Free Republic

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is frog-marching her vulnerable members to a political suicide vote on a bill that’s likely dead on arrival in the Senate.On November 2, five House Democrats—enough to block the passage of the spending spree that the party hopes to enact via the budget reconciliation process—wrote to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, urging her “to only bring a bill to the floor for which we have a strong level of confidence…will be ruled in order by the Senate parliamentarian and earn passage in the U.S. Senate.”The lawmakers have justifiable reason for concern. Major pieces of the 2,135-page...

Biden's American Family Plan would dole out free college, free child care, free meals, and more. But does the math add up? Nope.President Biden released the provisions of his American Family Plan last week, and just like with his American Jobs Plan, the details are scant and the price tag is high.Even given the limited details, the plans ought to give everyone pause — and by “everyone” I don’t just mean conservatives who oppose massive welfare state expansions, but also those who agree with the objective of an increase in the social insurance system in America. There are some serious...

The nation’s top Marine, Commandant Gen. David Berger, took to social media Tuesday morning to stress the service’s “most important matters.” A series of eight tweets telegraphed a wide range of areas the officer wants his chain of command to focus on in 2020, which includes a push for more female infantry officers and and examination of the cost of one-year paid maternity leave. Gen. Berger wrote: “While I am aware of the good work already being done across the force in support of my planning guidance implementation, these are some of my most important matters for immediate execution. (1/8)”...

Both Republican and Democratic politicians want government to "do more" to give parents paid time off. "This is not a women's issue. It's a family issue," says Ivanka Trump. "(E)very worker in America should be guaranteed at least 12 weeks," says Sen. Bernie Sanders. "That's a very arbitrary number! Why not 14 weeks? Why not 26 weeks?" asks Independent Women's Forum analyst Patrice Onwuka. She opposes Sanders' plan, saying government one-size-fits-all policies don't meet most parents' needs. When Onwuka had a baby, IWF gave her six weeks off with pay. She wanted more time off, so she supplemented her maternity...

Blames husband Weiner for failing to notice extra $30K paymentFederal investigators formally investigated top Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin for the crime of embezzlement after confirming she took a “Babymoon” vacation and maternity time at the State Department without expending her formal leave, resulting in thousands of dollars of pay she wasn’t entitled to receive, The Washington Times has learned. The probe also gathered evidence she filed timesheets charging the government for impermissible overtime and excessive hours after she converted from a fulltime federal employer to a State Department contractor. Those timecards were filed during a period of time that...

Women’s march organizer Linda Sarsour says Saudi Arabia’s treatment of women “puts us to shame” Linda Sarsour organized the recent women’s march.Below is a screen capture of a tweet that she made, which says the following:“10 weeks of PAID maternity leave in Saudi Arabia. Yes PAID. And ur worrying about women driving. Puts us to shame.” And this woman is a role model for millions of U.S. women?In my opinion, that’s pretty scary.She also made this tweet, which says“shariah law is reasonable and once u read into the details it makes a lot of sense. People just know the basics”and this...

Hillary Clinton’s long time confidant, Huma Abedin, is sick and tired of you nasty Republicans dragging her good name through the mud and she’s not going to take it anymore. In response to the mean spirited nature of a Senate Committee asking the State Department to produce certain documents related to her time working for the agency, Abedin’s lawyer has sent a letter to Chuck Grassley telling him he needs to knock off his offensive behavior. (New York Times) A lawyer for Huma Abedin, a top adviser to Hillary Rodham Clinton, has accused Charles E. Grassley, chairman of the...

NEW YORK, NY – Today Mr. Trump will proposes an innovative plan to bring federal tax policies in line with the needs of today's families. His plan is not for the wealthy, but rather provides the biggest benefit to working- and middle-class families. This plan is needed because child care expenses are one of the largest expenses in many families, complicating a family's decision on how to care for young children. The Trump reforms will allow a family to make the choice of whether a parent should work outside the home or not without bias from the tax code. Having...

Donald Trump will formally unveil his childcare and maternity plan with his daughter, Ivanka Trump, later today. The issue has become a signature issue for Ivanka Trump, who spoke fervently about the topic during the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

In approving a novel paid parental leave policy, San Francisco officials buttressed their efforts to make life a little more affordable for workers who eke out a living in one of the most expensive cities in the country. Mayor Ed Lee is expected to sign legislation approved Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors that requires employers to provide fully paid six-week leaves for new mothers and fathers. Currently, the state of California pays about 55 percent of a worker’s salary when they take leave, which advocates say is not enough for working families. The San Francisco measure requires employers with...

The U.S. Navy is tripling the amount of paid maternity leave that female sailors and Marines can take after the birth of a child, and will now provide a total of 18 weeks off. The change, directed by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, makes the Navy the first of the military services to provide more than the current six weeks of leave. According to the Navy, about 5,000 women would be eligible for the benefit each year, including 500 officers. The actual order extends convalescent leave for maternity cases only, and is effective immediately. Service secretaries have the authority to make...

In Chile, a law requires employers to provide working mothers with child care. One result? Women are paid less. In Spain, a policy to give parents of young children the right to work part-time has led to a decline in full-time, stable jobs available to all women — even those who are not mothers. Elsewhere in Europe, generous maternity leaves have meant that women are much less likely than men to become managers or achieve other high-powered positions at work. Family-friendly policies can help parents balance jobs and responsibilities at home, and go a long way toward making it possible...

The White House will announce a major push Thursday to require paid leave for American workers. In a blog post on LinkedIn Wednesday, Valerie Jarrett, a senior advisor to the President, said Obama will sign a memorandum to ensure federal employees have access to at least six weeks of paid sick leave when a new child arrives. The president will also call on Congress to offer six weeks of paid administrative leave. “We can't say we stand for family values when so many women in this country have to jeopardize their financial security just to take a few weeks off...

Paid maternity leave and sick days, a higher minimum wage, and pay equity legislation could address a range of women’s economic issues, panelists told a Senate committee during a hearing last week. The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee held its second hearing in a month last week to discuss legislative proposals to help women succeed in the workplace. Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) noted in his opening remarks that the United States is the only industrialized nation without a federal law providing workers access to paid maternity leave. He said the U.S. must strive to provide paid maternity...

An abashed Mike Gallagher appeared today on “America Live with Megyn Kelly” to (sort of) defend the remarks he made earlier this summer about Kelly’s three-month-long maternity leave. Back then, Gallagher called such a luxurious leave “a racket.” Today, once again in the host’s chair after the birth of her second child, daughter Yardley, four months, everybody’s favorite Fox anchor appeared keen to elicit a retraction from the radio host. She all but got it. Gallagher shamefacedly muttered several unintelligible excuses — including a half-hearted hint that he had hoped the comment wouldn’t make it through the grapevine to the...

French minister draws fire over short maternity leave By Christine Courcol, AFP January 10, 2009 PARIS - French feminists are taking aim at Justice Minister Rachida Dati who went back to work this week just five days after giving birth to a baby girl, saying she is setting a bad example. Smiling in a black suit and high heels, the 43-year-old minister attended a cabinet meeting on Wednesday at the Elysee presidential palace on the same day that she walked out of a Paris clinic clutching Zohra, her new daughter. Zohra was delivered by caesarian birth on January 2 and...

My wife was laid off after being on maternity leave. She was never given any hint of problems with employment, but got the call last week that she did not fit the position. This after working over and above the required hours and job responsibilities of her position. I would just like some opinions on this seemingly unfair layoff.

Posted on Sun, Jul. 31, 2005 On paid maternity leave, U.S. on par with Swaziland FOCUS ON EMPLOYERS HAS BEEN BIG BARRIER By Peter Svensson Associated Press In Santa Fe, N.M., Linda Strauss McIlroy, a first-time mother, is trying to get used to the thought of soon putting her 2-month-old boy in day care so she can get back to work. ``It's hard for me to imagine leaving him,'' she says. ``Just not being with him all day, leaving him with a virtual stranger. And then that's it till, you know, I retire. It's kind of crazy to think about...