May 06, 2022

Ahead of Mother’s Day, Duckworth Discusses Supporting Working Families, Paid Leave During National Partnership for Women and Families Fireside Chat

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] –  This week, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined the National Partnership for Women and Families for a fireside chat to discuss her efforts in Congress to help empower working families and moms. During the event, Duckworth highlighted her bicameral Support Through Loss Act, which aims to raise awareness about pregnancy loss and establish new paid leave benefits for Americans experiencing painful challenges while seeking to grow their family. Duckworth also reiterated the call to establish a national paid leave program and discussed why paid leave is critical for businesses, our nation’s workforce and the health and stability of working families.

“At a national level, our paid leave policies are unfortunately, inadequate—and that is just unacceptable,” Duckworth said. “People need paid leave for a variety of reasons, and we should support our workers, whether they need a medical procedure, need to take care of a loved one or need to take care of themselves. It’s been proven that paid leave helps workers, especially mothers working outside of the home, and I won’t stop doing what I can to help establish a national program.”

Last year, Duckworth and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) introduced the Support Through Loss Act to support those experiencing the loss of a pregnancy or other challenges starting a family by increasing access to workforce supports, access to resources and patient-centered care. It would also have the Department of Health and Human Services and the Center for Disease Control develop and disseminate public information regarding pregnancy loss and invest in the National Institutes of Health to expand and coordinate research and programs with respect to pregnancy loss.

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