FMA attended a House Oversight and Reform Committee Mark-up on July 20, 2021. This hearing featured a markup of the Comprehensive Paid Leave for Federal Employees Act (H.R. 564), sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), which would provide an additional twelve weeks of paid family leave to federal employees.

These twelve weeks of paid leave could be used not only if the federal employee themselves became sick, but also would allow feds to take extra time off to serve as a caretaker for sick family members, or in connection with a family member or spouse leaving for or returning from Active-Duty military service. The Oversight and Reform Committee voted 24-16 to advance the legislation for consideration by the entire House.

Rep. Maloney had this to say about the legislation at the hearing: “Millions of Americans have had the agonizing experience of having to give up a paycheck in order to recover from illness, care for a loved one or to help at home when a family member has been deployed, and families of federal workers are no different,” she said. “Opponents have said that federal employees already have paid annual and sick leave benefits and that is true, but these serve a fundamentally different purpose. Federal workers should not have to deplete their sick and annual leave because of Congress’ unwillingness to provide paid leave to deal with longer term hardships.”

FMA has strongly endorsed Rep. Maloney’s legislation and will work to see it passed. Ensuring that feds do not have to choose between staying employed and caring for an ill or injured family member is a key FMA priority in our advocacy on behalf of feds. The CBO has estimated that the total cost of the legislation will amount to only $55 million dollars over the next decade – a price well worth paying for the wellbeing of federal workers.