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Fox News calls out Paul Ryan for demanding more ‘family time’ while blocking paid family leave

Paul Ryan appeared on Fox News Sunday where host John Roberts grilled the Republican representative about his “family oriented” beliefs.

Paul Ryan, the newly appointed Speaker of the House, appeared on Fox News Sunday where host John Roberts grilled the Republican representative about his “family oriented” beliefs.

Ryan stated that he personally needs time with his family in Wisconsin, yet will continue to block legislation that would guarantee all received time off after a birth of a child, calling it a “new entitlement” that would only waste tax payer money.

Roberts asked Ryan about the proposed Family Medical Leave Act, a law that would secure workers’ jobs for up to twelve weeks while they deal with a birth of a child or a family illness. Republicans, led by Ryan, have blocked President Obama’s push for the new legislation.

Ryan believes that a law to protect workers’ jobs while they deal with family issues is an entitlement and a waste of taxpayer money. However, despite his belief that family time is an entitlement, Ryan still returns home to Wisconsin for personal time, something he believes is essential to his job performance.

“I think people want to have members of Congress who represent them, that are like them. Don’t you want your member of Congress to be a citizen legislator who lives with you among you, who has your own kinds of concerns, who wants to spend time with his children on Saturdays and Sundays?” Ryan asked. “I’m going to keep living in Janesville, Wisconsin where I’m from, where I raise my family. I’m going to keep going back and forth to D.C.”

Ryan made it clear that while he needs a “work-life balance” in order to do his job, other workers do not even deserve job security when dealing with a new child or a family illness.

Ryan’s solution seems to be that if you want a “work-life” balance, you’re out of luck unless you have a high-paid job with a law firm. The act would not secure pay for workers who are taking time off — it would simply allow them to keep their job after up to twelve weeks away — but Ryan still dismisses it while speaking about the importance of his personal work-life balance.

“If you’re asking me, because I want to spend — I want to continue being the best dad and husband and Speaker I can be, getting that work-life balance correct means I should sign up for new unfunded entitlement, that doesn’t make any sense,” Ryan concluded.

Watch the video below, via Raw Story:

Featured image via YouTube

4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. Avatar

    alsanbalaur

    November 2, 2015 at 5:53 pm

    So family leave “doesn’t make sense” but he wants to be able to have family leave for himself. There you have it, in a nutshell, the problem with the GOP – they don’t make sense.

  2. Avatar

    L

    November 2, 2015 at 8:35 pm

    Ryan has already shown to be a terrible speaker and separated from the everyday reality of the constituents. He feels “entitled” to what he wants to deny others.

  3. Avatar

    Matthew

    November 2, 2015 at 8:40 pm

    This article misstates what the proposed legislation would indeed accomplish. As of now, under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, an employee can take a total of 12 weeks of unpaid leave due to family illness or birth of a child without losing their job. However, in describing the proposed legislation that Ryan is currently blocking, this article states that, “the act would not secure pay for workers who are taking time off — it would simply allow them to keep their job after up to twelve weeks away…” This is incorrect because the Family and Medical Leave Act already provides job security for employers who take the twelve weeks of unpaid leave. Despite that this article states otherwise, the proposed legislation that Ryan claims is an entitlement and a waste of taxpayer money, would in fact require an employer to pay the employee during their leave of absence. Unlike most other modernized countries, the United States does not currently provide paid family leave as a matter of law. This is unfortunate and needs to change, hopefully sooner rather than later.

  4. Avatar

    Dave Henson Jr.

    November 2, 2015 at 11:23 pm

    For Republicans it’s only an entitlement if someone else wants it–especially poor people. If it’s for them, they “deserve” it.

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