Date: 1995-02-24
Speaker: GENE GREEN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. H.R. 450. as written. currently -the regulations implementing the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. were caught under the net cast by this bill. As my colleagues have noted earlier in the debate. this bill makes no attempt to distinguish between good and bad regulations. My amendment would exempt these regulations currently under consideration for clarification of the Family and Medical Leave Act. For those who may have forgotten. the Family and Medical Leave Act entitles employees of up to 12 weeks of unpaid jobprotected leave in a 12month period for specified family medical reasons. The Family and Medical Leave Act was passed in the 103d Congress. actually passed and effective on August of 1993. so about 18 months .ago. I cosponsored the bill and supported it on its final passage. and it passed overwhelmingly. 265 to 163 with 40 Members of the nowmajority supporting it. Thirtyfour of those still continue to serve in this body. The aim of the regulations was to clarify for employers the intent of the act so that both employers and employees would understand both their rights and their responsibilities. Many businesses are affected by this regulation and would be unable to plan appropriately because the uncertainty surrounding the moratorium. Again it has been 18 months since the act was passed. and by adding another 6 months causes even more confusion. not only to employees. but also to businesses. and it is a step process that we go through. the department is going through. and when the final processand again it would benefit those businesses. Accordingly. the Labor Department in the final rules were based on suggestions for more that 900 public comments received by the department during their 6month public comment period. so part of that time delay in these regulations. because of the 6month public comment that none of us want to see shortened. We want adequate time for the public. whether they are in business or individuals. to comment. Mr. Chairman. it is extremely important that these commonsense and clarifying rules go through. Businesses have been attempting to comply with the requirements of the act. and the Department of Labor has been trying to work with them. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce. the Chicago Land Chamber of Commerce. and Nations Bank are among those businesses and associations who provided input during this comment period. The regulations under consideration would be employee benefit plans. health insurance. maternal and child health. among other things. Among the commonsense clarifications. the definition of serious health condition has been changed to -clarify the circumstances. under which a leave may be taken. and again this Is something for the benefit of a manager of a business who needs that. As a result. the employees with chronic conditions or are pregnant are not required to see a health care provider during every absence every time a mother may be ill. She should not have to bring a doctors excuse when it is obvious that she may be just experiencing shortterm sickness. Unlike the regulations -that are alleged to be full of redtape. this regulation will reduce the confusion for those who need to comply with it. I hope we have no interest in reopening the act just as we are beginning to see some real regulation to interpret it for its final implementation. and I would urge my colleagues to vote for the amendment. Mr. Chairman. I reserve the balance of my time.