Sens. Cassidy, Sinema Offer Bipartisan Paid Family Leave Plan

On Tuesday, U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., offered a bipartisan paid family leave plan for new parents. The proposal would allow parents to use the recently expanded child tax credit to receive a $5,000 benefit after having or adopting a child. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) guarantees eligible parents 12 weeks of unpaid leave without the threat of loss of their job. Many parents cannot afford that much unpaid time off of work, or they were ineligible to take the leave. Only 17 percent of Americans currently have a paid family leave plan. In 2016, the Pew

Republicans Unveil Conservative Proposal for Paid Family Leave

Last week, two congressional Republicans introduced a concrete plan for a concept that is gaining ground in the GOP: paid family leave. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Rep. Ann Wagner of Missouri unveiled the Economic Security for New Parents Act, one of the first pieces of Republican-backed family leave legislation. The bill would allow new parents to withdraw Social Security funds after the birth of a child to cover at least two months of paid parental leave. In exchange, their eligibility date for Social Security retirement funds would be delayed by the amount of time taken in leave. In