Paid Family Leave Is Back On The Table In Congress

When President Joe Biden was on the campaign trail, he ran on several platforms that would improve the lives of many different groups. Some of these promises included expanding Obamacare coverage for Americans and working to create more free college programs across the country, per the BBC. On top of expanding free community college programs, President Biden attempted to put student loan forgiveness into place. However, Republicans in Congress were not on board with the plan, according to CNN. While he's still attempting to get student loans forgiven at the federal level, there seems to be no progress on the matter.

Another platform the 80-year-old ran on was the idea of free child care and support for working parents, as reported by CNBC. In his State of the Union address, President Biden mentioned the concept of paid parental leave, but there hasn't been much movement on the cause since then. Now, though, Congress has finally put paid family leave back on the table. Here's what we know so far.

According to Time, the idea of paid parental leave isn't new. The concept has been going around in Congress throughout several administrations, including that of former President Donald Trump. During his time in office, paid parental leave was a bipartisan issue, but nothing came of the proposal. Now, it seems paid leave may be back on the table in Congress. A team of Democratic senators, including Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, are looking to improve the Family and Medical Leave Act, which provides the right to unpaid family leave. Congress wants to amend the act to include paid parental leave, per Glamour.

"We have paid the price of not having a national paid leave program. It's the price of people having to make that heart-wrenching decision of 'Do I sit by my mother's side as she's dying, or do I get a paycheck to feed my children?" Gillibrand said in a press conference. She added, "Do I stay with my special-needs infant who has been born prematurely while she's struggling for her life ... or do I stay in my job and make sure that I have enough money to feed that child and buy her diapers and buy her formula?' It's heartbreaking."

This will be the fifth time in eight years Congress has attempted to pass this legislation. It has failed every time. However, Gillibrand and her colleagues are not giving up without a fight.