Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., introduced legislation Tuesday to require the federal government to offer paid family leave, noting that it is the nation’s largest employer.
Maloney’s legislation, the Federal Employee Paid Leave Act, or FEPLA, would allow paid leave for all caregiving needs, not just parental leave. Federal employees would have 12 weeks of paid leave for birth, adoption, or caring for a spouse or a parent.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., stressed the importance of passing the legislation, saying that the United States and Papua New Guinea are the only two nations that do not offer paid family leave.
“This bill is a critically important bill if the United States is to join other countries who value families,” Hoyer said. His office said that it would affect more than 2 million federal workers, who today have only unpaid leave.
Hoyer said that he hopes President Trump will consider backing the legislation, given that his daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump has made paid family leave a priority. Ivanka Trump met with Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., last month to discuss paid family leave.
[Related: Ivankacare? Trump faces conservative opposition to family leave program pushed by his daughter]
Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., expressed his support for Maloney’s bill, saying that it would benefit the economy.
“Last time this bill was scored by the Congressional Budget Office, it actually had a positive score,” Beyer said. “The federal government is saving money, saving taxpayer money. Because we don’t have to go out and find that perfect person or train that person.”
The Democrats boasted that Maloney’s bill, by providing paid leave, would give employees much-needed time with their families, help retain talent already in the federal workforce, and boost morale. Hoyer’s office declined to give a cost estimate for the legislation.
CORRECTION: In a previous version of this story, the Washington Examiner erroneously reported that Ivanka Trump met with Cassidy to discuss mandatory paid family leave for all those in the private sector, when in fact, they simply discussed paid family leave. The Washington Examiner regrets the error.
