[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 99 (Monday, June 16, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5662-S5663]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WEBB. (for himself, Mr. Warner, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Schumer, 
        Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. 
        Kerry):
  S. 3140. A bill to provide that 4 of the 21 weeks of parental leave 
made available to a Federal employee shall be paid leave, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs.
  Mr. WEBB. Mr. President, today I rise to introduce the bipartisan 
Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act of 2008. I introduce this 
bill with Senators Warner, Clinton, Kerry, Schumer, Mikulski, Sanders, 
and Durbin.
  This bill has a simple and yet important requirement: that Federal 
employees be granted 4 weeks of paid paternity and maternity leave.
  The Federal Government is the country's largest employer, with more 
than 2.7 million employees. My state of Virginia is home to more than 
100,000 Federal employees. As the Nation's largest employer, the 
Federal Government should be the leader in workplace policy. The 
Federal Government should provide benefits that are equal to what we 
call best practices in the private sector.
  Furthermore, according to the Office of Personnel Management, more 
than half of the Federal Government's employees will become eligible 
for retirement within the next 10 years. The Federal workforce is aging 
faster than the private workforce. The benefits desired by younger 
workers are offered by private sector employers, but not by the Federal 
Government. Although the Federal Government cannot compete with private 
sector salaries, we should be offering comparable benefits.
  The current parental leave law for Federal employees is in need of an 
update. The Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act provides that, of 
the 12 weeks of unpaid leave guaranteed by the Family and Medical Leave 
Act, federal employees will be allowed to substitute 4 weeks of paid 
leave, as well as any accrued annual or sick leave for the birth or 
adoption of a child.
  This requirement mirrors a recent provision put forward by the Senate 
Armed Services Committee in the National Defense Authorization Act, 
which would allow 21 days of paid paternity leave for our military 
personnel.
  The legislation we are introducing today is also an issue of fairness 
for the working family. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that more than 
70 percent of women with children over the age of 1 are in the 
workforce and that both parents work in most families.
  Additionally, according to the National Partnership for Women and 
Families, in today's highly competitive jobs environment, there is 
little workforce flexibility to help working

[[Page S5663]]

women and men care for their families and still succeed at their jobs. 
This is particularly true for those Americans whose economic security 
is most at risk.
  It is important to note the parental leave practices of non-Federal 
employers. Research by the Joint Economic Committee has found that 
Fortune 100 firms offer paid leave typically lasting 6 to 8 weeks. 
Additionally, most of America's economic rivals provide paid parental 
leave, as do many other nations. The European Union requires that 
member countries offer 14 weeks of paid leave and most offer more than 
the required amount.
  By contrast, our Nation's current laws force healthy, long-term 
federal employees to save up their sick days and vacation time so they 
can use this paid time off to care for their newborn or newly adopted 
child. Asking employees to cobble together accrued leave makes it 
difficult for relatively new employees or those who experience health 
problems to save up enough time for parental leave. We owe our civil 
servants a more thoughtful, worker-friendly policy.
  I note that the House of Representatives recently reported a similar 
bill out of the appropriate House committee by a strong bipartisan 
vote. I hope the Senate begins similar action on this bill.
  I urge my colleagues to support this pro-family, pro-Federal worker 
legislation.

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