On the recordSeptember 25, 2019
I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment because, as it is written, it really rewards only companies that are very wealthy and successful with additional tax credits to do something they are already doing. By that measure, it will leave most American workers without basic access to leave. The other potential idea is about shifting hours and suggesting that workers have to work overtime to be able to have paid leave. Every parent in America, every person in America, will have a time when they have a family crisis--whether it is a dying parent, whether it is a sick spouse, whether it is a new child--and we are still the only industrialized country in the world that doesn't have access to national paid leave. We should be able to come together around this commonsense solution that Senator Schatz has offered to create at least the first step to make sure our Federal workers aren't disproportionately harmed because they can't compete with the private sector. I oppose this amendment, and I urge my colleagues to oppose it. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the Ernst resolution.
