COVID bill would pay federal employees to stay home with kids
Democratic lawmakers were poised to push the sweeping package through the House on Friday
Federal workers with children enrolled in a school that has not resumed full-time, in-classroom instruction would be eligible for enhanced paid time off under the U.S. House version of a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package being pushed through Congress.
The perk, buried on page 305 of the “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021,” would set aside $570 million for an “Emergency Federal Employee Leave Fund” exclusively for federal employees.
An Issaquah School District school bus waits at an intersection near where a rally to encourage wider opening of in-person learning was being held, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021, in Issaquah, Wash., east of Seattle. (AP)
Said employees would be eligible to receive the money if caring for school-aged children who are not physically in school full-time because of the coronavirus pandemic.
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Federal employees would qualify if their children’s school “or place of care … has been closed,” if the school offers virtual instruction (or some type of hybrid), or if the child care provider is unavailable because of “Covid-19 precautions.”
Full-time federal employees would be able to take up to $35 an hour and $1,400 a week, through Sept. 30. That would amount to 15 weeks and 600 hours in paid leave.
The bill does not specify a cutoff age for children who are learning from home, or whether federal employees with young college-age students would qualify. Federal employees with children enrolled in private schools do not qualify.
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Democratic lawmakers were poised to push the sweeping package through the House on Friday. They were hoping the Senate, where changes seem likely, would follow quickly enough to have legislation on President Joe Biden's desk by mid-March.
Republicans in either chamber, meanwhile, have rallied against the relief package. GOP leaders on Wednesday were honing attacks on the package as a job killer that does too little to reopen schools or businesses shuttered for the pandemic and that was not only wasteful but also even unscrupulous.
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"I haven't seen a Republican yet that's found something in there that they agree with," said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. "I think all Republicans believe in three simple things: They want a bill that puts us back to work, back to school, and back to health. This bill is too costly, too corrupt, and too liberal."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.