[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 172 (Wednesday, November 20, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6649-S6650]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Paid Family Medical Leave

  Mrs. FISCHER. Madam President, over the past few months, we heard 
from both sides of the aisle about how American families need more 
support. We have heard discussions about the child tax credit, 
childcare costs, and dozens more issues that affect parents and their 
children.

[[Page S6650]]

  Earlier this year, Senator Vance summed up nicely what could be a 
mission statement for Republicans to use on this issue. He said:

       We want to provide more options so that people are raising 
     families in a thriving and happy way in this country.

  Madam President, my colleagues and I are here today to talk about 
Republican solutions. And I want to talk specifically about one 
solution to the family leave problem that has not just Republican but 
also bipartisan support.
  Across America, only 27 percent of workers in the private sector have 
access to paid family leave. The other three-fourths have to choose 
between making ends meet and taking care of their families, whether 
that is welcoming a newborn or nursing an aging parent. That is not a 
choice that Americans should have to make.
  My colleagues on the other side of the aisle have proposed a few 
ideas to solve this problem. Some of them advocate for a new nationwide 
government entitlement program, some advocate for a mandate that would 
force businesses to pay out of pocket for their employees' leave.
  Neither of those options is practical or politically realistic. Our 
Nation is already trillions of dollars in debt and a mandate, well, 
that would squash small businesses that simply don't have the resources 
to survive while paying an employee who is not at work.
  But there is a solution, a way to offer employees paid time off 
without creating a new mandatory program or forcing businesses to 
suffer huge losses. What I am talking about here are the mom-and-pop 
businesses especially, Main Street businesses that maybe they have one 
employee, two employees, maybe five.
  And we have a solution. There is a way to offer employees paid time 
off without creating a new mandatory program or forcing those small 
businesses to suffer losses. We can provide tax benefits to businesses 
that offer employees paid leave, which will, in turn, free up resources 
that businesses can use to pay the salaries of their workers on leave. 
This is a tried-and-true method. It works. I know because I have done 
it before.
  In 2017, Senator Angus King and I created the first nationwide paid 
family leave policy in the history of the United States. We created a 
tax credit for employers who voluntarily offer up to 12 weeks of paid 
leave to their employees, and President Trump signed it into law. But 
that tax credit is going to expire, and it is going to expire at the 
end of 2025.
  To ensure that businesses can keep offering paid leave, we need to 
make sure that we make that credit permanent as well as make it easier 
for businesses to qualify for it and to use it. So that is why Senator 
King and I have, again, introduced the Paid Family Medical Leave Tax 
Credit Extension and Enhancement Act. Our bill makes that credit 
permanent, and it also expands it. It supports additional options for 
financing paid leave, such as paid family leave insurance. It also 
allows employers to begin offering paid family medical leave to workers 
sooner after being hired.
  Our bill also includes a strategy for educating businesses and 
employees about the option to receive this credit so that more people 
know about it. It requires the Small Business Administration and the 
IRS to conduct targeted outreach and technical assistance for those who 
need it, which will raise awareness of the credit and expand the number 
of Americans who have paid leave.
  This is a Republican solution, and it is one that everyone can get on 
board with. It already has a track record of bipartisan support here in 
Congress, and we have the perfect opportunity to pass this tax credit 
yet again in the new year.
  As my colleagues on the Finance Committee begin working on tax policy 
for 2025 and onward, I would urge them to remember America's families; 
remember how much they need access to paid family leave and remember 
what they voted for this past November--an administration who will look 
out for parents and for kids. We have a solution for America's paid 
leave problem. It is just a matter of expanding it and enacting it.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia.