Rubio Introduces Plan to Use Social Security to Fund Family Leave

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has introduced a bill to fund paid leave for new parents out of their future Social Security payments, reports the Washington Post . The plan would permit parents of newborns to receive a Social Security benefit paying a portion of their salaries for at least two months, while later they would postpone the date at which they begin receiving Social Security retirement benefits to compensate for the amount withdrawn during their leave. Democrats and some family-leave advocacy groups are taking issue with the legislation. Their complaints include the skimpiness of the proposed benefit, and the idea of limiting beneficiaries' future retirement payments. Furthermore, they say most people who use the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) do so to care for sick family members or when they themselves are seriously ill, as opposed to because of childbirth or adoption. The FMLA ensures 12 weeks of unpaid leave for anyone who works for the government or for a company with 50 or more employees. "This proposal forces workers into an impossible position: if they need to cover a medical emergency today, then their Social Security benefits get cut when it's time to retire," warns Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.). "If they need to take care of a sick or dying parent, as three out of four people who need paid leave would use it, they get nothing." Democrats are backing a rival plan to create a national paid-leave program with a small payroll tax, which has not advanced.