Manchin puts paid family leave, Medicare vouchers on spending bill chopping block - NBC News

WASHINGTON — Paid family leave, one of the hallmarks of President Joe Biden's social safety net agenda, is in jeopardy of being pared once again or even cut from a major spending bill over a lack of support from Sen.

Manchin, one of two Senate Democrats who have chipped away at Biden's "Build Back Better" proposal, is against including four weeks of paid family and medical leave, said two sources familiar with the negotiations.

Asked Monday whether he had concerns about the paid leave proposal, Manchin said: "I'm concerned about an awful lot of things.".

His comments come just days after Biden said paid leave had been curtailed but not eliminated.

“It is down to four weeks," Biden said at a CNN town hall on Thursday.

Gillibrand later told reporters she is negotiating with Manchin to ensure that paid family leave stays in the bill.

“Democrats are pushing for a robust paid family leave program, but right now four weeks is looking more likely,” an aide closely involved with crafting the provisions told NBC News, adding that the proposal is being “fiercely negotiated.”.

Even if Democrats were to settle on four weeks of paid parental leave, the U.S.

The global average for paid maternity leave is 29 weeks, and it is 16 weeks for paid paternity leave, according to data from the World Policy Analysis Center at UCLA.

Some Democrats said too many key components of Biden's spending package have already been gutted to satisfy Manchin and Sen.

New opposition to paid family leave, a priority for Biden and progressives, would mark a significant setback in negotiations over the bill.

Advocates had felt confident that four weeks of paid leave would make it into the final bill, especially because the provision meets Manchin's criteria for work requirements and means testing?

Moderate Democrats, especially Manchin and Sinema, have taken issue with several aspects of Biden's spending agenda and have sought a smaller price tag than the $3.5 trillion top line that was initially proposed.

Schumer, who joined Manchin on Sunday at Biden's home in Delaware to discuss the spending bill, said Monday that there were "three or four outstanding issues." He did not go into detail.

Some House Democrats are putting pressure on Manchin to keep certain components of Biden's proposal intact.