The Trump Administration Is the Reason We Don’t Have Paid Parental Leave
The president claims he’s an ally of working parents, but if that was the case, he would support the FAMILY Act
In last night’s State of the Union address, Donald Trump cited paid parental leave for federal workers as a cornerstone of his administration’s action on behalf of working families and called on Congress to take action for all families.
In theory, any call to action in support of paid leave is good. But using those words without the right policy behind it is confusing at best and harmful at worst. There are huge differences between making good policy and talking up half-measures that would harm the very people who need paid leave the most.
Trump endorsed the Advancing Support for Working Families Act, a proposal that isn’t paid leave at all. Instead, it would give new parents a Hobson’s choice: Take a no-interest loan from the government in the year of a child’s birth, and take a reduced child tax credit for the next 10 to 15 years. The Center on Budget on Policy Priorities has said that the bill “provides no net new financial help for families. In effect, it is a loan that families would repay during some of a family’s most financially crunched years.” In addition, there’s no requirement…
