Clinton's Push for Paid Parental Leave Falls Flat in States
An attempt by the Clinton administration to establish government- paid leaves of absence for new parents is about to die a quiet death, rejected in every state legislature that took up the cause at the urging of the White House.</br></br>Lawmakers in 15 states introduced legislation to use unemployment insurance trust funds--fattened by years of prosperity--to pay benefits for as much as 12 weeks of leave for working parents of newborns or adopted children. Clinton called on states last year to create the major new benefit, which the Republican-controlled Congress firmly opposed.</br></br>The measures were introduced amid promises of reshaping the country's work and family policy to meet the needs of what is now a majority of families with two working parents. But one by one, the proposals died, stymied by business opposition and fears that unemployment insurance would run dry in a future recession.</br></br>The last surviving bill, in Massachusetts, was buried in a study committee yesterday. Advocates there and in other states vow to try again next year, possibly creating a disability fund to pay for parental leave.</br></br>The fate of the efforts reflects deep political resistance to using the fruits of economic prosperity to create new, ongoing government obligations--a vision advanced by Clinton and the presidential campaign of Vice President Gore.