Parents in the US shared their experiences after giving birth or adopting, and their stories illustrate why paid leave is needed. The stories, compiled from 26 parents for BuzzFeed, include a father who was only able to take 1.5 days off and a mother who recounts how her “son was born on a Wednesday and I was back at work on Monday.” | BUZZFEED

The South Carolina House has passed a paid leave plan for state employees, and it includes twelve weeks of leave after the adoption or birth of a child. Should the legislation make it through the Senate and on to Governor McMaster’s desk, he intends to sign it into law. “I wish we could pay law enforcement more, a lot of people,” he says. “We need to help them as much as we can and [paid family leave is] one way we can.” | THE STATE

Momentum is building behind the paid family leave movement as more corporations and public officials embrace the policy amid the coronavirus pandemic. More than 190 American companies urged Congress in a letter on Tuesday to pass the policy in the next spending package.

The bipartisan push for federally-supported paid family leave continues, and pro-life conservatives want to lead the way.

It's estimated that the pandemic has forced more than one million women from the workforce to care for their children who are home from school. This also happens to many moms and dads with the birth of a new baby. Very few get paid leave to help that transition to family life, but there's bipartisan agreement in Congress that needs to change.

Even before the global pandemic stripped our households of critical care infrastructure and resources, America’s working families were stretched to the bone trying to make it all work. The need for adequate paid family leave policies had been growing by the year, with public policy struggling to catch up with the realities American workers had been facing on the ground.

Republicans have to recognize that their policies must address the conditions of not simply corporations, but also of the working families that keep these businesses running (and keep the Republican Party relevant).

Paid leave has been supported by leaders across the political spectrum, from President Trump to Speaker Pelosi.

Few really believe it makes sense that new parents are routinely forced to choose between caring for their newborns and genuine economic hardship. A society — and a government — that genuinely values family life can and should take appropriate steps to foster that in ways that reward personal responsibility and other small-c conservative values.

As policymakers consider how to shore up the labor force and support families during this uncertain time, an expanded paid leave policy should rise to the top of consideration, particularly for fiscal hawks hand-wringing over the nation’s ballooning debt.

My first grandchild is now two months old. Her parents are back at work, and my wife gets to babysit – something we are not taking for granted after the COVID-19 isolation these last couple of months.

Senators Bill Cassidy (R., La.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D., Ariz.) have teamed up to introduce the fourth paid-parental-leave plan on offer this Congress, and the first bipartisan proposal of its kind. Their bill would allow new parents to obtain an advance on their child tax credit (CTC) to help with the cost during the first year of having a child.

Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) unveiled Congress’ first bipartisan paid family leave proposal on Tuesday, which could serve as the basis through which Congress passes a federal solution to help young parents start new families. Cassidy charged “there is no bigger kitchen table issue” than parents taking care of their newborn child.

Video: Kristan Hawkins discusses a fiscally responsible plan for paid family leave.

Despite the very real economic gains most Americans have begun to make under the helpful policies of President Trump, working families remain in a state of crisis both financially and socially.

Advocates have long backed a national mandate for paid parental leave in the U.S., but it looks increasingly like it may pass in the near future, in part due to support from Republicans and the business lobby.

On Tuesday, Sens. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduced the Child Rearing and Development Leave Empowerment Act, legislation that would for the first time provide universal access for all workers to paid parental leave.

Conservatives have long opposed the idea of government involvement in the provision of paid-leave benefits, recognizing its tremendous downsides, but the approach taken by Lee and Ernst avoids those downsides: It simply reforms an existing entitlement program so that people have greater flexibility and control over when they can access benefits.

As conservatives, it is part of our fundamental values to emphasize the importance of the family and the care of children.

Democrats have dominated discussions surrounding parental leave for decades. But Republicans are now poised to introduce a raft of new proposals in the coming weeks, reflecting the party’s effort to win back the suburban women it lost in the midterms.