How can we make paid family leave a reality for all American moms?

Most Americans are in favor of paid family leave for new moms, and many want paid leave for dads so they can support moms and babies. But, as popular as the idea of paid family leave is, there’s little talk about how to actually make it happen for every American mother. 

Key Takeaways:

• The only proposed federal legislation with bipartisan support, the More Paid Leave for More Americans Act, was introduced by the House Paid Family Leave Working Group in 2025 and includes two bills prodding states to take action. 

• Fourteen states currently have paid family leave programs, and some experts believe change at the state level will be more effective and more timely for families.

Three Big Questions:

• How feasible are conservative claims of paid family leave that doesn’t worsen the national debt or impose mandates on businesses?

• How reasonable are progressives’ expectations that the federal government foot the bill?

• What can we learn from the 14 states that are already successfully overseeing paid family leave programs? 

Why It Matters:

(Un)paid family leave: The state of our union

Unpaid family leave, which guarantees that your job will be waiting for you for up to 12 weeks but makes no promises about paying you while you’re away, has been around for roughly three decades.

The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law applying (with certain exceptions such as part-time hourly workers) to the vast majority of working adults.

But there is no federal law guaranteeing paid leave while moms and dads are off work for the birth or adoption of a baby, setting America apart from virtually every other industrialized nation.

On the one hand, it’s true that more Americans than ever have access to paid family leave. On the other, paid family leave remains out of reach for the vast majority of low-wage workers. 

Paid family leave is worth figuring out

Paid family leave is worth getting right. Here are some benefits:

• Moms who have access to paid family leave are less likely to suffer from postpartum depression (specifically with 12 weeks of leave) and are more likely to breastfeed, with all the known health benefits for baby.

• Moms are also less likely to go on public assistance during that first year after birth.

• Babies are also less likely to die before their first birthday.

• Both mothers and babies are less likely to be hospitalized.

Furthermore, a lack of finances is a main reason women say they seek abortions. 

(Note: The terms ‘paid family leave’ or ‘paid family and medical leave’ sometimes also includes leave to care for sick or dying family members.)

Zoom In:

The website Paid Leave for Families asserts that “83% of registered voters support paid leave for parents. Conservatives can lead the debate with budget-neutral proposals and no mandates on business.” Let’s break down what that means. 

45S tax breaks

First up, conservatives encourage every business to take advantage of the 45S federal tax credit that started out as a temporary COVID-time measure and was made permanent, with updated eligibility guidelines, in 2025. Companies can claim 12.5-25% tax credits for paid leave provided to qualified employees at or greater than 50% of their regular wages, for a minimum of two weeks and a maximum of 12 weeks.

However, critics insist that tax credits are wildly insufficient, especially for small business owners, because they don’t cover the costs of hiring temporary workers or the lost revenue of the absent employees. 

Social Security legislation

Another option espoused by conservatives is federal legislation that allows mothers to use some of the social security money they’d otherwise receive at retirement to ‘fund’ their paid leave.

The New Parents Act introduced in 2023 and the Child Rearing and Development Leave Act (CRADLE Act) which was announced in 2019 but not introduced as legislation are versions of this idea. 

But this legislation model requires the mother to delay retirement by twice the length of leave time she took. If she took one month of paid leave, she must defer her retirement by two months; if she took two months, defer by four months, and so on.

If a woman has three or more children and takes three months of paid leave for each (remember, evidence above of benefits for moms and babies often presumes 12 weeks or about 3 months of paid leave), she would be delaying her retirement by a full year and a half, or 18 months. 

Child Tax Credit legislation

Other conservative-supported federal paid family leave legislation includes the Advancing Support for Working Families Act and the Support Working Families Act, both introduced in 2019. Child tax credit legislation allows families to optionally take up to $5000 of their future child tax credits at the time of the child’s birth. 

Each year following, they deduct $500 from the amount of child tax credit they would otherwise claim, for a total of 10 years. 

Again, theoretically this might work for a family with one child. But who is going to be interested in deducting $500 from their child tax credits for 10 years per child if they have, say, three children? 

Other conservative-sponsored legislative options

Other legislation, the Working Families Flexibility Act, would allow employees to work overtime and accrue paid time off rather than receive overtime pay. That paid time off could be banked and used upon the birth of a child. 

Issues with these legislative options

None of the above paid family leave legislation, with the exception of the 45S Tax Credits for employers, is active. But the main issue with all the rest is that each requires the mother or couple to essentially take a significant loan out against future pay or Social Security benefits.

Each of these penalizes the mother for having a child. 

In reality, a child is always a gift, at the economic level as future employees, and at a deeper, more fundamental level because each person is good simply because they exist.

Mothers should be commended, not financially docked, for having children. 

What alternatives do progressives propose? 

Democrats such as U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois advocate for universal paid family leave legislation funded by the federal government, such as the FAMILY Act.

However, a press release from Duckworth’s office acknowledged, “Part of the opposition to enhancing paid leave policies has come from businesses that fear it will lead to higher costs.” 

The ONLY proposed federal legislation with bipartisan support

At present, the only proposed federal legislation with bipartisan support, the More Paid Leave for More Americans Act, was introduced by the House Paid Family Leave Working Group in 2025 and includes two bills prodding states to take action. 

According to The Hill,

1. The Paid Family Leave Public-Private Partnership Act  “would establish a three-year pilot grant program within the Department of Labor aimed at encouraging states to establish paid family leave programs using public-private partnerships.”

2. The Interstate Paid Leave Action Network “would establish best practices for paid leave programs based on success in various states with the aim for ‘harmonization’ across the patchwork of different state laws.”

Looking Ahead:

Paid family leave success will likely come from state-level changes

In an insightful interview with UC-Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, long-time paid family leave advocate Orli Cotel stated:

“A good federal bill would clearly be the best solution [to get the most women access to paid family leave]. And it would be the simplest solution for big businesses who wouldn’t have to navigate employees living in 50 different states that someday could have 50 different laws.” 

However, she went on to explain why she doesn’t encourage setting our sights on a federal bill in the near future:

“But in the meantime, the wins at the state level are incredibly inspiring and energizing, and they’re actually bringing paid leave now to people who need it. If we just focus on the long-term vision of a federal bill, it’s going to take a long time.” 

What’s working for states with paid family leave policies in place? 

Cotel spelled out, “All 14 states have done things the same way, and it’s working well” in terms of far fewer people actually taking advantage than the average critic might fear, fathers taking leave to bond with their babies, improved health for babies (even years down the road), employers (including small businesses) adapting favorably to leave programs, improvements in employee morale, and reduced turnover. 

Specifically,:

“They run paid leave through a statewide insurance program. Sometimes employees pay a small premium, and other times employers pay it, and most commonly it is split. For the employee, it can be a few dollars a week, so it isn’t much. That goes into a pool of money that funds leave for everyone when they need it.” 

She added, “And it’s important to note that it’s not just parental leave — it also funds leave to care for an aging parent or a family member with a serious illness like cancer.” 

The Bottom Line:

Evidence points to the effectiveness of state-level solutions to the issue of ensuring paid family leave access for every American mother.