DeLauro, Houlahan, Advocates Hold Press Conference to Mark 10-Year Fight for Paid Family and Medical Leave
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Representatives Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) and Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), along with advocates from Paid Leave for All and the National Partnership for Women and Families, held a press conference marking 10 years of fighting for the FAMILY Act, legislation that would ensure that every worker has access to paid leave for every serious medical event or to care for a loved one, every time it’s needed. A livestream of the event can be viewed here.
DeLauro started drafting the FAMILY Act in 2010 and has introduced the legislation in every Congress since 2013 to establish the nation’s first universal, comprehensive paid family and medical leave program. Ten years later, the fight continues as DeLauro, lawmakers, and advocates call for enacting the FAMILY Act – to meet families where they are now and ensure no one has to make the impossible choice between their job and the health of themselves or their loved ones.
“Ten years fighting for paid leave is far too long, but it shows the dedication and spirit of everyone here that we are still fighting to this day for the FAMILY Act,” said Congresswoman DeLauro. “I believe in policy solutions that help working families not just survive – but thrive. People need financial stability, and the security to know they can take care of themselves or a loved one and not only be guaranteed their job, but wage replacement as well. Currently, the United States is the only industrialized nation that does not give workers access to a national paid family and medical leave program, a disappointing fact that leaves our nation ill-equipped to compete in the global economy. That is why since 2013, I have introduced the FAMILY Act, to establish the nation’s first comprehensive paid family and medical leave program.”
“I want to thank Congresswoman DeLauro for her unwavering leadership to pass the FAMILY Act on behalf of the American people in the fight for paid leave,” said Congresswoman Houlahan.“Because of her steadfast commitment, so many of us have been able to climb up the ladder behind her and join this movement. We will continue to underscore the need for paid leave, and we must help our colleagues in Congress realize the importance of getting this done.”
"More than 40 percent of workers are not covered under FMLA,” said Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), House Committee on Education and the Workforce. And of those covered, many are forced to choose between earning a paycheck and caring for their families. Workers who often need paid leave protections the most— low-income workers—are disproportionally left out. We must ensure all workers are able to care for their families or themselves without having to worry about losing their jobs or their income. That is why we must pass the FAMILY Act to extend coverage to part-time workers, address the reality of modern workplaces and families, and make the promise of leave a reality for low-wage workers because it will be paid leave.”
"Today marks 10 years that we've been fighting for the FAMILY Act and to afford all Americans the basic protection of paid leave that most of the world takes for granted,” said DawnHuckelbridge, Director of Paid Leave for All. “Public support — and intensity of support — is at record highs, across party lines and all walks of life. It's time that all elected officials matched the urgency of their voters, and put paid leave at the top of their agendas. Paid family and medical leave is a solution that working families and a 21st century economy demand. The political will is building, and it will not be another 10 years until paid leave for all is a reality in this country."
“Thirty years after the passage of the FMLA, and ten years after the first introduction of the FAMILY Act, nearly three-quarters of workers in the U.S. still lack access to paid family leave to care for their family or a new child and nearly 60 percent lack time off for their own major medical needs,” said Shrita Gruberg, VP for Economic Justice at National Partnership for Women & Families. “And low-income workers, who are disproportionately women of color, are least likely to have paid leave. That's why we partnered with Congresswoman DeLauro, Senator Gillibrand, and other members of Congress ten years ago to introduce the first-ever national legislation that would guarantee all workers paid family and medical leave. We can't wait another ten years – it’s time to pass the FAMILY Act now.”
"The name – the FAMILY Act – is not an accident,” said Josephine Kalipeni, Executive Director of Family Values @ Work. “By working to ensure that all workers have up to 12 weeks of paid leave, this legislation centers working families. In a nation where work and income mean food on the table, we've seen the impacts of not having paid leave - families are financially devastated when they have to leave work to care for themselves or someone else. We can't – we won't wait another 10 years to ensure families can work and care."
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