Wyden, Merkley urge Biden administration to include 12 weeks of paid family, medical leave in FY24 budget

WASHINGTON (KTVZ) -- Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., joined colleagues Thursday in urging the Biden administration to advance a national paid family and medical leave program in the Fiscal Year 2024 budget.

“We thank President Biden for his commitment to expanding paid leave and urge that the administration’s FY24 budget request meaningfully reflect that commitment. The United States is the world’s only industrialized nation that does not guarantee workers paid leave, even though nearly all workers will need to take time away from work at some point to address a serious illness or to care for a new child,” Wyden, Merkley and the other senators wrote to the Office of Management and Budget Director, Shalanda Young. 

“It is of the utmost importance that we invest in our nation’s workers and families through paid family and medical leave programs to provide much-needed financial security, cost-savings for businesses, reductions in government public assistance expenditures, and stimulation for local economies. We look forward to working together on this important issue to promote the financial well-being of working families and the vibrancy of the economy.”

In the letter, the senators call for the inclusion of mandatory spending over 10 years to guarantee up to 12 weeks of paid parental, family caregiving, and personal medical leave to all working people in Oregon and nationwide.

The letter was led by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. Alongside Wyden and Merkley, the letter was joined by Senators Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Bob Casey, D-Pa., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Ed Markey, D-Mass., Alex Padilla, D-Calif., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.

The full letter is here.