For those who are interested in exactly what was said in the House debate please click this link. Once again, the main issue of debate for paid parental leave in the US is cost. Read Full Story
On June 4th the House passed bill HR 626 providing federal employees 4 weeks of paid parental leave at a vote of 258-154.Speaker Nancy Pelosi had this to say about the passage of the bill: "Today's House passage of paid parental leave for federal employees after the birth or adoption of a new child is a victory for all working families. As the nation's largest employer, the federal government should offer competitive benefits to those already offered in the private sector. Family... Read Full Story
Breaking News: The House to consider H.R. 626, Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act of 2009 -- Jun 3, 2009 at 3 p.m.This bill would provide federal employees with PAID parental leave for 4 weeks. Please give a last push of support to your congresspeople. Email or call them now!I will update with more information as soon as it is available. Read Full Story
Governor Corzine brings up an interesting point after announcing the passage of paid family leave in New Jersey. He believes that the bill would not have been able to be passed without the democratic control of the state government. I question why policies that benefit families are a partisan, or more accurately a democratic issue. Since the 1980s the Republican party has been running on a family values platform, and what policies could more easily integrate into this platform than those that... Read Full Story
A new Congressional Budget Office Report was released: "CBO estimates that implementing HR 626 would cost $67 million in 2010 and a total of $938 million over the 2010-2014 period, subject to appropriation of the necessary funds. Enacting H.R. 626 would not affect direct spending or receipts."The $67 million is around 3% of the proposed $2 billion a year plan of universal paid leave by John Edwards. As the percentage of federal employees of the entire US population is much more than... Read Full Story
Here is a list of all house representatives who are NOT sponsors of bill HR 626. If you are in their district please email them and urge them to support this bill. Here is a list of all senators who are NOT sponsors of bill S 354. If you are in their state please email them and urge them to support this bill. Read Full Story
Now the United States will be the only developed nation without a paid parental leave policy.Today the Australian Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan confirmed that the new federal budget, to be released on Tuesday, will fund national paid parental leave. The new plan, due to begin in January 2011 and will cover families earning less than $150,000 a year. The leave will be for 18 weeks at the federal Read Full Story
