Good news may be on the horizon for federal employees. Two weeks ago, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s Federal Workforce Subcommitee approved a bill that would offer federal employees four weeks of paid leave for the birth or adoption of an infant.
This is amazing news for mothers to be employed by the federal government. The Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 provided 12 weeks of unpaid leave for many reasons, including the birth of a baby. The problem with this legislation is the leave is unpaid.
The new bill would offer new mothers the security of some money coming in for at least a portion of the leave time. Women often shorten their leave time in order to get back to work and have money coming in. This causes stress on the mother and isn’t ideal for the baby either. Pay checks for the first month would certainly alleviate the financial stress, allowing mothers to bond with their babies.
There are still some hurdles to overcome before this bill could become law. For instance, the Bush Administration is opposed to the legislation, which may result in a veto. In this case, Congress would have to have a 2/3 majority voting in favor to over ride a presidential veto.
Our president doesn’t think this legislation is needed. The feeling within the administration is that federal employees get vacation time and sick time. They should use this accumulated time, without any additional benefit of paid leave for birth or adoption.
The legislation was originally written to offer eight weeks of paid leave. In an effort to get Republican support for the bill, this was reduced to four weeks. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough to garner any republican support. According to The Washington Post, all three Republicans on the committee voted against the proposed legislation.
Many mothers and future mothers hold out hope the legislation can make it through both houses of Congress and be signed into law by the president. This legislation is certainly a step in the right direction in helping America’s families get off to a good start. Most other developed nations offer some form of paid leave for employees, whether employed by the government or in the private sector.
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