More reasonable legislation from Senator Webb
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Sen. Webb makes great sense every now and again. Whether it’s his GI Bill proposal or now his legislation to provide four weeks of paid paternal leave to federal workers, the same benefits as given to military members, he demonstrates that the federal government, indeed, at times, can be practical. From a Webb press release:
The federal government, the country’s largest employer with more than 2.7 million employees, does not currently provide any paid parental leave for its employees, while 75% of Fortune 100 companies provide an average of six to eight weeks of paid leave to new mothers. Currently, all federal employees are entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid leave guaranteed to them by the Family and Medical Leave Act, but most can’t afford to forego pay to take leave.
“The legislation we introduced today is an issue of fairness for the working family,” said Senator Webb. “Paid parental leave will improve recruitment and retention for federal agencies. The federal government should set the standard for family-friendly workplace policy that supports new families.”
The reality is that it is extremely important for parents to be with their newborn children at the time of birth. This is a no-brainer…especially for those of us that believe that we should foster a culture of life.
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Who is better at spending other people’s money than Jim Webb? Four weeks of paid leave from the taxpayers? Hell, why not four months? These people won’t be missed from their jobs…Who will even notice their not at work? I mean, might any of these folks have important jobs?
I don’t know, NJR, the next time you fly a plane, let me know if you appreciate the air traffic controller. The next time there is a Salmonella outbreak, check and see if somebody isn’t grateful to the Center for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration for tracking the source. And the next time a parent or grandparent of yours gets a Social Security check, see if they aren’t happy somebody mailed it or direct deposited it for them.
And thank you JR for a well thought out post. We should indeed support a culture of life and value parents by supporting them when they bear and raise children. I can’t think of a better way to spend the taxpayer’s money, especially if you want to attract quality people to work for the government in the future.
JR - excellent post.
What gets lost on those with a knee jerk reaction, as is seen above, is that the government is trying to recruit the same top-quality people as the Fortune 500. Just like the 500 does, we want our government to work like an efficient business, and as such the government needs to have tools to attract and hire the best and most qualified. Sen. Webb’s proposal is a very reasonable, yet very effective recruiting tool.