Trump turns attention toward Ivanka's project: paid family leave
"We now have a historic opportunity to enact long overdue reform," president says.
President Trump called for "long-overdue reform" on family leave to cap off the White House Summit on Child Care and Paid Leave that included many powerful Republican lawmakers on Thursday.
"More women are working today than ever before. We now have a historic opportunity to enact long overdue reform. It's time to pass paid family leave and expand acces to quality," Trump said.
Ivanka Trump, whose official title is Senior Advisor to the President, gathered governors, business leaders and administration officials together to push for action on the issue she hopes both sides of the aisle can come together on.
Many of the politicians in attendance, including Republican Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Mitt Romney of Utah, have introduced legislation on the issue.
"The people who can least afford to [take leave] are the ones least likely to have paid leave," Rubio said during a panel discussion.
IVANKA TRUMP HOPES TO BRING BIPARTISAN PARENTAL LEAVE WIN WITH WHITE HOUSE SUMMIT
The administration did not tout any particular bill but offered the leaders opportunities to find bipartisan solutions. The attendance was relatively stacked with Republicans, but Democratic Reps. Colin Allred of Texas and Joe Cunningham of South Carolina joined as panelists.
"We're here today to support the heroic call for working moms and dads to really help them," the president said.
Ivanka Trump speaks at the White House Summit on Child Care and Paid Leave on Dec. 12, 2019.
Trump also took credit for legislation that will give more than 2 million federal workers access to 12 weeks of paid leave after they give birth, as well as foster or adopt a child. The bill, spearheaded by Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., is expected to pass attached to the National Defense Authorization Act after getting the green light from the House on Wednesday.
Ivanka Trump has praised Maloney's legislation.
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Heritage Foundation researcher Rachel Greszler, a mother of six, testified before Congress on the issue Tuesday. She told FOX Business it could still be difficult to drum up Republican support for the kind of national policy Ivanka Trump is pushing for.
"Most American families are best served by flexible, targeted approaches that meet their individual needs through voluntary employer-provided benefits, personal savings, and family supports," Greszler wrote in The Daily Signal following her testimony. "Policymakers should work to increase access to paid family leave through policies that help employers have the resources to provide these benefits, and that give workers more income and flexibility to choose what is best for them."