by Salandra Benton
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle increasingly recognize we need to solve the paid leave crisis afflicting working families. But details matter tremendously: Not all proposals cover the workers who most need paid time to care. While it is encouraging to see bipartisan interest in paid leave, a comprehensive federal paid leave plan must include paid time for a serious personal or family illness. My own Florida Senator, Marco Rubio, introduced a flawed bill that fails to provide medical leave or time to care for a seriously ill loved one and requires workers to borrow from their Social Security accounts in order to fund leave for a new child.
Paid leave made a difference in my life. In November 2016, someone ran a red light and crashed into my car, resulting in injuries to my back. Only eight weeks later, while I was still recovering, another car rear-ended me and left the scene of the accident. These events caused me to miss several weeks of work since I couldn’t get out of bed, let alone do my job. Thanks to my union, I had paid leave and, therefore, the time to heal properly. If I did not have paid leave, I could have ended up homeless, without healthcare and unable to heal.
Sen. Rubio’s proposed bill named the New Parents Act, would require workers to borrow from their Social Security accounts to fund a limited, parental leave-only program. Under this bill, people who take just three months of paid leave would have to delay their retirement by nearly six months for every leave event or face a substantial cut in their retirement benefits, and there would be no new revenue added to the system. This does not sound like economic security to me.
Our Senator’s proposed bill is also restrictive. Even if one could afford to borrow from one’s Social Security account, the program proposed still only covers leave for new parents. Research shows that 75 percent of those who take leave use it for either self-care (like me) or care of a sick family member. Only 25 percent use it for the exclusive purpose under this program—welcoming a new child.
The proposed bill also fails to provide a sufficient wage replacement amount, which will discourage men from taking leave and increase gender disparities in hiring. These are all significant flaws. And such a proposal will disproportionately harm those who most rely on Social Security in retirement – women, people of color, low-wage earners.
Things happen in life past your childbearing years. My future Social Security benefits should not be compromised because I need to heal, and no one should be asked to trade their retirement security for the ability to care for their family today. I have been paying into the Social Security system for more than four decades and here’s how I see it: When I pay into Social Security, I am investing in my future, that I may have a sustainable quality of life in my senior years. When I am ready to retire I won’t want to delay the time or have a decreased amount of funding. I think my Floridian neighbors agree.
Fortunately, there’s a better alternative to Senator Rubio’s restrictive and unhelpful plan. The Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act (H. 1185/S. 463), modeled on successful state programs, would establish a sustainably funded, national paid leave insurance program to guarantee workers some pay when they need time to recover from their own serious illness, care for a new child or comfort a sick family member. The FAMILY Act would lay the floor for a national paid family and medical leave program that other states and forward-thinking businesses might build upon. In contrast, Sen. Rubio’s creation of a reckless proposal that would endanger Social Security is simply just another attack on working families.
As a black woman who can see retirement in the not-so-distant future, I am deeply concerned about the impact of Senator Rubio’s proposal on the solvency of our Social Security system, our ability to care for loved ones, and our general economy. It is my hope, and that of many of my Floridian neighbors, that Congress rethink this idea. Even better, I urge Congress and our own Senators to join us in building a caregiving infrastructure that supports the needs of working families—in Florida and across the nation. Floridians deserve real paid leave without having to compromise their Social Security benefits – the FAMILY Act.
