With every day that passes I hear something new about Hillary that impresses me and this one’s just blown me away. She’s taken her dedication to our troops and their families to a whole new level with this one and she worked at lightening speed to make it happen.
You’ve all heard of the Family and Medical Leave Act, right? Without this law we’d be forced to choose between caring for our loved ones and keeping our only source of income. Believe it or not, this bill doesn’t cover family members who need to care for a disabled vet returning from Iraq. A report just came out with some recommendations on how to help military families, and Hillary – true to form – jumped in to action to make sure those recommendations were written in to our laws.
In just one week, Hillary’s taken an idea from some report and gotten it past the Senate with bipartisan support on a voice vote.
I just got word of this from the campaign and I just had to pass this along. It shows you just how dedicated Hillary is to our troops and their families AND how effectively she can work to get things done with her colleagues in the Senate...
HILLARY WINS SENATE APPROVAL OF FAMILY LEAVE FOR FAMILIES OF WOUNDED SERVICE MEMBERS!
In one extraordinary week, Hillary took the recommendation of family leave for service members’ families, from a commission report to a unanimous Senate vote! Here’s how our Judith Lichtman, the "mother" of Family Leave, described what happened:
"At 6:30 a.m. last Thursday July 27, I learned that the President’s Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors- recommended that the Family and Medical Leave Act be amended, to include family members who need to take family leave to care for returning disabled veterans. I talked to her Senate office at 7 a.m., and Senator Clinton indicated her strong support for sponsoring such legislation at 7:30 a.m.
"Those of you who know anything about the legislative process know that it takes months - sometimes years - to pass legislation, but Senator Clinton did it in less then seven days. She worked out the language and forged broad bipartisan support, including Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Elizabeth Dole (R-NC), Ted Kennedy (D-MA), and Chris Dodd (D-CT).
"The bottom line - last night, August 2, the Senate passed the amendment by voice vote! "In my view, it would be hard to overstate the extraordinary leadership Senator Clinton provided - all to make a difference in the lives of families - addressing THEIR needs."
I think this is the legislation they’re talking about - S.1898 A bill to amend the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to expand family and medical leave for spouses, sons, daughters, and parents of service members with combat-related injuries.
Hillary’s been fighting for our troops for years. Here’s some of the legislation she’s introduced or supported since getting elected to the Senate...
First off - a biggie that’s just come out as a result of her dust-up with that @sshole at the Pentagon (Eric Edelman) – and something I need to contact my Senators (Mikulski & Cardin) about co-sponsoring.
S.1950 A bill to require a report on contingency planning for the redeployment of United States forces from Iraq.
I’ve done a diary on this bill before (regarding it’s similarities to Obama’s plan) but it bears repeating...
S.670 A bill to set forth limitations on the United States military presence in Iraq and on United States aid to Iraq for security and reconstruction, and for other purposes.
S. 1065 A bill to improve the diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injury in members and former members of the Armed Forces, to review and expand telehealth and telemental health programs of the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
S.1363 A bill to improve health care for severely injured members and former members of the Armed Forces, and for other purposes.
S.1409 A bill to provide and enhance education, housing, and entrepreneur assistance for veterans who serve in the Armed Forces after September 11, 2001, and for other purposes.
And this one’s pretty recent and (IMHO) a huge help to the women serving in our armed services...
S.1800 A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to require emergency contraception to be available at all military health care treatment facilities
To anyone sporting those yellow ribbons I say THIS is how you support our troops. Not with hollow magnetic ribbons that cost ya $1.49 and Seven Eleven. Not with blind support of this criminal administration and their illegal war / occupation of Iraq. And NOT by insisting that we leave our troops in the middle of chaos as sitting ducks in a civil war INDEFINITELY.
I’m truly amazed at the speed with which she worked to get this idea worked in to our laws. Very little (if anything) happens this quickly on the Hill. I used to work on the Hill (House & Senate) and I know how slowly things progress there (if at all). But Hillary’s managed to take an idea and move it through the Senate to ultimate approval in just one week.
Hillary’s a woman of action – she gets things done and our troops will be better off for her having served in the Senate. If she can do all this in the Senate – just IMAGINE how effective she’ll be in the White House!