{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://mcbride.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-mcbride-fair-leave-isnt-just-matter-fair-policy-its-matter-life-and-death", "Rep. McBride: \u201cFair Leave isn\u2019t Just a Matter of Fair Policy \u2014 It\u2019s a Matter of Life and Death\u201d", "2025-05-15", "2025", "2025-05", "Democrat", "House", "DE", "Sarah McBride", "M001238", "mcbride.house.gov", "mcbride", "https://mcbride.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Congresswoman Sarah McBride (D-DE) released a deeply personal video message announcing the introduction of the FAIR Leave Act, bipartisan legislation she is leading to strengthen the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). In the video, Rep. McBride shares her experience caring for her late husband, Andy, during his battle with cancer.\n\n\u201cThe fight for fair leave isn\u2019t just a matter of fair policy\u2014it\u2019s a matter of life and death,\u201d McBride says in the video. \u201cI know because I lived it. I held my husband\u2019s hand as he took his last breath after his battle with cancer. At the time, we were working for the same employer.\u201d\n\nUnder current FMLA regulations, spouses who work for the same employer must split a single 12-week leave period, unlike other families who each are entitled to full leave. The FAIR Leave Act (Fully Adhering to Individual Rights in Leave) would end this inequity by guaranteeing each worker the full 12 weeks of job-protected leave provided under federal law.\n\n\u201cThat means that two new parents who work for the same employer get half the leave of other new parents,\u201d McBride explains in the video. \u201cIt means that a patient and their spouse could lose their job or health coverage simply for needing more than 12 weeks between the two of them.\u201d\n\nThe FAIR Leave Act, introduced with Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Haley Stevens (D-MI), is a commonsense, bipartisan fix that restores fairness to the FMLA and provides much-needed flexibility for working families during some of life\u2019s most difficult moments.\n\nMcBride, who in her first term as a Delaware State Senator passed the landmark Healthy Delaware Families Act to establish paid family and medical leave statewide, says this fight is both personal and urgent.\n\n\u201cUp until his last breath, Andy and I both knew how lucky we were. So many couples aren\u2019t nearly as lucky,\u201d McBride reflected in the video. \u201cI ran for Congress because I do not believe that in the wealthiest, most developed nation on earth that the time and ability to get and provide care should be a matter of luck. It should be the law of the land.\u201d\n\nThe full video is available here for use.\n\nLearn more about the FAIR Leave Act here and access the full bill text here.\n\nThe full transcript of the video is below:\n\n\u201cThe fight for fair leave isn\u2019t just a matter of fair policy\u2013it\u2019s a matter of life and death.\n\n\u201cI know because I lived it.\n\n\u201cI held my husband\u2019s hand as he took his last breath after his battle with cancer.\n\n\u201cAt the time, we were working for the same employer.\n\n\u201cAndy and I had met when I was still in college and we would go on to work at the same place. He was working to expand health care under the ACA and I was working on passing workplace protections. And we were falling in love \u2013 feeling, as two 20-year-olds, that we had a world of possibilities before the two of us.\n\n\u201cAnd then, when we got the news of Andy\u2019s diagnosis, the world came crashing down on us.\n\n\u201cAndy had a fighting spirit up until the end. And through it all, we both knew how lucky we were.\n\n\u201cWe knew we were lucky that Andy had health insurance that allowed him to get care that would hopefully save his life.\n\n\u201cWe knew we were lucky to have flexibility with our employer that allowed him to focus on the full time job of getting treatment and for me to be there by his side, to support and care for him through surgeries, radiation, and chemotherapy - and, when he found out his cancer was terminal, to care for him as I walked alongside him to his passing.\n\n\u201cUp until his last breath, Andy and I both knew how lucky we were. So many couples aren\u2019t nearly as lucky.\n\n\u201cI ran for Congress because I do not believe that in the wealthiest, most developed nation on earth that the time and ability to get and provide care should be a matter of luck.\n\n\u201cIt should be the law of the land.\n\n\u201cWorkers should be at the grace and favor of their employer to get the care they need.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s why I worked across the aisle with my colleagues in the Delaware State Senate to expand access to health care and guarantee the leave that workers need.\n\n\u201cAnd it\u2019s why I\u2019m proud to introduce the bipartisan FAIR Leave Act in Congress\u2013legislation to strengthen the landmark federal Family and Medical Leave Act by ensuring that families who work for the same employer are entitled to the same job-protected leave as other workers.\n\n\u201cUnder current federal law, married individuals who work for the same employer have to share a total of 12 weeks of leave between them unlike families who work for different employers. That means that new parents who work for the same employer get half the parental leave as other new parents. It means that both a patient and their spouse who work for the same company could risk losing their job and their health coverage because they need more than 12 weeks of leave between the two of them.\n\n\u201cOur bill changes that \u2013 guaranteeing that every worker covered by FMLA is able toget up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave. This bipartisan bill is about families and fairness, compassion, and care.\n\n\u201cBecause no one should have to choose between their job and the people they love.\n\n\u201cNow, let\u2019s get it done. Stay in touch, and I\u2019ll do the same.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T00:49:36Z"]], "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://mcbride.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-mcbride-fair-leave-isnt-just-matter-fair-policy-its-matter-life-and-death"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 3.213271964341402, "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"}