President Bush Thinks Your Baby Is Better Without You
By Seriously.
Congress is well on its way to approving four week of paid parental leave for federal employees upon the birth or adoption of a child or to care for a foster child. But guess what? Bush is threatening to veto it, calling it a “costly, unnecessary, new paid leave entitlement.”
Here’s more on the bill (which the House has approved):
Under the measure, employees would be able to continue to use accrued vacation days as part of their parental leave. The bill also would make it easier to use sick leave to care for a child by eliminating the current requirement to demonstrate medical need. The Office of Personnel Management would have the discretion to grant an additional four weeks of paid leave. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the legislation would cost about $105 per federal employee annually.
Sounds like a common sense policy to me, even despite its cost. The White House and OMB don’t think so because they think sick time is enough. But if you’ve been sick and you have a baby, you’re screwed. Ah, the compassionate nature of our conservatives.