A bipartisan paid leave bill is finally moving. Congress should pass it.

I have spent my career fighting for universal paid leave, including helping pass the Federal Employee Paid Leave Act and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. So, when I say Congress should pass the More Paid Leave for More Americans Act, it is not because it’s perfect. It is because I believe lasting policy change is built through one imperfect step at a time.

Every worker should be able to take time away from work to recover from a serious illness, care for a loved one, or welcome a child without sacrificing their income or their job. Yet it remains out of reach for millions of Americans.

The Family and Medical Leave Act guarantees up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave, but that leave is unpaid. And many workers don’t even qualify, because of restrictions tied to employer size, tenure and hours worked. The workers who most need paid leave are often the least likely to have it.

Only 14 states and the District of Columbia have enacted paid leave programs. Nearly every worker will need paid leave at some point, and right now, whether they have it often comes down to where they live.

The More Paid Leave for More Americans Act would begin changing that by creating a federal grant program that, for the first time, gives states a real financial incentive to establish paid leave programs that extend beyond parental leave to include caregiving and medical leave. To qualify, states must provide at least six weeks of paid leave with partial wage replacement scaled to income.

Six weeks won’t meet every family’s needs, but it’s far better than none and........

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