We rely on our congressional leaders to create laws like the groundbreaking Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and increases to federal minimum wage to help make working moms’ lives more manageable. But even family-focused lawmakers don’t always practice in their own offices what they preach publicly. Since it’s up to individual congressional leaders to decide on their own office policies regarding pay, paid leave time and flextime, each office operates much like a small business. Due to the rigorous demands of Capitol Hill, however, meeting the workplace flexibility needs of employees is often the last thing on congressional agendas during a busy legislative session. We launched the Best of Congress awards in partnership with Corporate Voices for Working Families in Washington, DC, to honor the senators and representatives from both sides of the aisle who sponsor and vote for laws that help working women, advocate for causes important to moms, and establish family-friendly policies for their own employees. Though Senators Clinton, McCain, and Obama may have been a little too busy to get in on the action, of the 535 congressional leaders, 50 chose to apply for this award. Voters, take note.

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Pictured (from left): Rep. Christopher Shays (CT), Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL), Rep. C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger (MD), Rep. Ellen O. Tauscher (CA), Rep. Allyson Y. Schwartz (PA), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (MN), Sen. Herb Kohl (WI), Rep. Russ Carnahan (MO), Rep. Lynn Woolsey (CA), Rep. Deborah Pryce (OH), Sen. Johnny Isakson (GA), Sen. Elizabeth Dole (NC), Sen. Gordon H. Smith (OR).

Representative Tom Allen, D-Maine
Staffers 11
Working-mom staffers 5
What we love This six-term congressman and dad of two is a longtime health-care champion.
Flex and Telecommuting Perks Allen knows that personal needs sometimes trump work needs. That’s why his employees have been able to work from home for reasons including bad weather, unexpected child-care issues, home repair, and veterinarian visits, among others. One employee worked at home for about a year while she battled cancer.
Career Crusader Understanding that workplace skills and knowledge can quickly become outdated but continuing education can be expensive, Allen introduced the Lifelong Learning Accounts (LiLAs) Act of 2007. If passed, this will make LiLAs more widely available in up to ten states, with accounts available for up to 200,000 workers. LiLAs are similar to 401(k)s in that employees can contribute to them and have employers (or outside parties) match their contribution to pay for career education. They are an innovative and flexible way for people to afford the training they need to stay current in their fields, advance to more challenging positions or pursue new interests.


Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr., D-Delaware
Staffers 76
Working-mom staffers 16
What we love A U.S. senator for nearly 36 years, the 2008 Democrat Vice Presidential nominee puts kids’ health, safety and education at the top of his priorities list.
A-Plus Education Advocate Sen. Biden worked with Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) on the Facilitating Outstanding Classrooms Using Size Reduction (FOCUS) Act, which would provide $2 billion in funding to hire 100,000 new teachers so that class size would be reduced to an average of 18 students, especially in the early grades. This legislation would ensure that reducing class size wouldn’t mean having to compete for funding with teacher and administrator professional development and training. 
Women’s Health Support Along with his wife, Jill, Biden has been a longtime leader in the fight against breast cancer. They helped establish the Biden Breast Health Initiative in 1993 to educate young women across Delaware on the importance of proper breast health and the importance of early detection. The program has educated more than 6,000 Delaware high schoolers since it was started.

Senator Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio
Staffers 53
Working-mom staffers 9
What we love He has vowed not to take the congressional health plan until every Ohioan has health-care coverage. Economic Stimulator In a letter he sent earlier this year, Brown urged President Bush to pay greater attention to the immediate needs of American families when developing the economic stimulus package. He pointed out that his home state of Ohio is already suffering from massive layoffs, plant closings and stagnant wages and now must cope with food bank shortages, record high foreclosure rates and soaring gas and home heating prices. He asked that the package invest in low-income and middle-class families across the nation who’ve been hardest hit by current economic conditions.
Tax Relief Brown is working to raise awareness of the Earned Income Credit (EIC), a federal refund for low-income working families. Knowing that at least 25% of Ohioans don’t claim EIC, he provides information and links to a calculator and the IRS form on his website to make sure all eligible families can—and do—apply.

Representative Russ Carnahan, D-Missouri
Staffers 18
Working-mom staffers 2
What we love He’s a green legislator who advocates for alternative fuels and renewable energy.
Children’s Health Champion In support of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), Carnahan organized an “SCHIP tour” to highlight the success of the program and the importance of reauthorizing it. The program would have provided health-care coverage for 10 million children of working families, preserving coverage for all 6.6 million children currently covered and extending coverage to 3.8 million children currently uninsured. He continues to attempt to override President Bush’s three vetoes of SCHIP legistlation.
Time Off for Life  A cosponsor of the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act, Carnahan guarantees the same benefits to his own staff that he advocates for publicly. Employees are offered eight weeks of paid parental leave and four weeks of unpaid leave through FMLA for the birth, adoption or new foster placement of a child.
A-Plus Education Advocate Carnahan supported the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007, which reauthorized early childhood education programs to ensure that they will be able to continue to provide high-quality services and educators.

Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr., D-Pennsylvania
Staffers 50
Working-mom staffers 8
What we love This freshman senator believes that health insurance for all kids is a top priority.
Children’s Health Champion As Senate “sentinel” for SCHIP, Casey was on call to come to the Senate floor to advocate for various provisions of the bill while it was being debated.
A-Plus Education Advocate Casey voted for the College Cost Reduction Act to make college more affordable for children of working families. The bill provides $20 billion in new student aid. In addition to helping with college education, Casey introduced the Prepare All Kids Act to provide universal pre-K to children from families at or below poverty level.
Time Off for Life All of Casey’s staffers have FMLA reserve accounts. At the end of each year, their unused sick leave is rolled into an individual account, which they can use to add paid time off to what they receive under FMLA.

Representative Rosa L. DeLauro, D-Connecticut
Staffers 20
Working-mom staffers 3
What we love Currently serving her ninth congressional term, she has fought for tax cuts that benefit parents and their children’s health and education.
Equal Pay Efforts On April 24, 2007, DeLauro marked Equal Pay Day—women had to work from January 1, 2006, until that day to earn as much as men made during the 2006 calendar year—by testifying at a House Committee on Education and Labor hearing focused on the effects of the pay gap and the Paycheck Fairness Act.
Right to Worship Administrative leave is granted to her employees who observe religious holidays that aren’t federal holidays and don’t fall on a weekend. 
A-Plus Education Advocate Since she first came to Congress in 1990, DeLauro has put every pay raise she’s received toward the Ted DeLauro Scholarship, founded in memory of her late father.

Senator Christopher J. Dodd, D-Connecticut
Staffers 63
Working-mom staffers 10
What we love He’s the “father” of FMLA and a longtime champion of women and families. •
Extracurricular Effort Employees are allowed 24 hours each year to attend and participate in school activities with their children. 
Time Off for Life About 20 years ago, Dodd wrote and fought for the passage of what later became FMLA. It took seven years, three presidents and a veto before the bill was passed, and Dodd is proud that the debate is now about how to expand FMLA rights as opposed to whether to give working families the right to job protection in case of birth or sickness or to care for an ailing family member.
Reaching Out Last year, as part of a Good Morning America “Take Control of Your Life” segment, Dodd spoke with a group of more than 100 women about the Family Leave Insurance Act of 2007 and other issues important to working families.

Senator Elizabeth Dole, R-North Carolina
Staffers 45
Working-mom staffers 11
What we love Prior to her Senate career, Dole served as secretary of transportation and of labor, as well as president of the American Red Cross.
Flex and Telecommuting Perks Employees’ hours and work-from-home options are flexible in extenuating circumstances. For example, when one staffer’s husband was sick, she was encouraged to use a flexible schedule to balance family and work obligations, and when another employee had a difficult pregnancy confining her to bed rest, her home was set up so she could work remotely.
Military Family Supporter After meeting a young Iraq War veteran from her home state who had suffered traumatic brain injury, Dole was inspired to help lead the effort in the Senate to extend FMLA to military families so they can be with loved ones who’ve been injured on duty.
Feeding Families Dole successfully pushed for a number of antihunger and nutrition initiatives, such as expansion of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program and the Food Stamp Program. She is also working on expanding the National School Lunch Program to offer free lunch to more children in need.

Representative Chaka Fattah, D-Pennsylvania
Staffers 17
Working-mom staffers 5
What we love This seven-term congressman and champion of America’s cities is working to improve urban life in terms of safety, employment, education and more.
Loan Relief Fattah cosponsored and voted for the College Student Relief Act of 2007 to reduce interest rates for students. He also introduced the Homeowners’ Emergency Mortgage Assistance Act to help those who unavoidably and temporarily struggle with payments on mortgages insured under the National Housing Act.
Career Crusader As a member of the Appropriations Committee, Fattah developed the Reverse Commute Program to connect inner-city Philadelphia residents with suburban job opportunities. Vanpools now transport hundreds of workers (including many working moms) to better-paying jobs in suburbs that can’t be reached by public transportation.
Gun Control As a member of the Congressional Task Force on Illegal Guns, Fattah is the lead sponsor of a Philadelphia Guns for Goods program, which has led to the voluntary surrender of more than 1,300 firearms to police. He also started a reward fund for those who turn in owners of illegal guns.

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas
Staffers 66
Working-mom staffers 6 
What we love A senator since 1993, she has consistently championed tax relief for working families.
Kids at Work Senate Take Your Child to Work Day was started by Hutchison more than a decade ago to encourage staffers to spend time with their children and show them how government works.
Safety Support Hutchison cosponsored the Keeping the Internet Devoid of Sexual Predators Act of 2007, which would require convicted sex offenders to provide their email addresses, IM screen names and other online identities to the National Sex Offender Registry. Also in 2007, she joined Laura Bush and other leaders to announce the creation of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s Texas Regional Office in Austin.
Girl Power As honorary Senate coleader of the congressional Girl Scout troop, with Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Hutchison helps provide a nurturing environment for young girls.

Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Georgia
Staffers 43
Working-mom staffers 9
What we love This three-term representative and freshman senator is committed to tax relief and education.
Time Off for Life Employees receive three paid weeks of vacation per year, plus another paid week off during the holiday season. Because of the difficulties that can arise with child care, children of employees are welcome in the Atlanta and Washington offices.
Children’s Health Champion Since his office manager’s son was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Isakson has been active in the Foundation to Eradicate Duchenne. In February, with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), he introduced the Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Community Assistance, Research and Education (MD CARE) Act of 2008 to put millions of dollars in new funding toward developing effective treatments.
Safety Support Along with Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), he’s worked on legislation to permanently ban the production, manufacture and distribution of asbestos. It’s a subject close to his heart: His friend Renee Hansen has mesothelioma, a deadly cancer almost always caused by exposure to asbestos. The bill also calls for a national mesothelioma registry and a public information campaign about the hazards of asbestos-containing materials.

Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota
Staffers 43
Working-mom staffers 4
What we love This leading proponent of efforts to combat climate change was described by The Washington Post as the “funniest member of the Senate’s freshman class.”
Safety Support Klobuchar is dedicated to keeping toxic toys off of store shelves. She introduced legislation as part of the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act that would set a federally mandated standard for lead levels in toys, institute a marking system so parents could more easily identify recalled toys and make it illegal to sell recalled toys. In July 2007, she held a public forum to bring together local legislators, national advocates and legal experts to discuss solutions to the toy safety issue and what parents can do to protect their children.
Flex and Telecommuting Perks Employees enjoy various flexwork arrangements that help them find work/life balance. For example, a current senior staffer who is a single parent leaves the office early to pick up her daughter and then finishes her workday at home, and one state staffer works a compressed workweek in order to spend more time with his children. Another state staffer recently took an extended leave to become a first-time parent but was able to work a minimum number of hours to maintain health coverage. Many staffers use remote computer access to work from home in the evenings instead of staying at the office late.

Senator Herb Kohl, D-Wisconsin
Staffers 55
Working-mom staffers 17
What we love This four-term senator and children’s advocate is a strong supporter of child nutrition programs and has helped work to eradicate hunger in this country. 
Safety Support Kohl secured a boost in Food and Drug Administration funding, allowing it to hire additional food safety inspectors and medical product safety inspectors to conduct more foreign medical facility inspections and domestic medical product inspections. 
A-Plus Education Advocate The Herb Kohl Education Foundation provides scholarships to 200 Wisconsin high school students each year and 100 fellowship awards for teachers and their schools. Over the 17 years since it was established, the foundation has given $6.35 million to students, educators and schools across the state. In addition, Kohl is the author of the Child Care Infrastructure Act, which provides tax credits for private companies and institutions to build on- or near-site day-care centers.

Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, D-New York
Number of staffers 25
Number of working-mom staffers 4
What we love This mom of two is a nationally recognized advocate for women’s and family issues, with special emphasis on women’s health, reproductive freedom and family planning. 
Children’s Health Champion The first New York City Council member to give birth while serving in office, Maloney has been dedicated to children’s initiatives like the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization Act of 2007 and the Improving Head Start Act of 2007 to expand this successful early childhood education program. She spearheaded the Prepare All Kids Act, which would ensure at least one year of quality pre-K so that all children can get a good start.
For Working New Moms Maloney organized a “nurse-in” last year on Capitol Hill to highlight the Breastfeeding Promotion Act, which would protect the rights of nursing women in the workplace. In 1999, she introduced legislation that guarantees women the right to breastfeed on federal property. She also introduced the Working Family Flexibility Act, giving employees the right to request flexible work schedules so they can better balance work and home.
Time Off for Life Employees of Maloney’s office are given at least eight weeks of paid parental leave and are encouraged to use any accumulated annual or sick leave to offset the 12 weeks of unpaid leave guaranteed by FMLA.

Representative Deborah Pryce, R-Ohio
Staffers 14
Working-mom staffers 2 
What we love Throughout her 15 years in office, she has consistently fought for families, strongly supporting tax cuts to allow working families to keep more of their hard-earned money.
Children’s Health Champion As a leading advocate for Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education funding, Pryce saw more than $301 million allocated to the program in fiscal year 2008. This funding helped independent children’s hospitals continue their teaching programs and other beneficial work. She also supported the reauthorization of SCHIP and its proposed $35 billion expansion and extension through March 2009.
Flex and Telecommuting Perks Employees of Pryce’s office are given the option to set hours outside of the traditional 8:30 to 5:30 schedule to accommodate family obligations. They’re also offered additional days off around holidays for travel and family visits.
Tax Relief Pryce voted for the economic stimulus package, which provides tax rebate checks to American families.

Representative Dave Reichert, R-Washington
Staffers 15
Working-mom staffers 3 
What we love The former elected sheriff of Washington’s King County, he has distinguished himself as a leading voice against domestic violence.
Flex and Telecommuting Perks With a chief of staff who’s a single parent, a district director with a son who was deployed in Iraq and a deputy district director who has a child with developmental disabilities, it’s no surprise that Reichert’s office allows for very flexible schedules and provides technology so employees can work from home.
Children’s Health Champion In addition to voting for the expansion of SCHIP, he sponsored and voted for the Reichert Amendment, providing $2.5 million in grants to expand emergency care for children who need treatment for illnesses or injuries. He also founded and cochairs the Children’s Health Care Caucus, which informs other members of Congress about children’s health-care issues. Plus, proceeds from his firsthand account Chasing the Devil: My Twenty-Year Quest to Capture the Green River Killer are donated to the Pediatric Interim Care Center in Kent, WA.

Representative C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger, D-Maryland
Staffers 19
Working-mom staffers 2
What we love After recovering from a near-fatal car accident in 1975, he decided to run for public office to help others and to repay the University of Maryland’s Shock Trauma Center.
Safety Support Baltimore City, MD, has some of the highest rates of child lead poisoning in the state. To help make homes safer for kids, Ruppersberger met with members of the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning to create the Home Lead Safety Tax Credit Act of 2007, which provides a tax credit for homeowners and landlords who reduce lead-based-paint hazards.
Tax Relief Ruppersberger developed the Right Start Child Care and Education Act of 2007, which would increase child-care tax credits for families and employers, helping parents financially while encouraging workplaces to provide high-quality, affordable child care. He’s been working to increase awareness about this legislation and to allow parents and child-care workers to have their voices heard on this issue.

Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Florida
Staffers 21
Working-mom staffers 3
What we love This mom of three is a well-known advocate for children, education, health care, Social Security and Medicare.
Safety Support She sponsored the PROTECT Our Children Act, which would provide funding to states and federal organizations for resources and technology to prevent child exploitation online. In her own district, she has requested funding for afterschool and summer gang- and drug-prevention programs in Miami Beach, which has a history of gang- and drug-related problems. These interventions help provide a positive environment for children while their parents are at work. 
For Working New Parents The congresswoman’s support of women returning from maternity leave is clear from the recent offer she made her district director in Pembroke Pines, FL. When Jodi Davidson came back to work, she was invited to turn her boss’s personal office into new daughter Sydney’s nursery for one year so she could easily have her baby with her at work.

Representative Allyson Y. Schwartz, D-Pennsylvania
Staffers 14
Working-mom staffers 2 
What we love A longtime advocate for children, she is also working to redirect national policies toward energy independence and the reduction of global warming.
Children’s Health Champion As a state senator, Schwartz spearheaded Pennsylvania’s legislative efforts to provide health-care coverage to children of middle-class families. Her leadership led to the creation of the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in 1992, which served as the model for the federal plan that now provides health insurance to millions of kids. She has consistently cosponsored legislation to expand health coverage to every child, including the MediKids Health Insurance Act of 2007 to guarantee comprehensive health-care coverage, including prescription drugs, for all children under age 19.
For Working New Parents Schwartz’s new-parent employees are entitled to three months of paid leave and flexible schedule options upon their return, plus generous break time for nursing moms who pump during work hours. Economic Stimulator Schwartz voted to increase the federal minimum wage over two years to $7.25 an hour from $5.15. She also voted for the Improving Head Start Act and for the Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007, preventing the Alternative Minimum Tax from hitting more than 20 million middle-class taxpayers.

Representative Christopher Shays, R-Connecticut
Staffers 21
Working-mom staffers 5 
What we love A 20-year veteran of Congress, he was designated an Environmental Champion by the League of Conservation Voters.
Time Off for Life Shays’s staffers may take up to four days of administrative leave with pay annually for volunteer work and other charitable activities, including blood donation.
Economic Stimulator A member of the Republican Labor Working Group, Shays is a longtime proponent of increasing the federal minimum wage. He voted for the Fair Minimum Wage Act, which increases the federal minimum wage to $7.25 per hour over the next two years.
Adoption Advocate Shays, a supporter of foster care and adoption services, cowrote a letter to UNICEF and to the president of Guatemala urging the elimination of barriers to adoptions from Guatemala to the United States.

Senator Gordon H. Smith, R-Oregon
Staffers 55
Working-mom staffers 12
What we love Believing that every child deserves a quality education, he has been a consistent supporter of programs that increase funds for students. • Equal Rights Smith has supported legislation to offer federal employee benefits to domestic partners. He practices this in his own offices as well: Employees with domestic partners and employees with spouses have similar bereavement and family leave benefits.
Children’s Health Champion He and his wife, Sharon, have worked to raise awareness about teenage depression and suicide since their son, Garrett Lee Smith, took his life in 2003—the day before his twenty-second birthday. Smith wrote a book, Remembering Garrett, as a memorial to his son and to bring attention to the problem. He also introduced the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act to help states and universities to develop suicide prevention programs. President Bush signed it into law in 2004.
Working for Women Smith sponsored the Women’s Retirement Security Act of 2007 to address the unique challenges women face in retirement planning. In 2006, he received the Hero Award from the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER), which honors leaders who make a positive difference for the economic future of women.

Representative Ellen O. Tauscher, D-California
Staffers 13
Working-mom staffers 3
What we love She introduced the State Infrastructure Banks for Schools Act to provide innovative ways to rebuild aging public schools and libraries.
Time Off for Life Her employees get 16 weeks of paid leave following the birth or adoption of a child, the longest paid maternity or paternity leave provided by the office of any Best of Congress recipient.
Children’s Health Champion Tauscher introduced the Infant Crib Safety Act to prevent retail stores, day-care centers and hotels from selling or using cribs that don’t meet current safety standards, as well as the ACCESS ChildCare Bill to provide accessible, affordable quality child care. She also founded the ChildCare Registry, the first national research service to help provide background verification and screening of child-care workers.
Girl Power Together with Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC), Tauscher started the Girls Rock the House project. This bipartisan group gives teenage girls across the country the opportunity to submit a bill proposal. Winners are flown to Washington, DC, for an awards dinner and a day shadowing a congresswoman.

Representative Lynn Woolsey, D-California
Staffers 22
Working-mom staffers 9
What we love The first former welfare mother to serve in Congress, Woolsey is an advocate of special education and vocational education.
Flex and Telecommuting Perks As chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor Workplace Protections Subcommittee, she reintroduced the Balancing Act, which would expand FMLA to create more benefits for part-time workers and incentives for parents to work from home.
Time Off for Life Full-time employees start with 20 paid days off a year (the office doesn’t differentiate between vacation and sick days), and following two years of congressional employment, that number jumps to 25 days per year.

Representative John Yarmuth, D-Kentucky
Staffers 19
Working-mom staffers 4
What we love Passionate about issues involving working families and students, he sought and received appointment to the Committee on Education and Labor.
Child Health Champion Among his votes to improve the lives of children and families and workers, Yarmuth voted to expand SCHIP and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s oversight of toy safety.
Career Crusader Yarmuth supported the America Competes Act of 2007, which invests in the creation of jobs to improve the economy. He is an advocate for the Workforce Investment Act, which promotes critical job training, adult education and vocational programs, and is trying to get more funding for these programs. He’s been invited to speak around the country on this topic and gave a keynote address at the National Workforce Association meeting in Florida.
Giving Back The congressman has donated his entire salary to more than 30 community charities in Louisville, KY, including Christian Care Communities, the Alzheimer’s Association, ElderServe and Metro United Way.

Methodology: The 2008 Best of Congress award winners were selected based on three key factors: their voting record on issues affecting working families, work/life-friendly office and employment policies and leadership in sponsoring and advocating for work/life issues. Each member who chose to participate completed a survey that included detailed questions about these criteria. The application, the criteria and the selection process were developed and approved by Corporate Voices for Working Families, Working Mother Media and the 2008 Best of Congress Steering Committee.

Steering Committee
Cochairs
Ted Childs, founder and principal of Ted Childs LLC
Jane Swift, founder and principal of WNP Consulting LLC and former governor
of Massachusetts
Committee Members
Patricia Kempthorne, founder and executive director of the Twiga
Foundation
Pat Schroeder, president and CEO of the Association of American Publishers and former congresswoman
from Colorado

Corporate Voices for Working Families is the leading national business membership organization
representing the private sector on public policy issues involving working families. Donna Klein is the president and founder of this nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy group.