-Woolsey proposes six months of job protected leave for family members caring for injured veterans-

Washington, DC – Fresh on the heels of President Bush’s veto of health care legislation for 10 million Children, the House today passed an updated version of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which included a proposal by Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) to extend job protection for family members caring for injured veterans.  The legislation passed with a strong bi-partisan majority in a vote of 265 to 142.

“As the Chairwoman of the House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, I believe military families should no longer be denied the urgently needed protections included in this bill.  Military families shouldn’t have to risk losing their jobs in order to meet the needs of their loved ones, and with this bill, we are one step closer to fulfilling our promise to them.”

Woolsey’s proposal, which is co-sponsored by Bay Area Representative, George Miller, the Chair of the Education and Labor Committee, would amend the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act to provide six months of unpaid job protected leave to the spouse, child, parent, or next of kin who are helping to care for an injured service member.

The proposal was included in the updated SCHIP legislation, which would benefit over 600,000 children in California alone.  While Democrats addressed many of the concerns raised by Republicans against the legislation, which is widely expected to pass the Senate, it remains unclear whether the President will sign the legislation, a concern that Woolsey was quick to criticize:

“The President’s veto of legislation to provide health care for ten million children was shameful, and his pitiful excuse about the program’s cost raises grave concerns about his priorities – what message does it send when he’s willing to spend half a trillion dollars occupying Iraq, and not a fraction of that amount to provide health care for poor children?  It’s obscene, and I hope that the President will come to his senses and sign this legislation into law.”