Balancing Act of 2011
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
Balancing Act of 2011 - Family Leave Insurance Act - Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to direct the Secretary of Labor to establish a Family and Medical Insurance Program, which may involve contracts with state programs, under which, for specified reasons, an eligible employee of a covered employer shall be entitled to family and medical leave insurance benefits for a total of 12 workweeks of leave during any 12-month program.
Requires the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to establish a similar Civil Service Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program for federal employees.
Creates in the Treasury the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Fund.
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a family and medical leave premium on employees and employers.
Family and Medical Leave Enhancement Act - Amends the FMLA to increase the number of employers to which it applies by reducing from 50 to 25 employees the threshold number triggering application of the Act.
Entitles eligible employees and federal employees to take specified additional leave for parental involvement and family wellness.
Domestic Violence Leave Act - Entitles eligible employees, including federal employees, to leave to address domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
Includes within the purview of FMLA same-sex spouses and domestic partners and their children.
Healthy Families Act - Requires certain employers to provide paid sick time to their employees, including time to address domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
Prohibits such employers from discriminating against employees for their legitimate use of paid sick time.
Directs the Commissioner of Labor Statistics to compile specified information relating to use of paid sick time.
Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to authorize additional funds for expanding child care activities for young children under age three.
Authorizes the Secretary to allot funds to eligible states, Indian tribes, and tribal organizations for the federal share of access to affordable health benefits coverage for eligible child care providers.
The summary continues for 9 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on June 23, 2011. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 8, 2011: Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
LYNN WOOLSEY (D-CA) introduced it on June 23, 2011, and 59 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 59 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 23, 2011, 5558 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5481 days ago, on September 8, 2011.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers