Statement on the Fifth Anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act

On this fifth anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act, I am happy to report that this law has been good for America's families and good for this country's businesses. Before I signed this bill into law, the United States was the only industrialized nation without a national family and medical leave policy. Workers shouldn't have to choose between their families and their jobs when a child is born or a parent is sick. This law keeps many workers from having to make that choice.

Many American families continue to face a serious shortage—a shortage of time needed to balance work and family obligations. Over a year ago I called upon Congress to expand the Family and Medical Leave Act to allow 24 additional hours of leave each year so that parents can participate in children's activities or so that family members may take children or elderly relatives to medical or dental appointments or for other professional services. This law deserves support and expansion so it can continue to work for American workers, their families, and their employers.