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One of the most significant stumbling blocks for many new families is the lack of paid family leave for new parents. Every parent knows that those first few weeks and months at home with new babies are crucial and filled with things such as doctors’ appointments and routine check-ups. The amount of time that parents spend with their newborn plays an important role in the parent-child relationship, as well as childhood and adolescent development. Giving every new mom and dad the flexibility to stay home for some of that time is something all Americans would like to see.

WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) made the following statement Thursday after the White House communicated it would not support the ARTICLE ONE Act, a bill that would reclaim legislative powers for Congress from the executive branch. “Congress is supposed to be the first among the federal government’s three co-equal branches,” Sen. Lee said. “For decades, Congress has been giving far too much legislative power to the executive branch. While there was attention on the issue I had hoped the ARTICLE ONE Act could begin to take that power back. Unfortunately, it appears the bill does not have an immediate path forward, so I will be voting to terminate the latest emergency declaration. I hope this legislation will serve as a starting point for future work on this very important issue.”

U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Mike Lee (R-UT) are putting forward a paid parental leave plan that is budget neutral and flexible for parents who choose to opt in. Their legislation, the CRADLE Act, would allow parents to receive one, two, or three months of paid leave by giving them the option to postpone activating their Social Security benefits. The plan provides every new mom and dad the flexibility to stay home with their newborns during the critical first months after birth, without creating another massive mandated government program or adding to our ever-growing deficit.

“The prosecutor,” Justice Robert Jackson once said, “has more control over life, liberty, and reputation than any other person in America.” That statement is just as true today as it was when Justice Jackson first uttered it in 1940, but federal prosecutors are actually some of the most unaccountable federal officials in the country today. The problem traces to a loophole in the Inspector General Act of 1978 which refers all allegations of Department of Justice lawyer misconduct to the DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) and the DOJ inspector general.