John,
I was raised by a single mom who taught in the Dallas public school system. We didn’t have a lot of options for child care, so she often brought me to school with her during the day and dropped me off at the YMCA before her second job in the evening. I knew when I got to Congress that I brought with me a different perspective and have worked to make life easier for families like mine.
When my older son was born a month after I was sworn in to Congress, I knew I wanted to be there for my family. I also knew that I had a chance to set an example. I became the first member of Congress to announce their paternity leave, which gave me invaluable time with my child and began a dialogue about the familial and economic benefits of allowing fathers to have time to be there for their newborns and partners. When my younger son was born this past March, I again took paternity leave.
Since then, I have fought to expand paid family leave to every American, motivated by my own story of growing up and an understanding that millions of parents are unable to spend time with their newborns. That’s why I am fighting tooth and nail to make sure we pass a national paid family leave policy.
I hope you’ll take the time to learn more about my fight for paid family leave. You can read more in People here.
Thank you,
Colin Allred
|