Prior to the 1992 presidential election, a family medical leave act had been vetoed twice by President George H. W. Bush. After Bill Clinton won the 1992 election, a law protecting family medical leave became one of his major first-term domestic priorities. Rapid growth in the workforce, including a large number of women joining, suggested a necessary federal regulation that would support the working class who desired to raise a family and/or required time off for illness related situations. President Clinton signed the bill into law on February 5, 1993 (; 29 U.S.C. sec. 2601; 29 CFR 825) to take effect on August 5, 1993.