Making Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2014 -- Motion to Proceed

Floor Speech

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Mrs. FISCHER. I thank the Chair.

Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the need to strengthen American families and enhance workplace flexibility, and I am very pleased to be joined here on the floor of the Senate this morning by my good friend the junior Senator from Maine.

In Nebraska and all throughout the country, too many families continue to struggle in this weak economy. Even with moms and dads working two or three jobs, some families find it hard to get ahead. Household income has plummeted by more than $3,300, and 3.7 million more women are in poverty. The average price for a gallon of gas has nearly doubled, and the labor force participation rate has declined by 2.9 percentage points since 2009.

Many economists agree that the surest way to generate sustained economic growth and empower struggling families is to pass comprehensive tax reform. Addressing overregulation should also be a top priority. Moreover, it is a simple truth that less government spending means families will keep more of their own money. Agreement on how exactly to achieve these needed fiscal reforms remains elusive and, unfortunately, unlikely in a Capitol paralyzed with election fever. Nonetheless, there are reasonable policy changes we can all agree on, and those changes will make life easier for families.

I have been working on a number of commonsense measures--my Strong Families, Strong Communities plan--to empower working families, increase take-home pay, and ensure flexibility in the workplace. Today I would like to discuss part of that plan.

The Strong Families Act is a bipartisan proposal I introduced with Senator King to address the challenge of paid leave. It is no secret that balancing responsibilities at home with duties at work is a common struggle for working parents. For an increasing number of Americans these pressures include raising young children while also caring for aging parents.

While I believe we must do more to help these working families, the usual Washington answers of one-size-fits-all Federal mandates and higher taxes are not a part of the solution we are proposing. Instead, I believe we should focus on a more balanced approach that respects both family obligations and the employer's costs of doing business. There are ways to increase the options for working adults without hurting existing employment arrangements or threatening job security.

The Family and Medical Leave Act--FMLA--of 1993 requires employers of 50 or more employees to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave, which can be used for events such as the birth or adoption of children, serious medical issues, or providing care to close family members.

The problem for many families is that current law does not require paid time off. Unpaid leave is practically impossible for countless Americans, especially hourly workers who live paycheck to paycheck. Many employers voluntarily offer generous compensation packages that include paid parental or medical leave. A survey of more than 1,100 employers found that 68 percent of large employers provide paid parental leave. At the same time not all workers enjoy these options despite increasingly complex family demands. Again, this is especially true for low-wage workers. With more than half of women working as the primary breadwinners, workplace flexibility has become a necessity for our 21st-century families.

It is not just children who require personal care and attention; it is also our aging parents. Nearly half of middle-aged adults have elderly parents, and they are still supporting their own children. Over 43 million Americans provide direct care to older family members, with women serving as 66 percent of all primary caregivers. As the baby boomer generation ages, the number of senior citizens requiring care will likely spike. Less take-home pay for these caregivers means tighter finances, more stress, and lost opportunities--all at a time when families are confronting health crises or dealing with unique challenges of starting a new family. With such events often coinciding with high medical bills, the last thing a stressed family needs is a smaller working budget.

Senator King and I have offered a proposal that would enable working families to have continued access to pay while they are meeting necessary family obligations. Our plan would create a tax credit to encourage employers to voluntarily offer paid leave for workers. To be eligible for that tax credit, the employer must at a minimum offer 4 weeks of paid leave, but they could offer more. Paid leave would be available on an hourly basis and would be separate from the other vacation or sick leave. For each hour of paid leave provided, the employer would receive a 25-percent nonrefundable tax credit.

The more pay the employer offers, the greater the tax credit. This tax credit will be available to any employer with qualified employees regardless of size. Importantly, our bill is reasonable. It is a balanced solution that can make a real difference in the lives of working families.

When we do this without new mandates or new taxes, it creates an incentive structure to encourage employers to offer that paid leave, specifically targeting those who hire lower income hourly paid workers. This should not be just another election-year issue. This is a middle-class issue and our bill takes the partisan politics out of it and offers a meaningful solution we can pass.

I wish to thank my friend from Maine, Senator King, who joined me in offering this bill.

Once again, this now famous surf-and-turf caucus is working together on a commonsense proposal, and it is a proposal that can help American families. I am grateful for the Senator's input, his hard work and friendship, and I look forward to closely working with him in the future so we can advance this measure in the Senate.

I thank the Presiding Officer and yield the floor.

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