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Statement

Statement of Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Co-Founder and Executive Director, MomsRising on President Obama's Budget Proposal FY 2011

February 1, 2010

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

America’s Moms Say Obama “Gets It.”
"We are delighted to see a real focus on jobs and economic security in President Obama’s proposed budget for the 2011 fiscal year. This budget takes some important steps toward making life better for families in the United States through provisions that recognize work/family balance policy as critical to job stability and economic security. An example is the provisions regarding paid family leave which will help states create insurance programs to help small businesses support new parents who need to take leave after the arrival of a new child. This is critical to economic security because, right now, having a baby is a leading cause of a poverty spell and one in four families with children under age six live in poverty. We need family leave insurance to stabilize employees in their jobs and stop the cycle of poverty before it starts.
 
“In his budget proposal, the President recognizes that the choice between a paycheck or job and a family member’s health is untenable. The Family and Medical Leave Act was an excellent start, but now it’s time to take the next step. The President’s proposed State Paid Leave Fund, which would provide $50 million grants to help states launch paid leave programs, will give states an important incentive to enact the paid leave policies that families so desperately need.
 
"The President’s budget would also provide resources to help the Department of Labor improve its data collection with regard to the intersection of work and family responsibilities.
 
"With this budget, the Obama Administration has shown that it values families and understands the importance of changing our public policies so that they conform to the 21st Century realities of people’s lives. Clearly, this is a President who really gets it.”
 

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MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, decrease discrimination against women and moms, and to build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families, including criminal justice reform, immigration policy reform, and gun safety. MomsRising is working for paid family and medical leave, affordable, high quality childcare and early learning, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes women — particularly moms and women of color — and so many others. MomsRising advocates for access to healthy food for all kids, health care for all, earned sick days, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.