AP

Democrats warn against family leave cuts from spending bill

Oct 19, 2021, 5:30 PM | Updated: Oct 20, 2021, 5:48 am

In this Sept. 28, 2021 file photo, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., speaks during a Senate Armed Se...

In this Sept. 28, 2021 file photo, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., speaks during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. More than a dozen Senate Democrats are imploring President Joe Biden and congressional leaders to keep a national paid family leave program in his sweeping social services and climate change package. Gillibrand spearheaded the letter and says she's open to negotiating the terms of the program but she'd have a hard time voting for the legislation if it's not included. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, Pool)

(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, Pool)

More than a dozen Senate Democrats are imploring President Joe Biden and congressional leaders to keep a national paid family leave program in his sweeping social services and climate change package.

In a letter Wednesday to Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 15 senators from the moderate and progressive wings of the party warned Democratic leaders that a program offering paid family leave for all workers must be included in the proposal as negotiators work to cut its $3.5 trillion price tag.

The senators said the COVID-19 pandemic, which particularly sidelined working women who lost school and child care options, highlighted the stark need for the program.

“The pandemic has exposed an acute emergency on top of an ongoing, chronic caregiving crisis for working people and employers alike,” the senators said in the letter. “We cannot emerge from this crisis and remain one of the only countries in the world with no form of national paid leave.”

New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who spearheaded the letter, told The Associated Press that she thinks there is wide support for a paid leave program but wants to make sure it’s not placed on the chopping block as Democrats on Capitol Hill work to get the legislation’s spending down to about $2 trillion.

Gillibrand said she’s open to negotiating the terms of the paid leave program, but if it’s not included in the final package, she might have a hard time voting in favor of the legislation.

“It would be extremely hard because this is a bill, if we don’t pass it now, it won’t have a time like this again,” Gillibrand said.

Biden can’t afford to lose any Democratic votes in the 50-50 split Senate with Republicans fully opposed to the president’s plans.

Gillibrand said the proposal needs to be gender neutral, offering all workers paid leave for things like the birth of a child or caring for a sick or dying family member. The coalition of senators is seeking a plan to offer 12 weeks of paid leave, or as many weeks as can be negotiated, in a permanent way so it doesn’t have to be muscled through Congress again.

The most recent version of the proposal would have offered the biggest benefit to low- and middle-income earners, offering up $5,000 of paid leave for workers, giving workers who earn $60,000 or less annually a full wage for 12 weeks.

In a meeting at the White House on Tuesday with a small group of progressive House Democrats, Biden told lawmakers he wants to include money to create four weeks annually of paid family leave, down from his 12-week proposal.

Biden’s discussion of the revised plan was described by two people familiar with the session who would only do so on the condition of anonymity. One person said there would be limits on the incomes of families that would qualify for the program.

Gillibrand said senators are willing to compromise on the numbers and build on the program in the future. She said she’s also seeking to meet with conservative West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a key holdout who has been seeking to curtail the size and scope of Biden’s plan.

___

Associated Press writer Alan Fram in Washington contributed to this report.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Steve Bannon appears in court in New York, Jan. 12, 2023. (Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP)...

Dave Collins, The Associated Press

Trump ally Steve Bannon is released after serving 4 months in prison

Longtime Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon was released from prison early Tuesday, after serving a four-month sentence.

4 days ago

Photo: The Boeing logo is displayed in El Segundo, Calif., on Jan. 25, 2011....

KIRO Newsradio Staff with Wire Reports

Boeing, in need of cash, looking to raise up to approximately $19B in offering

Boeing is looking to raise up to approximately $19 billion in a stock offering as the aerospace giant faces liquidity issues and tries to raise cash.

5 days ago

Photo: In this image made from a video provided by KGW8, authorities investigate smoke pouring out ...

Matt Markovich

Incendiary attacks on ballot drop boxes in Washington, Oregon spark election security concerns

Authorities were investigating after early morning fires ballot drop box fires in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington.

5 days ago

FILE - President Donald Trump talks with White House Chief of Staff John Kelly after he was private...

DAN MERICA, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Trump wanted generals like Hitler’s and said Nazi leader ‘did some good things,’ John Kelly claims

Donald Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff is warning that the Republican presidential nominee meets the definition of a fascist.

10 days ago

Photo: Liam Payne of One Direction performs during the Honda Civic Tour at Qualcomm Stadium on Thur...

Associated Press

Liam Payne, former One Direction member, dies at 31 in Argentina hotel fall

Former One Direction singer Liam Payne, 31, was found dead after falling from a third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires on Wednesday.

17 days ago

Photo: The Supreme Court allowed a federal regulation aimed at limiting planet-warming pollution fr...

Associated Press

Supreme Court allows a rule limiting pollution from coal-fired power plants to remain in effect

The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed a federal regulation aimed at limiting planet-warming pollution from coal-fired power plants to remain in place as legal challenges play out.

17 days ago

Democrats warn against family leave cuts from spending bill