6/24/96
PRESS RELEASE

STATEMENT BY ANN LEWIS
DEPUTY CAMPAIGN MANAGER

Let's talk about Family and Medical Leave and compare the two candidates. President Clinton fought for and signed the Family and Medical Leave Act. Bob Dole twice voted to defeat it, led the filibusters against it, and still opposes it today. President Clinton has said Family Leave is one of the most important acts of his Administration because it strengthens working families. Bob Dole stated that Family and Medical Leave had "nothing to do with family values."

In 1992, Republican President George Bush vetoed the Family and Medical Leave Act. Bob Dole later voted against overriding President Bush's veto of the Family and Medical Leave Act. President Clinton made it law. Now Republicans are trying to play catch up on Family and Medical Leave.

On the issue of flex-time for families, President Clinton has consistently supported employee-choice flex-time while opposing artificial proposals that would diminish employee-choice and leave them vulnerable to unfair coercion at the workplace.

We hope the Republicans will drop the objectionable provisions in their comp-time bill and join the President in passing a true employee-choice flex-time bill. We welcome their dawning recognition that Family and Medical Leave is important to American families.

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