Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) Policy Director Hadley Heath Manning will testify before the House Ways and Means Committee on its “Legislative Proposals for Paid Family and Medical Leave” hearing.
Manning, invited to appear before the Committee by Chairman Richard Neal, will focus her testimony on the policy trade-offs, risks, and downsides of federal paid leave entitlements. Manning will explain how paid leave entitlements have been shown to redistribute money from low-income workers to those with higher incomes, to discourage private-sector job, wage, and benefit growth, and to increase gender wage gaps.
Following testimony from Representatives Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Ann Wagner (R-MO), and Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Manning will be joined on a panel by Joan Lunden, journalist and former Good Morning America anchor; Kemi Role, director of work equity at the National Employment Law Project; Sharon Terman, director of work and family policy at Legal Aid at Work; Rebecca Hamilton, co-CEO of W.S. Badger; and Vicki Shabo, senior fellow for paid leave policy and strategy at New America.
"Expanding access to paid family and medical leave is a noble goal, but the real question is how,” Manning explains in her prepared testimony. “[The proposed new entitlement] could exacerbate inequalities, backfire on workers, and reduce overall economic opportunity.”