Pelosi Statement on San Francisco Becoming First U.S. City With Fully Paid Parental Leave

Statement

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement after San Francisco became the first city in the United States to enact six weeks of fully paid leave for new parents:

"San Francisco's fully paid parental leave law is a transformational victory for expectant parents and working families in our city. Welcoming a child into the family is one of the most meaningful and demanding experiences of a working parent's life. With fully paid parental leave, San Francisco is leading our entire nation in the embrace of hard-working families -- freeing parents to celebrate a new child without having to sacrifice pay.

"Many hard-working American families, however, have no paid leave whatsoever. The U.S. is the only industrialized country in the world that doesn't guarantee paid maternity leave. For us to grow as an economy and a society, this must change. Our groundbreaking progress for families in San Francisco makes a sharp contrast with the Republican Congress' refusal to support new mothers and fathers across the country.

"Paid family leave is a key pillar of House Democrats' economic agenda for women and working families: When Women Succeed, America Succeeds. Time and again, we have seen that when workers have the tools to balance the demands of work with the responsibilities of home, families and businesses both benefit. Paid leave empowers families and strengthens communities. As a growing tide of states and cities from San Francisco to New York lead on leave, it is long past time for Republicans to join Democrats to secure paid family leave for all hard-working families across the country."

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