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Statement

Rubio Proposal: A Dangerously Flawed Plan That Provides No Help at All to the Majority of Families That Need Paid Leave

August 3, 2018
Paid Family & Medical Leave

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

Statement from Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, CEO and executive director of MomsRising, an online and on-the-ground organization of more than one million mothers and their families, on the paid parental leave proposal introduced by U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.):

“The paid parental leave proposal introduced by U.S. Senator Marco Rubio is deeply, dangerously and fundamentally flawed.

“Raiding Social Security is the absolute wrong way to provide paid leave to new parents. No family should be forced to trade economic security in retirement for paid time off to spend with a new baby today. But the Rubio plan would force that impossible choice on millions. It would put low-wage workers, women and those in communities of color in especially dire straits because they are least likely to have paid leave through their employers and most likely to need Social Security benefits when they retire.

“At the same time, the Rubio plan would provide no help at all to the millions of workers who need paid leave to recover from serious illness or care for a sick family member. Three in four workers who take leave do so for these reasons. This bill would do nothing at all for them.

“America’s moms want – and our economy and our country need – a national paid leave plan that is comprehensive, affordable and sustainable. The Rubio plan is not.

“We are the only industrialized nation without this key policy in place, even though just 15 percent of U.S. workers have access to paid leave through their employers and many working people cannot afford to use the unpaid leave the Family and Medical Leave Act offers. We need Congress to pass a national program that is accessible, affordable and inclusive – the Family And Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, which would create a social insurance fund that benefits all workers in this country.

“The Rubio plan is a not a real solution. In fact, it would be a step backward for our country. Congress must reject it.”

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MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, decrease discrimination against women and moms, and to build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families, including criminal justice reform, immigration policy reform, and gun safety. MomsRising is working for paid family and medical leave, affordable, high quality childcare and early learning, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes women — particularly moms and women of color — and so many others. MomsRising advocates for access to healthy food for all kids, health care for all, earned sick days, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.