Walorski: Paid Family Leave Is Pro-Worker, Pro-Family

Statement

U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.), the top Republican on the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Worker and Family Support, on Tuesday renewed her call for bipartisan policies to expand access to paid leave benefits for working families after the birth or adoption of a child.

"There is bipartisan agreement that paid family leave can play a key role in empowering new parents to raise strong, healthy families without putting their financial security at risk," Congresswoman Walorski said. "As the lead Republican on the Worker and Family Support Subcommittee, I believe we can work together on bipartisan solutions to help working parents thrive both on the job and at home. Instead of raising taxes and imposing inflexible government mandates, let's work together on a better path toward our shared goal of expanding access to paid family leave."

BACKGROUND

Ahead of the hearing on Tuesday, Walorski and Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), the top Republican on the committee, authored an op-ed in the Washington Examiner outlining their principles for a commonsense paid family leave policy that does not raise payroll taxes or impose government mandates that would hurt workers and small businesses.

Walorski in December took part in a bipartisan panel discussion on paid family leave at the White House's Child Care and Paid Leave Summit. President Trump and Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump have called on Congress to find innovative solutions to make paid leave and child care available to more families.

In 2017, Congress enacted the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which doubled the child tax credit. Last year, 39 million American families benefited from the credit, receiving an average $2,200 per family. The historic tax reform law also created the Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit, which provides a credit to businesses that offer employees up to 12 weeks of paid leave for family or medical reasons.

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