Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

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Mr. JORDAN of Ohio. I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his work on this issue and many others in the Congress.

Madam Chair, on Monday, June 1, 2009, in Ontario, Ohio, in our district, 1,200 General Motors employees found out that they're losing their job. The Obama task force said in 12 months from now 1,200 families will face the consequences of unemployment. Yet, here we are today, ready to pass a new billion-dollar entitlement for Federal workers at a time when our economy is in turmoil and millions of Americans are struggling with joblessness.

It is unconscionable that this Congress heap even more spending onto the backs of American families and businesses. At a time when taxpayers already have to tighten their belts, we are now asking them for an additional $1 billion. And worse, the spending is unnecessary.

Federal employees are already entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period because of a birth, adoption, or the taking in of a foster child. In many cases, Federal workers can use accrued sick leave and annual vacation leave. In fact, if you have been a Federal employee for just 3 years, you already have 4 weeks of annual leave and 2 1/2 weeks of sick leave each and every year.

With this new benefit for the Federal Government, we are also putting small businesses at a disadvantage. Think about this. Only 57 percent of the private sector offer any independently defined sick leave. Now they will have to compete for workers against this expanded benefit for government workers. This moves us exactly in the wrong direction.

We need to incentivize the growth and renewal of a vibrant private sector, yet instead we are subsidizing an ever expanding Federal Government that will crowd out the private sector and, I think, frankly, stifle innovation and entrepreneurialship.

The American people are watching us. In these difficult economic times, they expect their government to do exactly what they have done, cut the waste and tighten our belts. That is the message I have heard all across our district. It's what I've heard from families experiencing unemployment and small businesses that have had to shut their doors. Instead, this Congress continues to spend and spend and spend.

Rather than taking steps to improve the economy to create jobs for the 14 million unemployed Americans, we are giving a better deal to the 2.7 million people who are already employed in the Federal sector. This is the wrong message to send, and I encourage my colleagues to vote against this legislation.

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