Sean Patrick Maloney: “Last year when my chief of staff was expecting a baby I inquired what the Federal leave policy was, and I was surprised…”

“Last year when my chief of staff was expecting a baby I inquired what the Federal leave policy was, and I was surprised to learn that there is no paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child. There have been many news articles talking about the difficulty of maintaining a talented staff for the Federal Government. In response, along with my colleagues, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Davis), the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman), and the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella), we introduced the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act, H.R. 4567. This amendment will help us understand and quantify why this bill is so important. We are asking OPM to conduct a study to understand the impact of providing paid parental leave to Federal employees. We often hear that we need to run government more like a business. This study will lay the foundation for the Federal government to do just that. Mr. Chairman, we are here today in support of families. Everyone talks about supporting families, but when you look at the policies, they are not as supportive as they should be. In a Federal Government that says it is family friendly, public employees should not lose pay for becoming parents.”