She will tell you how the FMLA helped her to balance work, and family, and to give her children what they deserve.  And I am proud to introduce to you, Matari Jones-Gunter.

Matari, please.  I'll go this way.

[Mrs. Matari Jones-Gunter Comes to Podium]

Mrs. Jones-Gunter.  Thank you very much.  Thank you.

Good afternoon.  First, I'd like to thank Leader Pelosi for hosting this event and allowing me to speak in support of the Family and Medical Leave Act, and I am also most grateful for the National Partnership for Women and Families for letting me know about this opportunity.  Thank you.

Like millions of women around the country, I used the Family and Medical Leave Act to take time off work after having a baby, two babies in fact.  During my time to care for my babies, my job was secure.  But because my time off from work was not paid, my husband and I needed months of saving and planning for our family to survive financially.  We pieced together sick leave, vacation time, comp time, disability coverage and a few weeks of unpaid leave so that I could stay at home for twelve weeks with our oldest son, Theo, who was born in 2001.

My boss at the radio station where I worked at that time was very reasonable.  He understood that FMLA would prevent a loss of intellectual capital and save the station money.  It would save the station the cost of the recruitment and training of a replacement worker.  We did the same thing before my second son, Alex, was born back in 2010.  I had some medical complications during that pregnancy, and was out of work for five months.  The FMLA probably saved my life by allowing me to keep my job while I recovered without the stress and trauma of having to worry about keeping my job.  The FMLA allowed me to focus on my health and pregnancy when I needed to.  I am so grateful that we could afford for me to take time off, but I know most American families are not so fortunate.  Many cannot afford months, or even weeks off without pay.  It's time to do more, and do better for women and families.

Doctor Herb Greenberg, the CEO of Caliper who is here today, is a business leader who understands that.  Herb supports the FMLA and the drive to expand it, because he knows doing so is good for businesses and families.  Herb has been a leader in recognizing – thank you – Herb has been a leader in recognizing that public policies like the FMLA and New Jersey's Paid Family Leave Insurance Program create mutual respect between employers and employees.

[Applause]

I am incredibly thankful to people like Herb, the National Partnership, and a growing nationwide coalition that are working to expand leave policies.  On behalf of the millions of women and families who have been able to care for a newborn, a loved one, or even themselves, knowing that their job was secure because of FMLA – thank you.  Thank you to Congresswoman Pelosi for your tireless work to help women and families not only hold down jobs, but careers, while caring for their families.

Again, thank you for allowing me to share my story with you.  Thank you.

[Ms. Davis Comes to the Podium]

Ms. Davis.  Hello everybody.  I'm just delighted to be here with our wonderful speakers, my colleagues, and all of you here and especially the children that have joined us today.  I greatly appreciate Leader Pelosi getting us here, and I want to thank her, and again my colleagues, and everyone here for their leadership on this issue.  You know the responsibilities and the uncertainties affect all of us, and the Family and Medical Leave Act is there to catch us when responsibilities – uncertainties of life really get in the way, as we say, with the things that we always want to do.

Well, the Family and Medical Leave [Act] has always, has also been there for our brave service men and women.  In 2007, the National Defense Authorization Act amended the Family Medical Leave Act to allow eligible employees up to twelve work weeks of job protected leave for a need arising out of active duty, or call to active duty status of a spouse, a son, a daughter, or a parent.  And in 2009, Congress added coverage to family members in the regular armed forces, and coverage for military caregivers leave for a qualified family member of certain veterans with a serious injury or illness.

We know that recovering from their wounds – so many service members have often expressed to me their gratitude of having the ability of a loved one to take leave under the FMLA in order to help them along their journey.  And I can recall meeting a mother at Balboa Medical Center, who was taking advantage of this.  And being there by her son's side was so critical and so important, and she had the security of knowing that she could go back to her job.

How well we deal with the challenges of life is often based on how supported we feel, and the FMLA gives us the time, gives us the protection to care for others and for ourselves.  So as we honor the anniversary of this important quality of life legislation, it is critical to recognize, not only the economic impacts, but also the support provided to our service members who we know are the backbone of our national security.

I am honored to acknowledge Congresswoman Fudge.

[Ms. Fudge Comes to the Podium]

Ms. Fudge.  Well thank you, and good afternoon.  I, too, would like to thank our Leader, and I say she is our Leader, not just the Leader of the Democratic Caucus, but she is the Leader of this Congress.

[Laughter and Applause]

I want you to remember that.  I am certainly pleased to be here today to talk about FMLA and because it is in fact one of the most important and effective pieces of legislation ever signed by this Congress, by this House of Representatives over twenty years ago.  We all know life is about choices; FMLA makes choices easier.  It gives you the opportunity to choose between a sick parent and keeping your job.  It gives you the opportunity to choose between a newborn and keeping your job.  It gives you the opportunity to say to your employer: ‘I am a great employee; I need some help; can you help me?'  And having been an employer I know how important it is to say: ‘Yes, we give you the choice and your job is going to be safe.'

So, I want to thank everyone who understands and recognizes the significance of this legislation and say to the Members of this House, we have much work to do to make it better, but certainly it's a great start.

Thank you.

[Ms. Bonamici Comes to the Podium]

Ms. Bonamici.  Well, I want to start by thanking Leader Pelosi.  Thank you for commemorating the 20th anniversary of this landmark law, and thank you for all your work in making families a priority.  It's a privilege to be here with all my colleagues who know the importance of strengthening and celebrating the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Since 1993, this law has given a hundred million working men and women the time off they need to care for themselves or a sick family member.  Now one of these working women is with us today – Vivian Mikhail – and she's here from Topsham, Maine, with her daughter Nadia.  At sixteen months, her daughter Nadia was diagnosed with a rare auto-immune condition, which left her completely deaf in both ears.  Vivian knew that Nadia would need her full-time attention and FMLA was there for her.  It meant not having to choose between her job and her family.  It's hard to imagine being in Vivian's situation and having to tell your child that you can't be by their side as she faces a medical challenge that would terrify any adult, and that's a choice no parent should have to make.

But the sad reality is that many still do because only half of Americans qualify under FMLA and millions can't afford to take advantage of the unpaid leave it offers.  The Family and Medical Leave Act was a big step forward and now it's time to build on what was accomplished twenty years ago.  I am thankful to be here with so many strong leaders in Congress who are fighting to do just that.

Now, please join me in welcoming Vivian Mikhail.

[Ms. Mikhail Comes to the Podium]

Ms. Mikhail.  Thank you very much for that kind introduction.  Good afternoon, Leader Pelosi, Representative Miller, Representative DeLauro.  My name is Vivian Mikhail, and I am incredibly honored to be here from Maine.

When my daughter Nadia was born in October of 2004, I took FMLA leave for the happiest of reasons.  Shortly before her second birthday, I again took FMLA leave for a most unexpected, terrifying, and all-consuming reason.  Nadia developed Cogan Syndrome, an extremely rare and difficult to diagnose auto-immune condition, which among other things, left her profoundly deaf in both ears and at one point was feared to cause life-threatening complications.  It quickly became clear that in order to seize all possible medical interventions to try and restore Nadia to health, and restore her hearing in a rapidly closing window of time, my fast-paced job would not be compatible for a while with the new intense caregiving role I was to fill.

Without the option of taking FMLA leave, I could not conceive of how I would have done for Nadia all she needed.  Appointments with specialists, outpatient infusions, inpatient hospital stays, pre-and post-op visits, learning American Sign Language, and hundreds of hours of speech and auditory rehabilitation therapy and support once she received the bilateral cochlear implants with which she can now hear again.

[Applause]

Much of which was located in Boston, at least a two hour drive each way.

Unpaid leave was hard, but without FMLA leave we would have suffered financial losses too great to recover from during Nadia's childhood, as I was the primary wage earner and source of insurance for our family.  Nadia is now eight years old and is a thriving and engaging second grader in our town's wonderful elementary school.

It was for her, and all the girls, women, and families in Maine that I became involved in the Maine Women's Policy Center to support its work on issues such as the FMLA.  As one of twenty state coalitions that make up the Family Values at Work Consortium, I am proud that Maine's family leave law now covers domestic partners and companies of just fifteen or more.  I have served on the Board of the Maine Women's Policy Center for almost three years now and look forward to remaining engaged and active in these issues because of their vital importance to our workforce and the families who depend on them.  In my own family's experience, the FMLA was nothing short of an investment in my daughter Nadia as a future part of our lives and of our society.  Thank you for having me here, and thank you for the work that you do to strengthen the family and our country's families.

[Leader Pelosi Comes to the Podium]

Leader Pelosi.  I told you that Matari and Vivian would be our VIP's for the day.  Their stories tell a story of America's family values, and how those family values have to be reflected in the work we do here so it can translate into how people can bond with their children, with their parents, with someone who's sick in the family – it makes all the difference in the world.  We've been having celebrations of the Family Medical Leave [Act] and at the same time Lilly Ledbetter [Fair Pay Act] because both President Clinton signed the Family Medical Leave Act shortly [after] his inauguration, so did, so too did President Obama sign the Lilly Ledbetter legislation as a first bill that he signed – focusing on families in the workplace and how they are affected.

Last week, under the leadership of the National Partnership, and Deborah Nass is the President, who is here.  Deborah – we had a tremendous – George Miller was the hero there because he had, he had been a leader in passage.  The babies were adorable, as they were today.  So, I thank you, Deborah and Judy.  Judy – the national treasure, and that was twenty years ago, imagine her value now – hosted a celebration on the Senate side, and here we are now, and then we'll go to the Labor Department for further acknowledgement for how important this is.

And why do we make such us a fuss?  Well, Vivian and Matari told us why.  But [I] want to also acknowledge the mothers that are here – Wendy Jun-Hyun and her son Julian, Vicky Shaebo and son Jasper, there – hey, Jasper!  Give ‘em a wave Jasper.  Alright, Jasper!  Erica Lass and her baby Kira, and baby Kira is two months old.  And in case you didn't notice, a large number of people here have their "Super Mom' t-shirts."  It says "Mom's Rising" and they're what, a million strong?  Thank you Mom's Rising.  Carol Joiner and daughter Kamara, Alicia DuPre and daughter Cate – thank you.  Annette Guilfoyle, from the Michigan FMLA, a story about caregiving for senior parents.  This isn't just about parents to children, it's about children to parents as well.  And Dr. Greenberg has been acknowledged last night, today.  He's a hero.

[Applause]

And Ellen Brava – Family Values at Work.  The list could go on and on of the people I've talked about.  Senator Chris Dodd, I do want to mention, because I am so happy to be here with George Miller and Rosa DeLauro, we were all there at the time in one form or another.  But our newer Members – Congresswoman Bonamici, Congresswoman Martha Fudge, Congresswoman Susan Davis – when did you come Susan?  You came in 2000.

Ms. Davis.  Two-thousand-one.

Leader Pelosi.  Two-thousand-one.  Well, I think in terms of elections – 2000, 2001 – but has been such a champion on our veterans issues.

So honored to be here with our colleagues, very honored to be here with our special guests, and this is about as important an issue as there can be: how families meet their obligations to each other, what that means to the children's future, what that means to our intergenerational responsibilities.  But as George Miller has said, and others have indicated, more needs to be done.  We want paid sick leave, we want paid family and medical leave – and this is again talking about family values.  Again, when you see President Clinton today, tell him how much we appreciated his leadership and his signature.

But there is one more person I want to mention because she did so much work, and taught us so much along the way, and that's Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder.  Oh my God, she worked so hard, she worked so hard and she just taught us that we were never going to give up until this was the law.  Remember Pat worked on this?  But again, we could name lots of Members, and you probably think that we will – I could talk all day about this, and you probably think that I will.

But, in any event, we thank all of you for coming and joining us for this important work that has been done.  Now a generation old; now we need to work harder to improve upon it.

Thank you all very much.

[Applause]