Tom Perez, the President’s right-hand man on intergovernmental affairs, alongside Jennifer Klein of the Gender Policy Council, held court with state leaders last week, pushing for movement on paid family and medical leave legislation. The White House gabfest, described in a release, rallied legislators from both sides of the aisle to trade notes on successful programs and those still on the drawing board.
Officials from the White House didn't miss a beat, praising the lawmakers for their strides on what they've dubbed a critical issue for workers' wellbeing. As April ushers in the Administration's self-proclaimed “Month of Action on Care,” dedication to the cause is being marked in spades – especially hot on the heels of President Biden's budget proposal for a national paid leave plan. "The Administration applauds the thirteen states and the District of Columbia that have passed paid leave laws," the White House statement read, revving up support for a nationwide roll-out.
At the roundtable, the New Jersey Department of Labor’s Holly Low and Hawaii’s head honchos in the legislature, Senate President Ronald Kouchi and State Rep. Scot Matayoshi, were among the voices heard. Maine’s Senator Mattie Daughtry and Rep. Kristen Cloutier, Michigan’s Jasper Martus, Minnesota’s Erin Maye Quade, and the New Mexico dynamic duo, Linda Serrato and Patricia Roybal Caballero, all threw their two cents into the fray.
