[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 5, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S756-S757]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



             PFML Tax Credit Extension and Enhancement Act

  Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, in America, our news cycle is often 
fraught with controversy and dispute. From watching the news or 
scrolling through social media, it might seem like there are very, very 
few issues that Americans can agree on. It may be true that we disagree 
on some big issues--important issues--but behind the headlines and the 
social media posts, there are many things that Americans agree on, and 
one of those is paid family and medical leave.
  The Pew Research Center found that the vast majority of Americans 
support paid parental leave--up to 82 percent. That is really a broad 
consensus. And 85 percent of Americans say people should receive paid 
leave to deal with their own serious health conditions, and 67 percent 
say they should receive leave to care for a family member with a 
serious health condition.
  We rarely see Americans nowadays so united on other issues, but it is 
for good reason that Republicans and Democrats come together on paid 
family leave. The reality is that Americans shouldn't have to choose 
between their paychecks and caring for their families. That is why I 
spearheaded our Nation's first-ever Federal family leave policy in 2017 
with Senator Angus King.
  As part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, we passed a paid family 
and medical leave tax credit that encourages businesses to offer leave 
to their employees. Employers are able to receive the tax credit if 
they voluntarily offer up to 12 weeks of paid leave. Our credit 
increases access to paid leave without penalizing small businesses with 
limited resources, like a government entitlement program or a mandate 
from the government would.
  Almost 8 years later, this tax credit is about to expire, and 
Congress is set to work on another tax package. So now is the perfect 
time to pass my bill with Senator King to make our tax credit permanent 
and also to improve it.
  Yesterday, we introduced the PFML Tax Credit Extension and 
Enhancement Act. Representative Feenstra is leading the introduction of 
companion legislation in the House. Our bipartisan, bicameral bill 
supports additional options for financing paid leave, such as paid 
family leave insurance. It also allows employers to begin offering paid 
leave to workers sooner after being hired.
  The legislation includes a strategy for educating employers and 
employees about the option to receive this credit, and it requires the 
Small Business Administration and the IRS to provide targeted outreach 
and assistance to those who need it. That will raise awareness of the 
credit, and it will expand the number of Americans who have paid leave.
  Passing this bill in our upcoming tax package will deliver on the 
promises

[[Page S757]]

Republicans made to the American people this past November. We promised 
to make families' lives better, more prosperous, more affordable. More 
access to family leave will contribute to that goal.
  Our tax credit is tried and true, one with a bipartisan track record 
of success. It is the paid family leave solution that will do the most 
good with the smallest pricetag.
  So I urge my colleagues to join me in pushing for this legislation's 
inclusion in this year's tax package. This is how we expand paid family 
and medical leave for employees across this entire country. This is how 
we deliver for the American people. I am determined to get this done, 
and I hope my colleagues will join me.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.