Labor Panel’s Top GOP Senator Sees Path for Paid Parental Leave

After his first month as the top Republican on the Senate’s labor panel, Louisiana’s Sen. Bill Cassidy predicts there could be bipartisan action on workforce development and movement on paid leave legislation.

In turn, however, Cassidy expects to push back on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) plan for the committee’s approach to businesses and investigations, he said in an interview with Bloomberg Law.

Recent committee action offers a preview of the back and forth to come. Senate Republicans and a few Democrats rejected a US Department of Labor rule on environmental, social, and governance retirement investing, and Sanders scheduled committee votes to subpoena Starbucks Corp. chief Howard Schultz for testimony and launch an investigation into major corporations’ labor practices.

The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Senator, I wanted to ask you about the L of HELP, the labor sector. Where do you think you’ll find agreement with Sen. Sanders to get legislation over the finish line?

Well, I think we’re most committed to workforce development. Our first hearing went very well, looking at the healthcare shortage. So creating more opportunity for people to upskill, make better money, but frankly improve their family and up the economy. I mean, it’s just a win, win, win, win, win, win. So I think workforce development is going to be some place for common ground.

There are a couple of bills that are up for reauthorization, including the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Do you think you’re going to be able to work on this reauthorization? What do you think needs to be fixed?

We haven’t had any hearings yet. I feel like I shouldn’t prejudge, we should have hearings to listen to what’s working and what’s not. But there’s not a single federal program that couldn’t be more effective, and I think Sen. Sanders is interested in that as well.

My concern, hopefully everybody’s concern, is how do we help people that seek help? How do we help them get a better job?

Let’s turn to paid leave. There’s a new bipartisan working group in the house on paid leave. You’ve led efforts on paid leave in the Senate. What do you think might make this Congress different for acting on paid leave?

I think recognition of the issue has broadened. Our society is changing and we attempt to respond to changing demands of society.

I’m still very interested in the bipartisan, bicameral bill Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and I wrote that would help provide for paid parental leave. Paid parental leave, I’m told, is the majority of paid family leave. A woman has a baby, and she and the husband need to take time off. How do you do that? We had a bill directed at paid parental leave and we will continue to speak with others about it. But there’ll be other proposals and I’ve already talked to people about those proposals.

So you’re saying federal legislation on paid leave should focus first on parental leave, not necessarily sick leave?

I’m not saying we should only do that, but I learned last Congress that most issues related to the need for paid leave are related to paid parental leave and that is typically around the birth of a child. So that’s a good starting place. I’m not saying to not look at other things, but that’s a very good starting place. Particularly since Sinema and I had a bill that would keep a [Congressional Budget Office] score of zero or almost zero.

We should certainly look at other things, but you have to find a way to pay for it.

Are you open to proposals on some sort of a payroll deduction, like it’s done in some states? Or would that be a new tax that you would be against?

It depends on how you structure that. We already have Social Security and Medicare, and among the proposals out there is raising everyone’s payroll taxes. You start raising everything and you end up with a high payroll tax and President Biden said he wouldn’t raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000.

So you wouldn’t approve a new payroll tax.

I think that at this point is politically impossible, and you have to shore up Medicare and Social Security before you start adding a new payroll tax.

Sen. Sanders has been very focused on oversight of corporate America. He invited Howard Schultz to testify, he has also called out Amazon and Google for their handling of organizing. What do you think about his focus on the CEOs, and the unionization drives at Starbucks and tech companies across the country?

Let’s see where Sen. Sanders goes with these hearings. He published a book, It’s Okay to be Angry with Capitalism. I haven’t read it, but have read about it.

The left is alleging that companies like Amazon and Starbucks are doing things that are not legal. Maybe they have, but I haven’t heard of any successful prosecution. Maybe there’s a prosecution, but I’ve not heard of it.

So when people allege, I’m not saying Bernie is, that companies are doing wrong things, it’s a serious allegation.

From my perspective, this should be about the worker. Does the worker have the ability to make the best choice for their life? Does she have the ability to choose being in a union or not being in a union? It shouldn’t be about the union, it should be about the worker.

So the hearings are going to be an indictment of capitalistic practices, but I welcome the debate and we’ll see.