Press Releases

House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) issued the following statement regarding the president's call for legislation that would mandate employers provide paid sick leave:

Working families are being squeezed and the answer isn’t more government. The president has shown time and again his only response to the challenges facing working families is to impose more mandates on workplaces. It should be clear to the president by now his approach isn’t working and the American people deserve better.

Two years ago, the House passed legislation to give workers the opportunity to choose paid time off for working overtime hours. This new flexibility would help working moms and dads take paid time off to care for a sick child, visit an aging relative, or attend a child’s sporting event. Instead of supporting this effort, the Obama administration threatened to veto the bill, and it died in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

Our country desperately needs commonsense, pro-growth reforms that will create new jobs, raise wages, and help workers meet the needs of their families. These are the priorities shared by most Americans, and I am confident they will remain the priorities of this Congress in the months ahead.

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