Of course paid leave was going to be dropped from the reconciliation bill.
The bill is a shell, and progressives should not vote for it.
For a second time in a row the progressive caucus left democratic leadership — namely Nancy Pelosi and President Biden — utterly humiliated, and for good reason. As many of us saw coming before the “negotiations” even really began, not only was the reconciliation bill gutted to a shell of what it once was, progressives were being pressured to simply take their word for it that Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema would vote for the reconciliation bill if they passed the bipartisan infrastructure bill first. The meeting between Speaker Pelosi and the progressive caucus grew so heated that Rashida Tlaib walked out and Nancy Pelosi was reportedly kicked out, stalking off without even saying a word to the press who was waiting. The bill, which they hoped to have voted on yesterday, is now being delayed another week at least.
While I don’t doubt that there will eventually be a vote on the reconciliation bill as is, I can’t help hoping that progressives will recognize the ability to kill legislation is power, and tank the bill that no longer even has any paid family leave benefits whatsoever.
No paid family leave.
