House Democrat revised the massive social spending bill framework at the center of President Biden's economic strategy to include paid family leave.
Manchin To Support the Paid Family Leave but With a Condition
In a recently published article in Newsweek, Sen. Joe Manchin from West Virginia, a Democrat, supports parental leave, but he wants both parties on board with a plan that does not add to the national debt which was his main concern when it was first proposed.
Following Manchin's resistance, plans by President Joe Biden and Democrats for paid family leave in the wide-ranging, but a cut back of $1.75 trillion package was slashed from 12 weeks to four weeks before being withdrawn entirely.
The social spending measure is being examined under budget reconciliation, which means it does not need Republican support but does require the approval of all 50 Democratic senators. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, on the other hand, said that she had reintroduced four weeks of federally funded family and medical leave into the bill, increasing pressure on Manchin to abandon his opposition, according to a report published in The Hill.
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Manchin Releases a Statement
Meanwhile, when asked whether the leave policy was a "deal breaker" for him, Manchin said that he did not "begrudge" measures being reinstated in the social spending package. He said that they should not berate him for stating that this is not the appropriate venue for this legislation.
Manchin also added that he believes in paid family leave and that everyone deserves to have this measure and opportunity. He also clarified that he does not object to the proposition but only wants a clear and better position for this and a process that works, according to a report published in Bloomberg.
On the other hand, it can be remembered that last week, Manchin was worried about the possibility of fraud in a paid-leave scheme. He was particularly concerned about the logistical challenges that small enterprises would encounter, according to reports.
Pelosi Announces the Inclusion of Paid Family Leave in Biden's Social Spending Bill
Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the move in a letter Wednesday morning, saying the House Rules Committee will meet later in the day for a "hearing" to discuss the revisions. Pelosi, on the other hand, stopped short of calling a vote on the package in the House Rules Committee, which would suggest that House leaders were planning to bring the bill to the floor for a vote.
The House is set to discuss a revised version of the plan, as well as a $1 trillion infrastructure measure, on Thursday, with votes possible. The House measure will be fully funded, according to a senior administration official. Democrats are attempting to push through the president's flagship package, which has been blamed for the party's bad election performance in Virginia and New Jersey.
However, the Speaker said that there are "a few" lingering concerns that must be handled before the bill can pass through the Senate in its present form. Pelosi is waiting for negotiators to work out the remaining problems before the whole House considers the package, as she has promised not to push House Democrats to vote on anything that can't gain 50 votes in the Senate, according to a report published in FOX12.
