▶ 0:12:31Good morning. The subcommittee on workforce protections will come to order. I note that a quorum is present and without objection, the chair is authorized to call a recess at any time. Today's hearing will examine the many issues and challenges of our country's paid family leave landscape. While the Family and Medical Leave Act or FMLA determines when an employee is entitled to unpaid leave to care for a new child or a sick loved one or to undergo medical treatment.
▶ 0:13:01There is currently no federal law that outlines paid leave benefits. This is an issue that's personal to me and I'm sure some may know, but uh many others on the committee do not. In the last two years, my wife and I have had firsthand experience in the challenges of raising a young family. Right now, my wife is able to watch our newborn daughter uh because of her company's paid leave policy. And we know that this practice makes an important difference for many in our community.
▶ 0:13:30And so, uh, we are enjoying that benefit and she is able to stay home with our two children under two, uh, which is a task. And so, if you're watching at home, honey, we love you and thank you for doing what you're doing. Uh, unfortunately, paid family leave has been out of reach for millions of Americans who are hoping to grow their families. According to the latest figures from DO, only 27% of private sector workers in the United States have access to paid family leave benefits through their employer.
▶ 0:14:00This might be why we've seen growing momentum at the state level to provide tools for employers wishing to offer more paid leave to employees. In fact, more than 20 states in the District of Colombia have enacted paid leave programs that allow employers to access private insurance and offer paid leave to their workers. During my time as a Pennsylvania state representative, I was able to work on this issue, drafting legislation to create a tax credit support paid leave at the state level.
▶ 0:14:30While these state innovations are encouraging, it has been difficult for state administrators and private sector benefit managers to navigate the patchwork of paid leave policies across different states. While one program may work in Maryland, Alabama likely has its own workforce challenges to manage. One state's approach may not be forced upon another state's workforce and vice versa.
▶ 0:14:53That's why we appreciate the Trump administration resuming its long-standing practice of issuing DO opinion letters, which provide answers to realworld questions to help employers comply with the FMLA and the Fair Labor Standards Act. It's also why the House Bipartisan Paid leave working group was created. Representatives Stephanie Bice and Chrissy Hulahan have been working alongside other group members to produce a common sense bipartisan proposal at the federal level to improve paid leave.
▶ 0:15:23Last year, Representatives Bison and Hulahan introduced HR 3089, the more paid leave for Americans act, which builds on years of the working group's efforts. The bill rests on several pillars, including establishing a public private partnership and incentivizing coordination and harmonization of paid leave benefits across states through an interstate paid leave action plan or I plan.
▶ 0:15:49While there are no silver bullet solutions to the many challenges that families face uh in our workforce, we do recognize that HR 3089 could be an important attempt to coordinate state level programs while dampening the flame of innovation with clumsy federal mandates. Together with policies like paid family leave and medical leave tax credits for employers, which was made permanent through the working families tax cuts, these policies offer a common sense roadmap for federal action on the issue.
▶ 0:16:19I thank the working group members for their efforts. Today we have expert witnesses who are going to be joining us and they're going to be able to describe some of the challenges and shed light on potential solutions that the committee may consider. I look forward to hearing from each and every one of you and I would recognize and thank the chairman of the full committee uh for working with me to bring a commit a a hearing like this together. It's something that I talked about uh with the chairman when I first was elected to Congress at the beginning of last year.
▶ 0:16:49He's been a great chairman of the entire committee uh doing a tremendous job and we appreciate his support in having a hearing like this uh today because you see the interest in the room and it was exciting to come in and hear the the chatter and the excitement uh that we have here today. Uh I think there are going to be a lot of great ideas and u perspectives that come out of a hearing like this. So just want to thank everybody for being here. And with that I will turn it over to the ranking member of the full committee who's sitting in for Ms.
▶ 0:17:18Omar, the ranking member of the subcommittee.
▶ 0:17:20Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to our witnesses for being with us today. Currently, the United States is one of the only wealthy countries in the world that does not guarantee paid family medical leave to workers. This is in a country where so many of the workers are living paycheck to paycheck. Over 100 million workers wake up every day not knowing whether they can afford to care for a new child or a sick parent. The majority don't know whether they can manage their own health with their their own health without risking their job or finances.
▶ 0:17:51Not only the vast majority of workers not have paid leave, but access to those benefits is also dramatically uneven. Low-wage workers and part-time workers are significantly less likely to have paid leave as are working men and workers of color. Unfortunately, re the unfortunate reality is that workers who need paid leave are the ones who are least likely to have it. Despite the grim picture, we have there have been victories for working people over the last two decades.
▶ 0:18:22We've seen multiple states step up and fill the gap left by the federal government, District of Columbia, and 13 other states have established their own comprehensive paid leave program. In fact, in Virginia, Democrats are on track to create a strong paid leave paid medical leave program for workers. Now going through the legislative process, but that [snorts] program would provide workers with up to 12 weeks of family or medical leave with up to 80% of the with up to 80% of their wages.
▶ 0:18:52The program would ensure paid time off for important reasons such as bonding with a new child, addressing a serious health condition, or caring for a loved one. That's what it looks like when we decide that families should not have to choose between a paycheck or caring for themselves and the people they love. But even with progress in some states, almost 3/4 of the states do not guarantee paid leave.
▶ 0:19:16What is also concerning is that some states are also ignoring comprehensive programs and instead trying to privatize paid leave through voluntary models. These voluntary models and partnerships with private insurance companies are lowquality and have not meaningfully expanded access to paid leave. I appreciate the bipartisan interest in this topic and we and as we review the different models for paid leave, we need to remember that now is the time for bold and meaningful action.
▶ 0:19:45We need to set a strong federal floor and provide certainty to millions of Americans through universal paid and family leave. We truly want if we truly want to expand access, we need to establish comprehensive guaranteed benefits rather than waiting for states that have not acted in decades to create weak voluntary programs. And while paid leave is critically important, we also cannot act as if what we're discussing uh this morning exists in a vac in a vacuum.
▶ 0:20:16No matter what committee Republicans may say this morning, they can't get away from their record. Just last year, the Republicans made the largest cut to Medicaid in American history just to fund tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy. Medicaid covers 41% of the births in the country. So, we're discussing paid leave for new parents while also gutting health care coverage that makes those births safe and affordable.
▶ 0:20:42We're also talking about economic security while at the same time nearly 4 million people are projected to lose their health insurance coverage and 20 million people are seeing their premium skyrocket thanks to Republicans refusal to extend the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits. If we're serious about supporting caregivers and working families, we must be serious across the board.
▶ 0:21:06And we must do far better than the agenda that we've seen in this u in this Congress championed by the Republicans. Paid leave, health care, nutrition assistance, child care are not separate conversations. They are part of the same promise that in the wealthiest nation in the world, working families should not fall into crisis simply because life happens. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back.
▶ 0:21:31Pursuant to committee rule 8C, all members who wish to insert written statements into the record may do so by submitting them to the committee clerk electronically in Microsoft Word format by 5:00 p.m. 14 days after this hearing. And without objection, the hearing record will remain open for 14 days to allow such statements and other extraneous material noted during the hearing to be submitted for the official hearing record. With that, we're going to turn to the introduction of our witnesses. And our first witness is Ms.
▶ 0:21:59Adrienne Schwar, a fellow for the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington DC. Our second witness is Miss Julie Squire, the vice president of policy and general counsel at the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, also in Washington DC. Our third witness is Ms. Elise Shaw, the director of education, labor, and worker justice team at the Center for Law and Social Policy in Washington DC.
▶ 0:22:26And final, our uh fourth witness is Miss Greta Kesler, the vice president of employee health and benefits at Marsh McClennon Agency in Chester, Maryland. Uh thank you for coming. You're the furthest testifier that we had today. So, thank you for making the journey and testifying on she is testifying on behalf of the Society for Human Resource Management or SHERM. Uh with that uh we want to thank all of our witnesses for being here today and we look forward to each of your testimony.
▶ 0:22:56Pursuant to committee rules, I will ask that each of you limit your oral testimony to a threeminut summary of the written testimony which you have provided. As committee members may have many questions for you. The clock will countdown from 3 minutes. Pursuant to committee rule 8D and committee practice, however, we will not cut off your testimony until you reach the 5minute mark. I would like to remind each of our witnesses to be aware of their responsibility to provide accurate information to the subcommittee. And with that, I will recognize our first witness today.
▶ 0:23:26M. Schwear. You are recognized for your testimony.
▶ 0:23:30Good morning. Thank you, Chairman McKenzie, Chairman Wahberg, Ranking Member Scott, and distinguished members of the subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. Uh, Chairman McKenzie, I want to thank you for asking Mr. Wahberg long ago to have this hearing. It's tremendous leadership. Very exciting to hear first thing this morning. My name is Adrienne Schweer.
▶ 0:23:48I'm a fellow at the bipartisan policy center, which is a nonprofit think tank that works with advocacy affiliate BPC Action to advance bipartisan solutions for the nation's most pressing issues, including those that affect workers and their families. Um, being here today is personal for me. It's more than policy. Nearly 10 years ago, while working at the Department of War, I hemorrhaged while 12 weeks pregnant and experienced a high-risisk pregnancy with my daughter, Georgia.
▶ 0:24:16I took every sick and vacation day I had to keep her healthy in my belly and to term. And upon the birth of Georgia, who is healthy in here today, um I had very few days left and a colleague of mine, Julie, donated a few weeks and I was able to take a little over four weeks of leave before I returned to the Pentagon. Um, during that time, right when I came back, much like your daughter is today, I was exhausted from a newborn. I was barely healed from the birth. I was struggling with the stress of postpartum.
▶ 0:24:45And I realized that I was lucky. Here in America, it's estimated that one in four women is going back to work after just two weeks um, postgiving birth. And I wanted to be part of the solution. So, I joined BPC and a amazing ecosystem of people who care about this issue. And we've been trying to advance uh these policies here in Congress for the last nearly a decade. We've helped ensure that whomever has that job of mine at the Pentagon and all federal workers have 12 weeks of parental leave.
▶ 0:25:15Um expanded an employer tax credit uh and made that tax credit permanent um helped provide emergency paid leave during the pandemic and increased workplace accommodations um for pregnant women. I'm really proud of that, but it's not quite enough. Um, as you mentioned, there has been a bipartisan working group led by Miss Bice and Miss Hulahan here and um, Miss Stevens and Miss Lllo from this committee have been active participants.
▶ 0:25:40And that group has put together a really bold framework of bipartisan legislation that would help increase coverage of workers around the country. And I'm very excited to talk about both two of those core policies, the More Paid Leave for Americans Act and the Interstate Leave Network Act, which I think will uh demonstrate how federal policy can support working families, encourage cooperation, and expand access of paid leave. I'm really excited and hope that this committee will be able to move those bills forward.
▶ 0:26:08Thank you for the opportunity to testify, and I look forward to answering any questions.
▶ 0:26:12Thank you. I'll now recognize Miss Squire for your testimony.
▶ 0:26:17Chairman McKenzie, Chairman Widen, and Ranking Member Scott, thank you for inviting me to testify on behalf of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, NASWA. NASWA is the nonpartisan and nonprofit association of the Workforce Agencies in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and US Territories.
▶ 0:26:36My testimony today touches on NASWA's work with paid leave and provides an overview of the state paid family and medical leave landscape and NASA's perspective on possible federal support. NASA has expanded its involvement in paid leave based on member needs. Last year, we elevated our paid family and medical leave work group to a full NASA policy committee comprised of paid leave administrators and workforce leaders.
▶ 0:27:03NASA's paid family and medical leave committee includes representatives from 21 states and they meet regularly to discuss common priorities and share promising Moving to the paid leave landscape, as noted by Chairman McKenzie, states have passed their own programs in the absence of federal standards.
▶ 0:27:21The very first paid leave program started with five states in Puerto Rico passing temporary disability insurance programs and they provide access to partial pay for people who are unable to work due to a nonwork-related need. Hawaii and Puerto Rico still administer temporary disability insurance. In the 2000s, states started to add leave programs. Currently, a total of 13 states and the Districts of District of Columbia have passed state paid family and medical leave.
▶ 0:27:52The most recently implemented programs are Minnesota and Delaware with both states having launched on January 1st. Maine is set to offer benefits later this year. State leave programs are typically administered through a state workforce department. While funding for paid leave varies by state, in general, benefits and the program are funded by a tax either on the employer, the employee, or a combination of both.
▶ 0:28:17Qualifying reasons to receive benefits can also vary by state, but in general provide partial wage replacement up to a certain number of weeks for individuals who have a medical need for themselves, a loved one, or to spend time with a newborn baby or adopted child. State legislators in at least 11 states are actively conser considering legislation for new state leave programs.
▶ 0:28:41In addition to the state-run programs, New Hampshire and Vermont have adopted a public private partnership model where the states purchase insurance that employers or individuals who are not covered in that state can use. Another option is what has been done in other states. Eight other states have passed laws authorizing the sale of paid leave insurance in their states. As more states move forward with paid family and medical leave programs, federal support could address challenges and promote coordination.
▶ 0:29:10As mentioned, the House bipartisan family paid leave working group has been working on this and in 2024 issued a policy framework. The second pillar of the framework is to promote coordination and harmonization of paid leave programs. Our NASA paid family medical leave committee is a direct result for the need for increased communication, discussion, and collaboration among the states.
▶ 0:29:37Because we recognize this need, NASA has been supportive of the bipartisan group's efforts. Thank you very much for the opportunity to testify.
▶ 0:29:45Thank you. And next, I'll recognize Miss Shaw for your testimony. Thank you, Chairman McKenzie, Chairman Wahberg, and ranking member Scott as and the members of the work workforce protection subcommittee. My name is El Shaw, and I'm the director of education, labor, and worker justice at the center for social law and social policy. It is an anti-poverty organization that promotes effective federal and state policy for families and individuals with low incomes.
▶ 0:30:13I am truly honored to be come before the subcommittee to speak on the to the importance of paid family and medical leave for all workers. I bring to this testimony almost 15 years of expertise on paid family and medical leave both at the state and federal levels including overseeing the paid leave administrators network at clasp and providing technical assistance to the to congress including the house bipartisan paid family leave working group during my time at the US department of labor's women's bureau.
▶ 0:30:42I can also personally attest to the importance of access to paid family and medical leave. When my daughter was born in 2014, unlike the majority of Americans, I was lucky enough to have access to paid leave through my employer. Being able to stay home for those first four months gave me the space to learn how to properly latch while breastfeeding taught me the importance of tummy time and gave me the time and space to properly address my own physical and mental health needs with postpartum depression.
▶ 0:31:13The ability to take time to be with my family and care for my own medical needs while getting paid and knowing I had a job to go back to was invaluable. My story is not unique. Almost all working people will experience a caregiving need at some point in their lives, whether to welcome a new child, care for a seriously ill loved one, or to treat their own serious illness. And while paid parental leave is needed, it is not enough for the majority of caregiving needs that workers will actually need to take.
▶ 0:31:42Only a quarter of leaves under FMLA are for parental leave, but over half are for medical leave, and one in five is to care for a family member's serious health condition. An expanding share of Americans are also sandwiched caregivers. Those caring for an aged aging or ill family member while also raising children of their own. Evidence shows that access to paid family and medical leave can improve health of mothers and children, reduce racial disparities in wage loss between workers of color and white workers.
▶ 0:32:12Impu improve employer experience by improving employee retention and reducing turnover costs. And increase women's labor force participation. And yet only one in every four private sector workers has access to paid family leave through their employer, leaving 106 million without dedicated time to welcome a new child or address a loved one's needs.
▶ 0:32:34While the rising cost of living, basic necessities, and child care, paired with the largest cuts to Medicaid and SNAP in US history, economic supports families rely on to afford their basic needs, establishing a federal floor for comprehensive paid leave is more critical now than ever. While I appreciate the efforts of the House bipartisan paid family leave working group, the recently re reintroduced more paid leave for more Americans act does not go far enough.
▶ 0:33:02The bill establishes a paid leave grant program providing the opportunity for some states to receive grants that are neither large enough nor comprehensive enough to create accessible paid leave for all. And we know what works. Over the last two and a half decades, 13 states and the District of Columbia had le led innovation in comprehensive paid family and medical leave. Programs have incorporated lessons learned from earlier models, other states, and firsthand experience.
▶ 0:33:31In fact, states have already been working together and regularly meet, often through CALSP's paid leave administrators network to discuss and implement best practices. A federal paid family and medical leave program should build on these learnings and include the best practices concerning eligibility, qualifying reasons, duration, anti- retaliation, wage replacement, and family definitions. Congress must do more to solve the gaping hole in our nation's famil family's policies. ensure that everyone who needs access to paid family and medical leave will have it.
▶ 0:34:01That is why I urge Congress to support the Family Act, which builds on lessons learned from states. Caregiving, whether paid or unpaid, is the backbone of our economy. And I thank you for your time and look forward to answering your
▶ 0:34:15Thank you. Lastly, I will recognize Ms. Kesler for your testimony. It's not counting down. Sorry. There we go. Okay. Um, Chairman McKenzie, uh, Chairman Wahlberg, and ranking member Mr. Scott, and the members of the subcommittee, thank you so much for inviting me to speak today on paid leave.
▶ 0:34:46The hearing is an important step to understand what paid leave means for today's workplaces. I speak today as an expert in benefit management, working with employers of various sizes, various industries, and a longtime member of Sherm and its advocacy team. It's important to recognize that the workforce continues to face significant talent shortages.
▶ 0:35:13In 2025, nearly seven and 10 organizations re reported that they have difficulty in recruiting full-time employees. [snorts] They affect innovation, increase employee stress, and threaten long-term organizational viability with short As competition for talent persists, employers must also offer meaningful benefits that reflect real life needs.
▶ 0:35:41Paid leave has become an essential part of attracting talent and retaining it. Sherm's 2025 employee benefit survey shows 81% of employers rate leave as very or extremely important.
▶ 0:35:58Um this is not an option and our workplaces have Meaningful access to paid leave varies due to administrative and financial constraints mostly in the smaller and midsized employer organization. Expanded leave for parental uh VA bonding, family caregiving, and mental health needs continues to grow.
▶ 0:36:22There are um employees that are in a sandwich generation also caring for parents in addition to their own children. At the same time, the demographic trends continue to increase for demand on accessible leave also with chronic illnesses of employees increasing and juggling that as well. However, challenges remain. The federal public policy does not always provide adequate support.
▶ 0:36:50While many employers want to do right by their employees, administering paid family leave is complex, particularly for organizations operating across multiple states. Mandatory programs exist in 13 states plus Washington DC, but each have differing eligibility rules, benefit formulas, and administrative requirements.
▶ 0:37:14Employers also must coordinate these programs with federal laws such as FMLA, the ADA, and state short-term disability symptoms, creating burdens that can strain resources already in a limited capacity. We feel there are promising proposals that seek to harmonize these state programs while preserving employer flexibility such as IP plan.
▶ 0:37:39This is a positive first step as it aims to reduce the complexity by creating shared standards. As this proposal and future iterations move through the legislative process, public private collaboration will be essential. HR professionals and business leaders bring firsthand experience designing and administering leave benefits, helping to ensure policies are practical, sustainable, and effective.
▶ 0:38:08In conclusion, paid leave is a critical pillar of workforce policy, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to be here and answer your questions. Thank you.
▶ 0:38:18Thank you. Under committee rule nine, we will now ask questions of the witnesses under the five-minute rule. And I will recognize myself uh for the first five minutes. The importance of this hearing today can't be understated. As the title lays out, many families and working parents across this country are challenged with balancing both careers and care at home. And the last time a hearing was held on this topic, I should note, was back in 2020.
▶ 0:38:47So, it's been long overdue that we would uh be reconvened here to discuss this issue. The first question I have is for M. Schweer. uh you had laid out in your testimony uh some of why you got into this space and uh became an advocate. Uh can you go into a little more detail on what the bipartisan policy center has found in this issue, whether it's through uh any academic research or public opinion polling?
▶ 0:39:15Yeah, thank you for the opportunity, sir. Um we found that over 60 million Americans are balancing work and caregiving every day. Some of them are caring for a young child and some of them are caring for aging loved ones and some of them are sandwiched in between both which I think is one of the hardest parts of parenthood right now. Um, one of the things that we have found in our polling and in our research is that especially for parents of young children, they're looking for flexibility.
▶ 0:39:43They're looking for flexibility in ways to manage caregiving and work. We're also finding that access to paid leave and affordable child care keeps them connected to the workforce. So, one very interesting statistic that we found coming out of the pandemic was that people would have been much especially new parents would have been much more likely to go back to work after having left it permanently if their employer had offered paid family leave. Um, at the time it would have kept them connected to the workforce. If it had existed, they would have gone back even after taking some leave.
▶ 0:40:12So, we've definitely seen it as an important tool in keeping people connected to the workforce who want to be connected. Uh, giving them kind of safety and security to overcome some of those caregiving challenges, whether they be for young children or aging loved ones, and um providing financial security for them in those tough times.
▶ 0:40:29Great. Thank you, Miss Squire. I'll go to you as a former state representative. I appreciate your state level perspective on this issue and we recognize that every state has their own unique uh labor uh policy and structure. And so what are some of the challenges you see that state workforce agencies have encountered while trying to administer paid leave programs maybe with adjacent states or other issues that arise?
▶ 0:40:56At NASWA, we see firsthand, especially as more states add paid leave programs, the need for and desire for more interstate coordination. So, states are really interested in coordinating on uh such uh topics as shared definitions, improved administrative uh work so that that the environment can be clearer for both those applying for leave and for employers. So, I'll just give one example.
▶ 0:41:24Um, you know, especially for adjacent states, there's definitely a concern about confusion. So, if you're an individual applying for leave, um, we want to make sure that it's not confusing for you. Um, one question is, so how long did I have to work in order to qualify for benefits? Well, that answer can vary uh, state by state.
▶ 0:41:44So something like the I plan could work on focusing on helping states to have common definitions, common eligibility of provisions, perhaps work on some type of interstate plan so that states especially if there are wages in both states where a state could uh take a claim for another state or at a minimum having some type of communication where it would be clear for those who are looking into it what state do I apply to and then I'll just add on the employer side there's a lot of interest in having
▶ 0:42:15um more commonality and perhaps in the area of documentation or when the employer needs to respond to a request for a claim. That's an area where I think states could get together and find commonality to make it easier for the employer
▶ 0:42:29Thank you. We have about one minute remaining in my questioning for Miss Kesler. Uh unfortunately, in every program, uh there are individuals that try to uh take advantage of benefits. Um, obviously we want to make sure they're there for those that need them. Uh, but there are bad actors out there. Do you ever see that occurring in in the paid leave uh benefits that are offered that at the state level?
▶ 0:42:53If you can hit your microphone, please.
▶ 0:42:55Two for two. That's a good point. And we certainly see that because of the complexities of paid leave across multiple states with a lack of consistency. Again, as was mentioned with all of the rules, differences in eligibility rules, the different documentations required really does uh allow individuals to stack leave. Um so we really rather than use them concurrently, which is really what was intended in the first place.
▶ 0:43:25So the increase for that makes it harder for employers and administrators to detect those patterns of abuse. Meaning that if we could weave together um you know federal support we could eliminate those
▶ 0:43:38Thank you. With that my time is expired and next we'll go to the ranking member, Miss Omar.
▶ 0:43:44Thank you chairman. Uh since the beginning of his second term, President Trump has launched a vicious systematic campaign to dismantle the federal government, stripping away the protections and services it provided to Americans. This administration has gutted the Department of Labor, firing essential workers, targeting field offices, cancelling federal grants, and shutting down entire agencies, including the Women's Bureau, which managed paid leave grants in the past.
▶ 0:44:12The reason I mention this is because here on Capitol Hill, we focus on reforming laws and establishing new programs, but we cannot forget about the agency workforce we rely on to oversee new regulations and administer these programs. Michelle, prior to your current role, you were actually at the Department of Labor's Women's Bureau.
▶ 0:44:34Based on your experience, if there is going to be action on paid leave on a federal level, we must keep uh in mind in terms what should we keep in mind in terms of uh this administration?
▶ 0:44:46Thank you for your question. Um I think first we have to keep we have to have faith that the administration will keep its word and send the grants out as they are written. Uh, as I saw firsthand at the Women's Bureau, the Trump administration has no problem cancelling congressionallymandated grant programs, um, and including a grant program through the Women's Bureau on paid leave to support the paid leave administrators network. Um, they canceled 25 active grants. So, that's number one.
▶ 0:45:15Um, I have the utmost faith in the Department of Labor's career staff, but as you mentioned, the staff has been gutted. Um, including the Women's Bureau. the Women's Bureau has lost twothirds of its staff, which is a huge drain on your paid leave expertise at the federal level. Um, and so I point this out just to say that if we're going to have a grant program, we have to be very aware of how it actually gets administered and who is doing the administration. Um, I would like to see a lot more safeguards.
▶ 0:45:44Uh, I know how grants are written, how they are scored, and how they are put out. I have conducted all of those at my time at the Department of Labor and it is a meticulous and timeconsuming process. So, it needs fully staffed and fully knowledgeable staff about the topic that it is being administered.
▶ 0:46:05I'm a strong supporter of universal um paid leave because no one should have to choose between paying their rent or taking care of their family. This is not a choice that a wealthy country should be forcing its workers to make. But that's exactly the situation we put Americans in. This is a moral and a policy failure, but it is solvable. I believe Congress should establish a national fro.
▶ 0:46:30And I'm proud of um of states like Minnesota that have not uh waited and taken action to provide paid leave. In fact, Minnesota's paid leave policy is one of the most progressive programs in the country. An important note about Minnesota is that it primarily relies on public paid leave program. Unfortunately, there are some states moving in the opposite direction and privatizing paid leave, which concerns me.
▶ 0:46:55Michelle, what are the downsides of privatizing paid leave and what kind of successful model should Congress actually be encouraging?
▶ 0:47:03So, there is a deep divide between those who have access to paid leave and through an employer and those who don't. It's mostly uh those in hourly low wa low-wage jobs that are least likely to have access. And as we've seen as more programs have gone out with voluntary opt-in, it's not enough. Um so New Hampshire uh is a public private partnership. Uh 2024 data revealed that the creation of this partnership led to no meaningful increase in the usage of leave.
▶ 0:47:32only 3% of New Hampshire workers were enrolled in the voluntary program and fewer than one in five had even heard of it. Um, and so I really would, like I said prior, really urge Congress to set a very solid, comprehensive federal floor. One that really standardizes across the bar and makes sure that those who earn low wages, people who are, you know, working and cannot afford to take off unpaid leave, not only have access to it, but know about it.
▶ 0:48:02So comprehensive um outreach education programs about what and how what it is and how you access it including multilingual um outreach.
▶ 0:48:12Yeah, appreciate that. I agree. Thank you and I yield back.
▶ 0:48:16Thank you. Next we'll turn to chairman of the full committee, Mr. Wahberg from
▶ 0:48:21Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thanks to the panel for being here. Um, Miss Kesler, um, with your experience in the field working with especially small and midsized employers, uh, the capacity and cost is a challenge, I would assume, for them when offering paid leave benefits. Uh, what specific challenges do small businesses uh, face in in this area?
▶ 0:48:50And then could you also um help us understand how uh government work can work with these small employers to increase paid leave access for employees without employees imposing unworkable and highly costly compliance burdens on these businesses.
▶ 0:49:13Thank you for your question. Um so there is a pretty universal rule that a lot of HR departments are a department of one in this space. So there's one person who has to deal with all of the different fragmented rules across multiple states. Generally most employers that we see have employees in multiple states. They may have a home base that has a mandated federal leave pol or state leave.
▶ 0:49:43Um but again hire workers that have different requirements and restrictions across multiple state lines. There are compliance concerns which a department of one in HR are really illquipped to handle. Um and they could really use some support in that. Um financially there are organizations that are in the smaller market that may not even have one HR practitioner. So, you have a CFO or a CEO trying to figure all of this out.
▶ 0:50:13Um, the smaller companies and midsize companies also do not often have uh financial capital to reinvest in really sophisticated programs to track and administer all of this leading to um again they want to comply. they want to be um providing everything that's required but there's just no capacity for it. They don't have the financial resources or the operating capital.
▶ 0:50:41Um in terms of the employees, um I really feel that overall um you know this can be really settled with again a a federal support system that's also helping to verify um the identities of the people that are applying for these paid leaves. Again, back to trying risk mitigation, but the small and midsize employers really don't have the resources to do that.
▶ 0:51:10So they do need that help.
▶ 0:51:11Okay. Thank you, Miss Schwar. It's nice to see your family with you today. Uh enjoying practical government government can't and shouldn't do it all. That's what your organization very very clearly say stated in its guiding policies.
▶ 0:51:34Um, what role should the federal government and state governments have with regard to private sector businesses wishing to offer paid leave
▶ 0:51:45Uh, thank you for your question, sir. we we at the bipartisan policy center have spent the last nearly the decade working on bipartisan solutions that we hope will be lasting. We've been looking to the federal government to create policies that we think will incentivize businesses and encourage more access to paid leave but not have um harms built into them that might negate the policy's continued future or create a political lightning rod.
▶ 0:52:14Um, we think that the federal government can still play a really important role in increasing access to paid leave and the policies that we've been able to do in the past like extending a permanent tax credit for employers that want to offer paid leave for employees that make less than $75,000 a year. Those who are less likely to have it from their employer naturally. We think those are good carrots.
▶ 0:52:36Um, we also are really excited about the policies that came out of the House working group because they will incentivize states to take their own pathway forward in this competitive block grant. Not every state is going to have a policy that looks exactly the same. And we've seen that in the 20 that help have helped design them for their own constituents. And we love the I plan because we think it's really important for states to be able to share best practices. These are very complicated policies.
▶ 0:53:01We have 25 years of FMLA experience that um groups like Miss Keslers have helped so many people around the country navigate. They're really complex and we think if state administrators can share best practices that we will see a flourishing of state policies that really map to what that state is able to do.
▶ 0:53:17Okay, thank you. I see my time is expiring. I yield back.
▶ 0:53:21Thank you, Mr. Chair, and to all the kids here today. I hope you're getting extra credit for having to sit in a hearing like this. We appreciate you being here. Uh, next we're going to go to Mr. Fine from Florida.
▶ 0:53:33Well, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. You know, a lot of times as I sit on this committee, I get to brag about Florida, and today is going to be one of those days where we talk about how Florida leads the way. We're one of eight states that has voluntary paid family leave ability for companies to do it. And I would note that we do this in Florida with a state budget that is smaller than the city of New York. And we have about onethird the number of people.
▶ 0:53:59In fact, the budget of the state of New York is twice the size of the budget of the state of Florida. And this year, I believe the budget of the state of Florida will actually shrink. Yet somehow, with all of this, we've figured out how to be one of eight states that allow employers to do voluntary paid family leave. Now, this is also intensely personal to me. My career, before I got into politics, I was an entrepreneur. I started, built, and grew three companies. I was the first employee of all three. And guess what?
▶ 0:54:27When you're worried about having to pay yourself, it's hard to take on the obligation to pay for others. Now, I know that so many of my Democratic colleagues have never had a real job in their lives. They've never had to go through the struggle of having to start a company, having to create payroll, understanding that if you don't make that payroll for your company, you're going to close. But those of us who live in the real world have had to. And they can politic all they want, but I would note this.
▶ 0:54:52Last year when we passed the the the the working families tax cut, we made permanent a tax credit for every company that chooses to offer two weeks of paid family medical leave. We made permanent something that was created in the first Trump administration and every single Democrat voted against it. Let me say that one more time.
▶ 0:55:17Last last year in the working families tax cut, we voted to have to offer a tax credit to employers who do paid family medical leave and every single Democrat voted against it. So now I want to talk about Florida. Miss Schweer, my my question is for you. I mentioned that Florida implemented a voluntary paid leave framework. It avoids mandatory payroll contributions, gives employers flexibility to participate through private options.
▶ 0:55:42No employer pro is obligated to do that, but employers can do it if they choose to do so as part of their wide-ranging employee benefits. They buy it as their own policy, as part of a group, or as an add-on to a disability policy. From your perspective, what lessons can Congress learn from what we have done in Florida? And how can we ensure that any federal action doesn't screw up what we're doing in Florida, does not increase costs or administrative burdens?
▶ 0:56:09It's a great question. Um, I think one thing that you'll find across the 20 states is that all the state policies like Florida's have left space for private insurers to provide paid family leave. Um, and private insurance, short-term disability insurance covers a lot of workers for medical need and new moms for maternity leave. And um, and there's 50 years of experience with that policy. And there's a lot in the private insurance market that Flidians are experiencing that um, is a little bit different than some of the stateun programs.
▶ 0:56:37for example, they have um customer service entities that really help you navigate the complex paperwork as an individual if you're receiving that. They on the medical leave side provide a lot of really important interventions that can help you um ensure you don't have a secondary fall or uh recover faster, get that physical therapy that you need.
▶ 0:56:56So there's there are some really intrinsic benefits to the private insurance market that that all the policies that we've championed at the um at the bipartisan level have tried to leave space for because they add a lot of value and they have um you know 50 60 years of data with them. Um, I would also note that um, in the in the permanent tax credit, the coolest part about it to me is that it was bipartisan from the very beginning and um, there were House and Senate champions on both sides.
▶ 0:57:24And that's where we've seen lasting policies at the federal level, things that don't negate great work at the state level. May they be blue um, Democratic run states or Republican run states like Florida right now. um and that they leave space for states to continue to thrive, but increase access to paid leave for as many people as possible, which is what we're angling
▶ 0:57:42Sure. And I I would I would close with this. I understand I actually I said I never offered paid family leave. It's it's actually untrue. I did. I offered it to one employee in my third company. It was my wife who when she left um in order to have our first son, she said she was going to come back to work in 3 days. is I said, "It's not for me to tell you what to do if that's what you want to do." But before she left the hospital, she said, "This is what I want to do. I want to raise our children." And that's what she went.
▶ 0:58:12And that's what she went and did. I believe that in a in a world where we have declining birth rates, we need to make it easier for families to have children. I think the challenge for us is to make sure we do that while not destroying what it means to start, build, and grow a business. I think that's where you're going to see Republicans pushing those solutions. And so, thank you all for being here. And Mr. Chairman, I yield Thank you. Next, we'll go to ranking member of the full committee, Mr. Scott from Virginia.
▶ 0:58:37Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I'd like to thank the gentleman from Florida, for reminding people that that big, ugly bill passed with only Republican votes. It provided massive tax cuts for the wealthy, massive [snorts] cuts in Medicaid and SNAP benefits, and of course, um, you could find some microscopic little good things in there, but overall, it was a big ugly bill. and I thank uh the gentleman for reminding people that every Democrat voted against it.
▶ 0:59:07Um Mr. Shaw, one of the shortcomings in the present federal law that provides um medical and family leave is it's unpaid. Another um shortcoming is that a lot of people don't qualify. I understand it's 44% of the people qualify. Why are the other people not qualified to take that that leave?
▶ 0:59:28uh the the requirements for meeting eligibility um it limits you it limits to employers who have 50 or more employees. So technically in the organization I work for now I do not qualify for FMLA. We only have 40 employees. Um, and it it has just the really constraining areas of, you know, how long you've worked um, at the at the location and it just it leaves out so many small businesses.
▶ 0:59:59Um, if you are an employee or if you are a small business owner, you do not qualify for FMLA.
▶ 1:00:05Thank you. Does uh, HR 3089 fix that?
▶ 1:00:09It does not. Uh, it does not fix that. HR uh 3089 is actually not a paid leave bill. It is a paid leave grant program. Um and the parameters for the grant program actually set um eligibility for states below what FMLA is. So you only have you can qualify if you only provide six weeks of leave. Um and the eligibility standards of the companies remain the same. So again only 44% um would be eligible.
▶ 1:00:38Does it does the paid Does the leave have to be paid?
▶ 1:00:42Uh the the leave under
▶ 1:00:45under 3089
▶ 1:00:47if it's parental leave. Yes, it is paid. It has to be paid parental leave. You can get paid parental leave, but again the floor is set at um again six weeks of paid parental leave only.
▶ 1:00:58Are states required to give workers the right to return to the same assembler and job position? And if um and how would that compare to what most states
▶ 1:01:09Uh no, there is no requirement for job protection. Um and this is actually a really really important component of paid leave. Um a lot of workers face a retaliation for taking leave. And if they don't have job protection, uh oftentimes they don't take paid leave. Uh clasp will actually have a forthcoming report about uh workers experience in the south taking paid leave.
▶ 1:01:32Um and they find overwhelmingly that uh people do not ask for paid leave because they fear retaliation, cut hours, job loss um among other things. if it's going to be paid, it should be paid um some research says about 80% of the um low and middle class workers. What is the requirement under 3089?
▶ 1:02:01uh it would require states could be eligible for the grants if they pay as low as uh 67% of your wages um for a family of four which is far below uh what we know is best practices to help keep people out of poverty. Now, one of the things that um I think most of the programs have is that the burden of the family of the paid family medical leave is not on the employer but on some outside entity like an insurance company.
▶ 1:02:32Uh why is that important? um when when we think about the the privatization of um paid leave um we see that it it causes a lot of confusion and also um when you have privatized plans um the the public private partnership doesn't always lead to what we what we want um when we think through you know like I said New Hampshire and Vermont's programs you see the lowest take up of paid leave
▶ 1:03:02when it's um run administered by the state government. There's a lot more um education and outreach that is done by the government to un to let people know what their what their options are and what the ins and outs are of of the paid leave programs and who is eligible.
▶ 1:03:17So that's if it's paid for by an by the state entity rather than a private insurance company.
▶ 1:03:24Yeah. And usually, you know, we say paid for by the state entity, but usually it's a tax program where either, you know, both employee or employee employers are paying into the system as
▶ 1:03:34like workers compensation when you lose your job.
▶ 1:03:37Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
▶ 1:03:39Thank you. Next, we'll go to Mr. Mesmer from Indiana. Uh, thank you, Chairman, and thank you for witnesses for being here today. Miss Schwar, I understand that you served as the chief of the uh chief of protocol at the Pentagon. What unique challenges do military families experience when accessing paid family
▶ 1:03:57That's a great question. Um, no more than a decade ago in the military services, each service had a unique paid leave. Some of them were six weeks for new moms. Um, there was even there was a movement at one point for some of the services to go a little bit beyond to about 16 weeks. About eight years ago, that was centralized for all uh uh parent parental leave to be about 12 weeks, but only for one parent.
▶ 1:04:20And the challenge we saw after that policy was that there are a lot of uh families where both the mom and the dad are in the military and there was only paid leave for one of those parents. Um and so what we've seen over the last eight years is some really bold efforts by Congress to increase paid leave coverage for active duty service members. It started by um covering both parents for potentially up to 12 weeks. It extended to help support um members of the garden reserve.
▶ 1:04:48Um, and I I actually think the the paid leave data coming out of the military is really exciting because we're seeing attachment to the workforce. Um, some really good uh it it's reinforcing some of the important data that we see from the private sector about employee satisfaction and happiness when they return to work, their productivity. Um, so it's it's been a really good case study.
▶ 1:05:10Were those uh 12week programs typically parental leave or were they broader
▶ 1:05:15Right now they're parental leave. Um the military does have family caregiver and bereavement leave, but it's not the same. Um it's been mostly parental leave
▶ 1:05:23Okay. Thank you. Um Miss Squire, in your written testimony, you discussed the benefits of interstate coordination provided by policies like the interstate paid leave action network. These benefits include compliance assistance for employers, improving the employee experience, and working to uh towards shared definitions and administrative processes across state lines to prevent fraud. How would reducing fraud allow employers more freedom to offer paid leave to their employees?
▶ 1:05:52Excuse me. So, by reducing fraud, that makes sure that the benefits are used by those who need them and it also makes sure that taxes can be what is it needed to support the program and not more. So, I think that there's a lot the I plan could do for states to work together to prevent uh fraud in these programs and that would of course um really make sure that funds are uh used in the best way
▶ 1:06:19Thank you. Uh thank you for your responses and I yield back the rest of my time.
▶ 1:06:25Thank you. And uh at this point we do not have any other uh members who are looking to ask questions unless anybody else on your side planning to join. No.
▶ 1:06:38All right. Well, want to thank everybody for joining us today. And so with the the closing of questions and witness testimony, uh we will head to uh our closings. And I again would like to thank all of our testifiers for being here today. The first closing statement will come from ranking member Miss Omar.
▶ 1:06:59Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you again to our witnesses for speaking with us today. We have [clears throat] heard today that the policy behind paid family leave and medical um leave can be complicated, but for working families, it is not complicated at all. It's about whether you can care for your newborn child. It's about whether you can be there for an alien parent when they need you the most. It's about whether you can recover from an illness or injury without losing your home.
▶ 1:07:2713 states from California to Minnesota to Maine have shown that a comprehensive guaranteed paid leave program is not only possible, but it is popular. It works for both families and businesses. What hasn't worked are voluntary and privatized schemes that leave millions of workers behind. And we should be cleareyed about the risk of enshrining those flaws into federal policy and permanently setting a ceiling where there should be a floor.
▶ 1:07:57The question before us is simple. Do we believe that every worker in America deserves the same basic security? Or do we accept a patchwork system where your ability to care for your family depends on where you live and who you work for? In the wealthiest nation on earth, no one should have to choose between their family, their health, and their livelihood. This is our moment to act, not with any timid steps, but with a bold universal guarantee that working people deserve.
▶ 1:08:28Thank you, and I yield Mr. Chairman,
▶ 1:08:52ranking members Scott
▶ 1:08:54asking Adam's consent that the general lady from Illinois be allowed to ask
▶ 1:09:01wi without opposition. Uh so granted we're going to go to Miss Miller for a couple just final questions.
▶ 1:09:12Okay. Thank you.
▶ 1:09:13A busy day today. We appreciate being here. Thank you.
▶ 1:09:15Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you so much. This goes without saying. The family is the most important fundamental unit of society. But too many parents are forced to choose between family obligations and professional responsibilities. In years past, it was common for a middle-class family to live comfortably on one income. But as we have seen over the generations, only a shadow of the American dream remains.
▶ 1:09:45Both parents are often forced to work to pay for necessities. This makes it extremely difficult for families to care for sick children or elderly parents. These families shouldn't have to forfeit a paycheck when an emergency arises out of their control. Numerous studies show increased brain development among infants whose parents are able to spend more time with them because of paid family leave.
▶ 1:10:14Fortunately, many employers have responded by providing alternative work arrangements and flexible schedules, allowing employees to spend more time with their families while companies are able to attract and retain quality workers. In the working families tax cut, Republicans and President Trump led the way by making permanent a tax credit to employers who voluntarily offer at least two weeks of paid family and medical leave to their employees.
▶ 1:10:44But there's much more that we could do. So my first question is to Miss Shewear. Could you please give some examples of how states are incentivizing family formation through paid family leave?
▶ 1:10:57Yes, thank you so much. Um, I think it's really important actually on an element that you just mentioned. Uh, the this sounds silly, but the average woman would like to have 2.6 children and she's having 1.7. And when surveyed about why she's having less children than she wants, she says cost of child care, fear of financial insecurity, and lack of paid leave.
▶ 1:11:16And what we've seen over the last decade is states across the country in different ways increase access and provide programs to paid leave that are really helping um reduce that anxiety that is holding women back from the family formation that they want to have. And then the important part of if they are um if and when they do have a child, being able to bond with that child, being able to breastfeed that child.
▶ 1:11:41Um reducing maternal health and mental health issues that might come from the stress of not having time with that baby. We also see some awesome data on dads. If a dad is present for the birth and first few days of the child's life, he releases this uh love potion called oxytocin and falls more in love with the baby and the mother which creates connectivity amongst the family. And as a lot of data shows, if a dad is an active participant in the child's life, long-term outcomes really improve.
▶ 1:12:08So what we're seeing across states is um different types of coverage uh that it on the paid leave side which is increasing the ability for parents to take time with their children.
▶ 1:12:18Thank you. and you stated that so beautifully. What are some of the ways that Congress, this is for Miss Suire, what are some of the ways that Congress can encourage more private sector participation and paid family leave without implementing another unfunded federal mandate?
▶ 1:12:38So NASA is the nonpartisan association of all the state workforce agencies. So our states really uh each have their own unique labor markets and their own unique policy priorities. So for the states they really need to focus on what works best for the individuals in their
▶ 1:12:56And my last question is for Miss Kesler. The latest figures indicate that 27% of private sector employees have access to paid family leave although this is significantly higher than 13% that was 10 years ago. What changes in the workforce have you seen that might explain this increase in coverage?
▶ 1:13:16Thank you. Great question. The the workplace has changed dramatically and workers have changed. Um employees are working much longer beyond retirement years. Um so they are juggling with a chronic illness and also have to take care of an aging parent. They need more leave than than past. Um and also we have a great deal of um challenges with child care.
▶ 1:13:41So I think all combined it's been really difficult on American workers and we really need to um address
▶ 1:13:48Yes. Important subject. Thank you all and I yield back.
▶ 1:13:53Thank you.
▶ 1:13:57Mr. Chairman, I ask unan that the gentleman from Wisconsin be able to ask
▶ 1:14:02Thank you. Without objection, we'll go to Mr. Grathman from Wisconsin.
▶ 1:14:10My best buddy. Thank you. We appreciate it. Uh, Miss Squire, we have a a question for you. Uh, the unemployment insurance interstate connections network gives us timely information to unemployment insurance staff at the Department of Labor and the states investigating claims made in multiple states. Can you describe this system and whether a similar approach could be applied to the paid leave program?
▶ 1:14:36Thank you for that question. So the icon or interstate connection network is used in unemployment insurance and it's basically just a system where states can talk with each other and share confidential data. So in the unemployment insurance world, if an individual has wages in two different states, then uh those wages and other claim information is available to both states and rules that are set out ahead of time help coordinate which state pays the claim and how the wages are aortioned.
▶ 1:15:05So a similar system could be used in the paid family medical leave space. And I think that that's an area that the I plan uh certainly discusses and that the states would be interested in working on. Okay. How what are states currently doing to ensure that their paid p their paid family leave programs are not uh bastions for fraud and abuse?
▶ 1:15:29States currently uh do a number of things on their own to identify make sure that the individual uh is identity proofed and there are a lot of things that individual states are doing. However, by working together there could be even more fraud prevention.
▶ 1:15:46So for example, states could sus could submit suspicious actor information to a data hub or could share information about claims so that we could make sure that that claim that you're paying is the only claim for that individual that multiple claims could could be flagged and I think there would be a lot of possible a possibility to increase fraud fraud prevention by the states working together in collaboration.
▶ 1:16:11Could you give me an example of somebody fraudulently abusing the system? Well, it could be that someone files a claim in uh two states. Uh that could be an
▶ 1:16:22Okay. Uh Miss Kesler, well, we'll give you a question, too. Uh each child coming to the world is born under different circumstances and working parents are faced with varying challenges. Can you talk about um the Society for Human Resource Resource Management's ongoing work in the family uh paid leave space? Yes. So, um parental leave is really critical um to answer for that.
▶ 1:16:52Again, lower income workers are not well equipped to handle time off without um the employees overall have to receive um you know again the support for the time off that they need but also um as it relates to the um sorry I need a moment and for the sake of time I can have someone get back with you on that.
▶ 1:17:23I apologize.
▶ 1:17:24Um, if businesses implement paid family leave for their employees, are there benefits they see?
▶ 1:17:30Yes. Um, there again, hiring and and attracting the best possible workers um retaining those workers. It definitely helps our economy grow, but it also allows a path for us to expand such opportunities and uh grow other um other
▶ 1:17:52I'll I'll switch there's they're my prepared questions, but I'll switch to a different question. Uh any one of you guys can grab it. Um, I used to do taxes a million years ago and one of the things I noticed is sometimes women would work at a job and uh by the time you took into account the the daycare, they were almost uh tax- wise losing money.
▶ 1:18:18But I think they took that job because in our society sometimes there is completely unfair and criticism of the stay-at-home mom. uh when I think of some of these women, can you uh comment on that that uh sometimes I think uh women who would do a fantastic job raising their children are working when it's not doesn't even provide a financial benefit.
▶ 1:18:47You want to go first?
▶ 1:18:49Yeah, I'm happy to to talk about that. Um I think that we live in a country where two income house households are necessary. Um, I think we
▶ 1:18:58Well, we won't talk about that because only ones where you're actually losing money. Does one of you others want to comment on that?
▶ 1:19:03I'm happy to. Um, first of all, I think stay at home motherhood or parenthood is one of the hardest jobs and in society we don't value it in the same way we used to and I hope that will change. But I do think that a lot of women um there are a lot of women who are primary uh financial providers for their household or their financial providing is really important to their household well-being.
▶ 1:19:25And they're also thinking about their long-term retirement savings and savings over the time of life and the losses they're having in these early years of child care um might not help their annual balance sheet, but they help their long-term economics when they do want to return to the workforce. Um one of the things that we've seen in the um gender pay gap, like the women versus men's pay gap, is actually not gender, it's motherhood in many cases.
▶ 1:19:51And so I think there are some women that are um making that choice to lose that annual income but hoping that it will serve long term in their retirement benefits or their economic potential in the out
▶ 1:20:03Thank thank you for
▶ 1:20:05Thank you indulging me.
▶ 1:20:06Absolutely. Well, thank you. Now we will move back to closing remarks. And before I begin my my uh remarks that I had prepared, I do want to recognize just what happened here today. Um, we moved very quickly through questioning. Uh, it's a busy day. Obviously, State of the Union is this evening. Other members have other obligations and so some of our members were were running a little bit behind.
▶ 1:20:29But I would like to recognize uh the fact that I appreciate bipartisan uh recognition on this topic and Chairman Scott or Ranking Member Scott uh his willingness to offer unanimous consent. It's a small thing around here uh but it's a significant thing. Uh it shows that we I have a great relationship with him. It shows that there are times when we can work together in bipartisan ways uh so that everybody can be heard and on an important like topic like this. I think that's very important.
▶ 1:20:56So just want to recognize that and thank ranking member Scott even though he stepped out for uh his his willingness to let our other members ask their questions. Uh today's hearing is highlighting the importance of paid leave benefits for employees when expanding their family or caring for a loved one. As discussed, we have heard some topics for possible improvement at both the state and federal level. And as a father of two myself, it's an important personal issue for me.
▶ 1:21:24While my family has benefited from sufficient employer sponsored paid leave benefits, others may not have access to paid leave benefits when they need them. We need to do everything that we can to make sure that we foster a policy environment across this country where whether it is at the state level in private private public partnerships or even by doing things here at the federal level, we can continue to advance paid family leave across this country.
▶ 1:21:51As we heard from Miss Schwear, she stated in her testimony that paid leave can lead to positive workforce impacts, including improvements to female labor force participation rates and broader in the broader economy. Employers experience reduced turnover and recruitment costs, boosted retention, and improved economic stability, all of which can support productive, thriving communities.
▶ 1:22:15We uh and our Republican caucus have advancing these been advancing these pro-f family policies. We did so in the working families tax cut by uh including the 45s paid family leave tax credit which was made permanent in that legislation and that is a positive development. It is obviously not everything that we're looking for but it does continue to advance our cause uh for more paid family leave across this country.
▶ 1:22:42Now, there's obviously more that needs to be discuss discussed and and actually done on this topic. And so, I want to commend the bipartisan working group that we have here in Congress. I see Representative Bice who has uh stepped in to join us here today, one of the co-chairs of that effort. And we discussed the I plan or the interstate paid leave action plan, which is an important proposal to harmonize standards across states so that employees can access leave when they need it.
▶ 1:23:10It also helps reduce instances of fraud and maintain the integrity of paid leave programs across state lines. Again, while this may not be everything that everybody is looking for, I think it is a positive development and a positive step forward that Congress should be taking. So again, I do just want to thank everybody for testifying here today. I think there uh it has been shown in this hearing that there is bipartisan recognition of the challenge that working families are facing.
▶ 1:23:38There may be partisan differences in how we want to proceed and advance uh policy that will help those working families, but I am confident that by working together in a bipartisan way, we can continue to help working families uh all across this country with relief that they need. And that is the way that we are going to re uh achieve real outcome and results is by doing so in a bipartisan way.
▶ 1:24:01Because if we want to proceed in just a simply partisan fashion, the next time Congress flips, that party that wasn't in power at that time is more likely to try to remove it or not extend those benefits. But if we have bipartisanship on an important topic like this, I believe that we can make longstanding lasting change for the American people in the paid leave space. So just want to thank all of our witnesses again for taking the time to come here today to the subcommittee. And without objection, there is no further business before the committee.
▶ 1:24:30and the subcommittee now stands adjourned. Thank you all.
▶ 1:24:36Thank you for being here.