Late in 2019, the House passed legislation to ensure all Americans have equal access to vote. H.R. 4, the Voting Rights Advancement Act, sponsored by Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.), passed in December on a near party-line vote (228-187), with one Republican supporting it. The bill aims to restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in its entirety. The landmark law was pared back after the Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder, which essentially stripped the law of a “coverage formula” that determined which jurisdictions had a history of racial discrimination in voting policies. Those jurisdictions would then need…

The issue of paid family leave in the U.S. is gaining momentum among lawmakers. In December 2019, President Trump signed a multibillion-dollar defense bill that guarantees federal workers 12 weeks of paid leave after the birth or adoption of a child. The bill includes language from the Federal Employee Paid Leave Act, written by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.). “When this bill is signed into law, it will be a tremendous victory for 2.1 million federal employees who will no longer need to choose between being home with their new child or their paychecks,” Maloney said in a statement. While the…