This archive report was first published on 28 October 2021.
Published on October 28, 2021, a paid family leave plan was on the verge of being cut from the Democrats' sprawling domestic policy package due to opposition from Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, the provision's biggest champion in the Senate, had been in talks with Senator Manchin to salvage the program. Despite concessions, including narrowing the benefit to cover leave only for new parents, Senator Manchin remained opposed.
"I'm looking at everything," Senator Manchin said. "But to put this into a reconciliation bill — it's a major policy — is not the place to do it."
Democrats must keep all 50 senators and most of their members in the House united behind the plan for it to pass. The opposition from Senator Manchin, along with other centrist senators, has complicated their efforts to reach a deal.
As Democrats scaled back their initial $3.5 trillion blueprint to around $1.5 trillion, the proposal to provide paid family and medical leave has been in jeopardy. Senator Gillibrand argued that paid leave would bolster the Social Security system by encouraging more work and boosting tax revenues.
