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House Democrats Push For Inclusion of Paid Leave in Bipartisan Infrastructure Proposal


Last Friday, over 80 House Democrats sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and requested that paid leave be included in the proposed bipartisan infrastructure legislation making its way through Congress.

The House Representatives, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ted Lieu, Andy Levin, and Jerry Nadler, among others, cited the growing need for paid leave for workers across the country as one of the reasons why Congress needed to act swiftly.  Notably, the Representatives cited reports that approximately 100 million workers currently do not have access to paid leave, including many in lower wage jobs.  The letter went on to point out that with the coronavirus pandemic still in play in many parts of the country, the long term side effects of the pandemic necessitates the need for paid leave to be implemented at once.

Whether this letter will spur any serious movement remains to be seen.  However, with Democrats having majority control of both the House and Senate, if they really want to take the bull by the horns and get a paid leave proposal in place, now is as good of a time as any for Democrats to accomplish this objective.


For a copy of the letter:  https://houlahan.house.gov/uploadedfiles/final_paid_family_leave_letter_to_house_leadership_cjh.pdf


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