Parental leave bill killed -- deployed troops' kids are the victims

[Ilsa]

Parental leave bill killed

http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-2116491.php

By Rick Maze
Staff writer

Congressional negotiators have killed a Senate-passed proposal granting liberal time off work for people caring for the children of deployed U.S. troops.

A two-part leave plan had passed the Senate earlier this year, amending the federal government’s donated leave program and encouraging private-sector businesses to also create flexible leave for people, other than parents, who are carrying for the children of deployed troops.

Sen. Russell D. Feingold, D-Wis., was the chief sponsor of the plan that was attached to the Senate version of the 2007 defense authorization bill. He called it the Military Family Support Act, and said it was aimed at caregivers who were helping single parents or dual-service couples in which both the husband and wife were deployed.

SNIP

For the private sector, Feingold’s provision encouraged, but did not require, businesses to create liberal leave programs for caregivers.

The Senate passed the leave plan in June by voice vote, an indication that the Senate did not consider it controversial. It ran into problems, however, when the House and Senate began negotiations to write a compromise version because the provision attached to the defense bill falls under jurisdiction of the House Education and the Workforce Committee. The chairman of that committee, Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, R-Calif., announced he opposed the plan because it considered it unnecessary.

SNIP