House Democrats re-add paid leave to Biden’s social spending plan

Democratic lawmakers in the United States House of Representatives announced on Wednesday that the paid family and medical leave will be added back to the social spending bill, a flagship legislation of President Joe Biden.

The news comes hours after the Democratic Party suffered a major electoral blow in Virginia, where former Governer Terry McAuliffe lost to Republican opponent Glenn Youngkin.

The latest move by House Democrats is likely to reignite a legislative showdown with Senator Joe Manchin, a key holdout of the Democratic party and a lawmaker from West Virginia.

The paid leave proposal — which has been recognised as a crucial aspect of the $1.75 trillion plan– was previously scaled back and then reluctantly dropped after Manchin expressed hesitancy on backing it up.

Bill text set to be released Wednesday is expected to include four weeks of paid time off for people to recover from major illness, childbirth or to care for family members, according to three people familiar with the legislation who requested anonymity to discuss it, according to reports from Associated Press.

Richard Neal, the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, announced that the body had agreed on a compromise that fully pays for the program.

Neal said, “The Ways and Means Committee crafted a policy that will finally give workers and their families the peace of mind of knowing that when disaster strikes, they can rely on paid leave to avoid total crisis”, according to reports from Associated Press.

The last-minute reinstatement of paid family leave comes as Democrats attempt to craft a final package that can pass both chambers.

A letter from United States House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi read, “The hearing will take place today, so that we can bring up the legislation”, Associated Press reported. It added, “Today is another momentous day in our historic effort to make the future better for the American people.”