The urgency of the paid leave crisis in this country should not be understated. Just 25 percent of workers in the country have access to paid leave through their jobs. In the lowest quarter of earners—disproportionately women, and women of color—this falls to just nine percent.
Despite the long and uphill struggle to pass paid leave in both the House and Senate—it was a casualty of the doomed Build Back Better bill in 2021, and Rep. DeLauro and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s FAMILY act has failed to pass four times so far—there is a renewed vigor around the issue in the corridors of D.C..
It has become a cornerstone of President Biden’s agenda—with the historic $325 billion provision for paid family and medical leave in his latest budget. The newly-formed Congressional Dad’s Caucus (led by Rep. Jimmy Gomez) has passing paid leave as one of its key goals. The FAMILY act is being reintroduced next week in May. And notably, 2023 marked the creation of the first ever bipartisan working group to pass paid leave led by Democrat Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, and Republican Rep. Stephanie Bice.
Houlahan told Glamour: “I feel a sense of urgency. This is a working group that has had active meetings at least once a month, if not more, since its inception. Our mantra is more paid leave, for more people. And we’re trying to chip away at this to the best degree that we can. There is an opportunity, and there is momentum.”
When pressed on what the group intends with “more paid leave for more people”, Houlahan explained that “it’s looking like the appetite for the collective is focusing right now on parental [leave], but it’s a good and important start.”
