Fact Sheet I
Expanding Economic Opportunities for America's Families
"...we need a united front for treating women all over the world with dignity and respect and giving them opportunities in the family and education and in the workplace." President Clinton, Jackson, Wyoming, August 26, 1995More than half of low-wage workers are mothers.Delivered the Family and Medical Leave Act
The first bill President Clinton signed after taking office, the Family and Medical Leave Act, allows workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for an infant, spouse, or ailing loved one without losing their jobs. Women and men are no longer forced to choose between their families and jobs.Expanded Earned Income Tax Credit_Making Work Pay
The President has expanded the Earned Income Tax Credit as a first step to ensure that no child of full-time working parents will have to live in poverty. The expansion gives a tax cut to more than 15 million working families.Committed to Increasing the Minimum Wage
The President has proposed increasing the minimum wage from $4.25 to $5.15 over two years, through two 45-cent increases. For a full-time, year-round worker at minimum wage, a 90-cent increase would raise yearly income by $1,800 -- as much as the average family spends on groceries over seven months. Two-thirds of minimum wage workers are women.Improved Access to Child Care
The Clinton Administration has launched initiatives to make child care more affordable and accessible and has encouraged employers to address this need. The Administration has increased investments in child care and established a Child Care Bureau to streamline federal child care programs. (The Child Care Information Center: 1-800-616-2242.) The Clinton Administration has also initiated a Healthy Child Care Campaign to increase access to preventive health services for children in child care and to ensure safe child care environments.Strengthened Equal Opportunity for All
After an extensive review of laws and regulations, the President reaffirmed his Administration's support for affirmative action as a tool to expand economic and educational opportunity. He believes that affirmative action must be designed to sustain and support our ideals of personal responsibility and merit. Strengthened Enforcement of Child Support Many families -- particularly those headed by women -- are forced into economic crisis and poverty when a non-custodial parent fails to pay child support. From 1992 to 1994, there has been an increase in child support collections of more than 20 percent -- from $8 billion to a record of nearly $10 billion. The President's child support plan, a part of his welfare reform legislation, would double child support collections by the year 2000. By executive order, federal agencies have been directed to cooperate with state efforts to identify and locate absent parents.Promoting Work for Low-Income Families
The Clinton Administration has approved 49 welfare reform demonstrations in 35 states, more than the two previous administrations combined. The Clinton Administration waivers are based on the President's vision for welfare reform: work responsibility and a steadfast commitment to the well-being of children and families.
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