Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY) today lauded Senate approval of their amendment that would allow the family of wounded military personnel to take up to 6 months of unpaid leave, expanding the benefits provided under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which currently allows 12 weeks of leave.  The approval of this amendment came a week after the release of a report by the President’s Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors urging Congress to extend FMLA for up to six months for a family member of a service member who was severely injured in combat.  The bipartisan Support for Injured Servicemembers Act is also cosponsored by Senators Dole, Graham, Mikulski, Chambliss, Brown, Salazar, Cardin, Menendez, Kennedy, Boxer, Reed, Murray, Harkin, Ben Nelson, and Lieberman. 

“I believe that Congress has few higher priorities than the safety and well-being of America’s combat heroes.  The very least we owe them is our total support for their family and medical needs” said Dodd.  “After the seven years, three presidents, and two vetoes it took to get the Family Medical Leave Act enacted into law, I am pleased to see that the debate is no longer about whether Americans have the right to Family and Medical Leave, but rather, about how it can best be expanded.  I welcome the contributions of my colleagues, including Senator Clinton, to this debate, and am grateful for the Senate’s unanimous approval of this critically important measure.  Our troops and their families deserve nothing less.”

“The families of wounded soldiers face extraordinary demands in caring for loved ones injured in service to our nation.  Currently, these spouses, parents and children can receive only twelve weeks of leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act.  All too often, this is just not enough time, as they struggle to care for loved ones grappling with traumatic brain injuries, severe physical wounds, and other problems upon returning home from Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere.  Extending the Family and Medical Leave Act for these families is a step we can take immediately that will make a real difference.  It is the right thing to do for our men and women in uniform and their families who have made tremendous sacrifices on our behalf,” said Senator Clinton.

Senator Dodd is the author of the landmark Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which has allowed more than 50 million workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave if they are ill or if they need to care for a sick family member or new child.   Most recently, Senator Dodd introduced the Family Leave Insurance Act of 2007, legislation that will provide paid leave to workers for the birth or adoption of a child, to care for a child, spouse or parent with a serious illness or to care for their own serious illness.  Senator Dodd has been a long-time advocate for the health and safety of U.S. troops.  From leading the effort to ensure that our men and women in uniform have the safety equipment they need, to fighting to restore National Guard readiness, Dodd has worked tirelessly on behalf of American servicemen and women.     

Senator Clinton has been a champion of the Family and Medical Leave Act, which has helped more than 50 million Americans since President Clinton signed it into law in 1993.  Senator Clinton has worked to build on this landmark law, cosponsoring the Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act and the Healthy Families Act, which expand workers' paid sick leave to care for a child or an aging parent.   As New York's first Senator to serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Clinton has made it one of her top priorities to ensure that our brave men and women in uniform and their families have the healthcare and support they need, most recently securing a series of measures in the Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act approved unanimously by the Senate.   

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