Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today released the following statement in response to the paid family leave proposal announced by Senate Republicans:
“Congress should be working to strengthen Social Security, but this Senate Republican plan weakens it. Any plan that robs the Social Security trust fund will hurt low-income workers, seniors, and women the most. Women already receive less Social Security benefits than men, and this plan only exacerbates that problem. Our country desperately needs a paid family medical leave plan, but robbing Peter to pay Paul is shortsighted and wrong. No worker should have to borrow against their own Social Security benefits, which are already too low, to get paid family leave when they need it to take care of a new baby, a sick family member, or themselves. We need to pass a paid leave program that is comprehensive, affordable, gender-neutral, and covers all of life’s unexpected medical events. This bill fails that test. Congress should act now to pass the FAMILY Act, which is an earned benefit that would help all American workers take paid time off through shared responsibility of the employer and employee.”