Balancing work and family is the toughest responsibility parents face. I believe government should make it easier, not more difficult, for parents to raise their children. Adoption should be easier and more affordable, and we should give adoptive parents the same rights and benefits we give other parents. I support family leave so that parents can take time to be there for the birth of a child and tend to a sick child or older relative.

I also support efforts to protect children, our most vulnerable citizens. We must aggressively work to end child abuse and domestic violence, and provide the extra support many low-income children need, such as funding the Women, Infant and Children nutritional support program. We should all be proud that the welfare rolls have dramatically declined and poverty has declined over the last five years. We need to continue making progress and ensure that work pays, and that families moving off welfare have access to child care, health care, and other important support that is such an important factor in welfare reform.