Edwards Announces Paid Family Leave Plan

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LEBANON, N.H. (AP) — When it comes to helping parents take time off from work, Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards is raising the stakes.

The former North Carolina senator on Tuesday proposed spending $2 billion a year to help states create family leave programs that offer workers at least eight weeks of paid time off to care for a newborn or ill family member. The proposal is similar to those offered by his rivals, but Edwards would put up more money — New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's plan calls for $1 billion a year; Illinois Sen. Barack Obama proposes $1.5 billion.

Edwards also would set a national goal of eight weeks of paid leave for all by 2014.

"It's really important for parents for families to be able to take this leave, to be able to do it and not lose their income, which is a huge drain on millions of families in this country," he said at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon.

Full article: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gFhsEDbkEmOQOe3c-7zz-g3jS_1QD8SSV6B00