POLITICAL FIGURES/WOMEN: “Sen. Tammy Duckworth has a problem: How can a senator who needs to vote take time off to care for her newborn? ‘I can’t technically take maternity leave,’ Duckworth said in the latest episode of the Women Rule podcast. ‘Because if I take maternity leave, then I won’t be allowed to sponsor legislation or vote during that time period.’
The Illinois Democrat and Iraq War veteran, who is expecting her second child this spring, will be the first sitting senator to give birth in office. She plans to take 12 weeks of paid leave – but she’s working with her party’s leadership and her staff to figure out how she can still take important votes while she’s out. ‘It’s going to change some Senate rules,’ Duckworth said.
The Senate often has members with medical issues who must spend significant time away from Washington. But a mother with a newborn presents new questions that Senate leaders are confronting for the first time.
For instance: ‘You are not allowed to bring children onto the floor of the Senate at all,’ Duckworth pointed out. ‘If I have to vote, and I’m breastfeeding my child, especially during my maternity leave period, what do I do? Leave her sitting outside?’
For Senate Democrats, the absence of Duckworth — a former Black Hawk pilot who has raised her national profile in recent months by firing off blistering criticisms of President Donald Trump — could be a significant hurdle given the current 51 to 49 split in the Senate with Democrats in the minority. She has also become a key voice for her party as it gears up for a tough midterm election cycle.”
-Anna Palmer and Reena Flores, “Duckworth: ‘I can’t technically take maternity leave’,” Politico, Feb. 14, 2018 05:01am