Yesterday, the House voted 278-146 to pass H.R. 5781, which would provide four weeks of paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child and would allow new parents to use accrued sick leave for an additional eight weeks of leave. 

Under current law, new parents can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid maternity or paternity leave and are limited to only 13 days of sick leave to care for children.

Companion legislation that would align federal parental leave policies with a provision in the fiscal 2009 defense authorization bill was introduced into the Senate by Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) on Monday.  Co-sponsor of the House bill, Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA) said that he did not think stand-alone legislation would pass the Senate this late in the session, but with the large bipartisan support in the House, it might be possible to include it in the appropriations process.

Unfortunately for the bill's supporters, the White House issued a statement on Monday that indicated that President Bush's advisors would recommend a veto, arguing that the law "would provide a costly, unnecessary new paid leave requirement" and noted that federal employees already have a combined balance of over seven weeks of leave.  

The White House proposed a short-disability insurance benefit that would allow employees to purchase affordable coverage on a voluntary basis.  Bill co-sponsor, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), said such an option does not stack up to true paid leave benefits and chided the president for not supporting the legislation.  

"As the nation's largest employer, the federal government should be setting a national standard with workplace policies that are truly family-friendly," Maloney said. "If President Bush supports family values, he will reevaluate his misguided veto threat of this important legislation."

In fact, the federal government is way behind the private sector and much of the world on this issue.  A recent study by the Joint Economic Committee found that 75 percent of Fortune 500 companies offered new mothers paid maternity leave, typically lasting six to eight weeks.  Also, more than 163 industrialized nations guarantee paid maternity leave and 45 of those also provide paid paternity leave.