{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.gallego.senate.gov/news/press-releases/gallego-backs-the-family-act-to-guarantee-universal-paid-leave/", "Gallego Backs the FAMILY Act to Guarantee Universal Paid Leave", "2025-12-10", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "AZ", "Ruben Gallego", "G000574", "www.gallego.senate.gov", "gallego", "https://www.gallego.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/", "scraper", "Legislation would create a permanent, national paid family and medical leave program\n\nWASHINGTON \u2013 Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) backed the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act to guarantee up to 12 weeks of partial income for workers who have to take leave for serious medical and family events. Paid medical and family leave is especially helpful for new parents and older Americans, who are more likely to have health issues or caregiving obligations for older relatives.\n\n\u201cI was lucky to be able to take paternity leave when I had my kids, but for too many families, especially working-class families, paid family leave is simply not an option, and they can\u2019t afford to take time off without it,\u201d said Senator Gallego. \u201cBy guaranteeing 12 weeks of paid time off for medical and family events, we can make sure no Arizonan is ever forced to choose between their health, their family, and their paycheck.\u201d\n\nThe FAMILY Act delivers a key solution to the country\u2019s public health and economic challenges and is modeled on successful state programs. Currently, 73 percent of American workers do not have access to paid leave despite a large body of research showing that paid leave improves workers\u2019 mental health, boosts employee retention and productivity, and helps businesses. Additionally, working families lose $22.5 billion per year in wages due to a lack of paid family and medical leave.\n\nThe FAMILY Act would provide workers with paid leave for a range of major life events, including:\n\nRecovering from their own serious health condition;\n\nCaring for a family member with a serious health condition;\n\nBonding with a new child\u2014whether newborn, adopted, or placed through foster care;\n\nHandling responsibilities related to a family member\u2019s military deployment;\n\nTaking \u201csafe leave\u201d to respond to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.\n\nRead the full bill HERE.\n\nEarlier this year, Senator Gallego supported Child Care for Working Families Act to ensure families across America can find and afford the high-quality child care they need.\n\n12/10/25", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "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://www.gallego.senate.gov/news/press-releases/gallego-backs-the-family-act-to-guarantee-universal-paid-leave/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5989597886800766, "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"}