{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://houlahan.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3689", "Houlahan\u2019s Paid Family Leave Expansion Included in Final Defense Bill", "2023-12-12", "2023", "2023-12", "Democrat", "House", "PA", "Chrissy Houlahan", "H001085", "houlahan.house.gov", "houlahan", "https://houlahan.house.gov/press/documentquery.aspx", "page_html", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Representatives Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), Don Beyer (D-VA), and Don Bacon (R-NE) announced that their amendment to expand access to paid family leave for veterans in the federal workforce was adopted in the Conference Report for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Houlahan, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, led the effort. The amendment credits military service towards eligibility for paid family and medical leave for those transitioning to a civilian job in the federal government. The bipartisan effort was also supported by Reps. Nancy Mace (R-SC) and Chris Smith (R-NJ).\n\n\"I can\u2019t underscore enough how far federal paid family leave has come in the past few years,\u201d said Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA). \u201cIn FY20, I secured 12 weeks of paid parental leave for federal workers; in FY23, I also secured 12 weeks for our service members. But even as we saw historic progress, a gap remained for our service members transitioning to a job in the federal government. By crediting time in uniform towards paid parental leave for the federal government, we will help retain the best and brightest America has to offer. I am grateful for the steadfast partnership of Rep. Beyer as we strengthen our workforce and, in turn, our national security. I look forward to seeing this policy signed into law in the coming weeks.\"\n\n\u201cEvery American worker deserves access to family and medical leave, and the provision we secured in the NDAA will recognize time in military service like time in the federal civil service,\u201d said Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA). \u201cPassage of this measure will be a big win for my constituents, many of whom are federal workers. But federal employees work all across the United States, and a huge number of them served their country in uniform, so the benefit of this much-needed change to law will be felt all over the country. I am grateful to my colleagues in both chambers for their support for this legislation, and in particular to Reps. Chrissy Houlahan, Don Bacon, Nancy Mace, and Chris Smith for their leadership.\u201d\n\n\u201cProviding family medical leave benefits to federal employees is one of Congress\u2019 more significant legislative accomplishments over the past several years,\u201d said Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE). \u201cI\u2019m grateful for the opportunity to work with Congressman Beyer supporting veterans who choose to enter the federal work force by crediting their past military service toward their family and medical leave eligibility requirements. I\u2019m pleased this provision was included in the final conference agreement and look forward to it becoming law before the end of the year.\u201d\n\nBackground\n\nCurrently, military personnel who transition to a civilian job in the federal government are not eligible for paid family or medical leave policies until they\u2019ve worked for 12 months in their new civilian role. In order to help recruit and retain the best workforce America has to offer, this new policy would credit military personnel\u2019s service in uniform towards the 12 months eligibility requirement.\n\nICYMI: The New York Times wrote about Houlahan\u2019s legislation to provide 12 weeks of paid parental leave for military personnel, which went into effect earlier this year.\n\nHoulahan is an Air Force veteran, an engineer, a serial entrepreneur, an educator, and a nonprofit leader. She represents Pennsylvania\u2019s 6th Congressional District, which encompasses Chester County and southern Berks County. She serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. She is the recipient of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce\u2019s Abraham Lincoln Leadership for America Award which \u201crecognizes members who demonstrate the bipartisan leadership and constructive governing necessary to move our country forward\u201d and the Congressional Management Foundation\u2019s 2022 Democracy Award for best Constituent Services in Congress.\n\n###", 1, "2026-04-08T14:14:11Z", "2026-04-08T14:23:06Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://houlahan.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3689"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7008558604866266, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}