Paid Leave Credit Should Be Made Permanent, W&M Members Say

May 8, 2019

The Honorable Richard Neal
Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means
1102 Longworth House Office Building

Dear Chairman Neal,

Thank you for convening this hearing on paid family and medical leave to help workers and employers succeed.

Republicans support expanding access to paid family and medical leave, and hope to work with Democrats and President Trump to find the right way to help families balance work and family.

Expanding access to paid family leave reduces preventable deaths of new mothers and babies, helps with family bonding, increases employee morale and improves productivity. Half of all U.S. workers have access to paid maternity and medical leave — without a costly federal mandate — and these benefits are expanding.^{1, 2}

As Republicans work to expand access to paid medical leave, there are concerns that a new one-size-fits-all Washington mandate limits family flexibility, could be extremely costly and will lead to higher taxes on workers, reduced job benefits or harmful cuts in education, Social Security or Medicare to pay for the new mandate.

Workers in the 21st century want flexibility at work, not a smaller paycheck for life. The true cost of mandated federal leave program could force workers to pay thousands of dollars more in payroll taxes over their work career — whether they use the program or not — which could be better spent on diapers, child care, or college tuition.

Rather than an expensive Washington mandate and smaller paychecks, we support:

• Making permanent the Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit created in the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act that reimburses businesses up to 25% of the cost of providing paid leave to their employees.

• Making it easier for small businesses to join together to make it more affordable to offer paid family leave to their workers.

• Allowing workers more choice and the opportunity to tailor benefits to their needs without Washington interference.

All families are different so let’s work together, instead, on legislation that meets their needs, rather than imposing a Washington mandate. We are grateful for your focus on this issue and look forward to continuing this discussion.

Sincerely,

Kevin Brady
Republican Leader
Committee on Ways and Means 

Adrian Smith
Republican Leader
Select Revenues Subcommittee

Jackie Walorski
Republican Leader
Worker and Family Support Subcommittee 

Tom Reed
Republican Leader
Social Security Subcommittee

CC:
The Honorable Llyod Doggett, Chairman, Select Revenue Subcommittee
The Honorable John Larson, Chairman, Social Security Subcommittee
The Honorable Danny Davis, Chairman, Worker and Family Support Subcommittee