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IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 31, 2019

 

First Bipartisan Paid Leave Bill Better Than the FAMILY Act
Independent Women's Forum Welcomes Cassidy/Sinema Approach

 

WASHINGTON, DC — Senators Bill Cassidy and Kyrsten Sinema just unveiled the first bipartisan legislative proposal for a federal paid parental leave policy. Their plan would offer new parents an advance benefit of up to $5,000, the cost would be offset by reduced Child Tax Credits for participating parents over the next 10 to 15 years. Independent Women’s Forum (IWV), the women's group at the forefront of the paid leave policy debate to offer fair and flexible options for new parents, believes the paid leave debate needs innovative thinking, which is why IWF is so glad to have this new proposal offered by Sens. Cassidy and Sinema.

"We welcome their contribution on this important issue," said IWF president Carrie Lukas. "Any paid leave solution should seek to minimize disruption of existing compensation packages, avoid shifting costs to taxpayers, and preserve flexibility so that individuals have options instead of being pushed into a one-size-fits-all government system.

"This new proposal, like any, comes with advantages and disadvantages. It would be far superior to a universal tax-and-spend entitlement program like the FAMILY Act, but the downside is the potential for expansion or loan forgiveness. IWF still favors our Earned Leave approach, which limits the potential for expansion by requiring a tradeoff of retirement benefits for all participants."

Independent Women's Forum developed the Earned Leave policy approach that several pieces of legislation are based, including the CRADLE Act and the New Parents Act.

For more information on how entitlement-based paid leave programs like the FAMILY Act would hurt, not help, click here. To learn more about IWF’s Earned Leave policy proposal, visit iwf.org/earned-leave

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Independent Women's Forum is dedicated to developing and advancing policies that aren’t just well intended, but actually enhance people’s freedom, choices, and opportunities.