Frank Wolf Serves Federal Workers Well
Here at That’s My Congress, we like to look beyond the easy categorizations of partisan identity. When a person looks at the details of legislative action, as we have over the last three years, one comes to see that there’s a lot of diversity within, and some overlap between, the Democratic and Republican parties. That makes it important to note when members of Congress cross the aisle – for negative as well as for positive reasons.
Republican Frank Wolf, of the 10th congressional district of Virginia, has crossed the aisle in the pursuit of a worthwhile cause: The decent treatment of federal workers. Congressman Wolf has joined four Democrats to sponsor the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act (H.R. 626). The proposed law would give federal employees four weeks of paid parental leave.
Claims of common ground are often a sham, covering up the results of a lopsided negotiation in which one side gets the lion’s share of the benefits. The Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act, however, is a true meeting of the interests of Republican and Democratic constituencies. Republicans say that they support family values. Democrats say that they support workers’ rights. Both of these are provided for with H.R. 626, and Frank Wolf deserves some respect for his recognition of this bigger picture.
