Rep. Shea-Porter, 113 Colleagues Reintroduce Paid Family Leave Bill

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 -- Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, D-N.H., issued the following news release:

Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01) and 113 colleagues today reintroduced the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, a bill to create a national paid family and medical leave insurance program and ensure that American workers no longer have to choose between a paycheck and caring for a family member.

"The United States is the only industrialized nation in the world that still doesn't guarantee working parents paid time off to care for their newborns," said Shea-Porter. "I call on Speaker Ryan to allow a vote on the FAMILY Act, because New Hampshire workers shouldn't have to choose between their family's health and economic security."

Last week, Shea-Porter introduced another bill to support New Hampshire's working families, the Child Tax Credit Improvement Act, which would boost the tax break's value and ensure it keeps up with the costs working parents face, including the quickly-rising cost of childcare.

Shea-Porter previously co-introduced the FAMILY Act in 2013, but despite broad support for paid family leave, House Republicans never called a vote on the bill.

Background

Current Family and Medical Leave law provides unpaid, job-protected leave for serious health related events, but only about half of the workforce qualifies for this unpaid leave, and many more simply cannot afford to take it because it is unpaid. Only 12 percent of workers in the U.S. have access to paid family leave through their employers, and less than 40 percent of workers have access to personal medical leave through employer-provided temporary disability insurance.

For more information on the FAMILY Act, see this fact sheet (http://www.nationalpartnership.org/research-library/work-family/paid-leave/family-act-fact-sheet.pdf).

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