Paid parental leave proposed by Megan Markle and some US senators

New York Democrat, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, invites Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex to Washington. This is following the Duchess' letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer promoting paid family leave.

Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, stated in her open letter the existing problems in the citizenry; revealed by the pandemic an "alarming rate" of women having no choice but to resign from their jobs so that they could care for their children. "The working mom or parent is facing the conflict of being present or being paid. The sacrifice of either comes at a great cost,” the duchess wrote. Gillibrand will host a bipartisan dinner next month to talk about family leave with female senators. This will serve as a platform for discussion. She stated, 'I could hear how sincere she was about advocacy.' She also provided Ms. Markle the phone numbers of some Republican senators to help urge the passage of a law of said paid leave. Later on confirmed by Republican Senators Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Susan Collins of Maine, as both senators received calls from Ms. Markle this week. Markle has been working behind the scenes to ensure that paid leave is passed. Which was criticized by US Representative Jason Smith, who says that Ms. Markle should be stripped of her title to stop her from using it to gain political leverage. This sentiment was due to Ms. Markle lobbying the two female Republican senators and using her royal title to urge them to vote in favor of paid parental leave. One which Capito considered ironic since Markle had quit the royal family in 2020. Paid parental leave had originally been included in President Biden’s massive law on social spending bill, but it was withdrawn from the bill after fellow Democrat and senator Joe Manchin of West Virgina refused to advocate it.