WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, Representative Chrissy Houlahan’s (D-PA) efforts to find bipartisan solutions on paid leave policy were featured in Punchbowl News’ AM Newsletter. This comes after Houlahan, Representative Stephanie Bice (R-OK), and the rest of the Bipartisan Working Group on Paid Leave members wrote a letter to Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries urging them to support the group’s paid leave efforts.

Below is an excerpt from the newsletter:

Lawmakers seek bipartisan plan on paid leave

News: Reps. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) and Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.) are pushing House leadership to pursue a federal paid leave policy that can satisfy both parties.

The two lawmakers wrote to Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Wednesday, asking them to support their goal of finding bipartisan consensus on this issue. Houlahan and Bice launched the Bipartisan Paid Family Leave Working Group in January.

“It is clear that current policy is not meeting the needs of our economy, businesses, and American families and our Working Group is committed to addressing this challenge in a bipartisan fashion,” Houlahan and Bice wrote. Both women are mothers to two daughters.

While the idea does have some bipartisan support, many Republicans remain opposed, citing the cost of enacting such a program.

And it’s unlikely that top House Republicans will get on board with any new federal programs that are subsidized by the government. But Houlahan and Bice’s task force has piqued the interest of several lawmakers in both parties who support the mission.

Reps. Julia Letlow (R-La.), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), Colin Allred (D-Texas) and Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) are also members of the working group.

Paid leave was a major priority for Democrats in the last Congress, particularly former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. But universal paid family leave was ultimately dropped from the Inflation Reduction Act due to Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) concerns over the cost.

Earlier this year, President Joe Biden called for expanded access to paid leave programs, marking the 30th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act, which provides eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of annual unpaid leave.

Houlahan is an Air Force veteran, an engineer, a serial entrepreneur, an educator, and a nonprofit leader. She represents Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District, which encompasses Chester County and southern Berks County. She serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. She is the recipient of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Abraham Lincoln Leadership for America Award which “recognizes members who demonstrate the bipartisan leadership and constructive governing necessary to move our country forward” and the Congressional Management Foundation’s 2022 Democracy Award for best Constituent Services in Congress.

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