America’s Moms Applaud Congressional Action to Advance Paid Family and Medical Leave, Want Results
Lisa Lederer, 202/371-1996
“America’s moms, families, and business and health care leaders have been heartened by the bipartisan, bicameral congressional working group issuing a Request for Information in December, and the House Bipartisan Paid Family Leave Working Group issuing a legislative framework this month. These actions set the stage for long-overdue enactment of the kind of comprehensive paid family and medical leave program that will boost our economy, ease our labor shortage, allow moms and other caregivers to stay in the workforce, and help families be economically secure.
“The preponderance of evidence from multiple states should make it easy to move quickly from fact-finding to the action the country needs: enactment of a strong, comprehensive paid family and medical leave program. The United States has long lagged behind the rest of the world in guaranteeing this basic protection and the country has suffered as a result. Every day we are without a comprehensive federal paid family and medical leave program is a day when moms are forced back to their jobs days after giving birth; workers facing serious illness can’t take the time they need to recover; children with cancer are without parents to comfort them; seniors with life-threatening illnesses are without loved ones to provide care; and businesses incur massive expenses to recruit and train replacements for valued employees they lose. Every day without paid leave is a day when our economy suffers.
“Moms applaud the Biden/Harris administration for doing all it can to make paid family and medical leave available to the federal workforce, but the proverbial ball is in Congress’ court. America needs a comprehensive paid leave program that ensures every worker, no matter the size of their employer or if they are self-employed or work part-time, has access to paid leave for every serious medical condition. And we need it now.”
-Statement of Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Executive Director and CEO, MomsRising
“Next Monday, it will be 31 years since Congress passed the Family and Medical Leave Act, which provides unpaid leave to about three in five U.S. workers. With public support for paid family and medical leave overwhelming and broad-based, crossing all partisan and demographic lines, it’s long past time for Congress to take the next step by passing a comprehensive paid family and medical leave program.
“States, cities, and private companies across the country have implemented paid family and medical leave programs, proving beyond a doubt that they are effective, easy to administer, and hugely beneficial to moms, families, working people, businesses, and economies. Yet just 6% of the lowest wage workers in our country have access to paid family leave. That needs to change. We need a federal paid family and medical leave program that everyone can access, no matter where they live, who they work for, and how long they have held their job.
“This issue has languished in Congress for much too long. The fact-finding by the bipartisan, bicameral congressional working group and the House Bipartisan Paid Family Leave Working Group must conclude with enactment of a comprehensive paid leave program – not a tax credit, not an adjustment to Social Security, not a smoke-and-mirrors solution. There’s no time to waste.”
-Statement of Namatie Mansaray, Senior Director for Workplace Justice, MomsRising