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U.S. NEWS Friday 3 February 2023
Joe Biden, Bill Clinton mark 3 decades of family leave act

By AAMER MADHANI the program would cost
Associated Press more than $225 billion over
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi- a decade.
dent Joe Biden is playing Paid family leave didn’t
host to former President Bill make it into the slimmed-
Clinton to mark the 30th an- down climate and health
niversary of the Family and care legislation that Biden
Medical Leave Act, the first signed into law in August.
piece of legislation that the A group of Democratic law-
42nd president signed into makers have announced
law after taking office in they were reintroducing
1993. Biden and Clinton will legislation to establish paid
take part in an event Thurs- family leave and other up-
day at the White House to dates to the law. But pass-
put the spotlight on legisla- ing legislation to establish
tion that guaranteed many paid leave program will
American workers up to be an uphill climb for Biden
12 unpaid weeks off to re- with Republicans now in
cover from major illness or control of the House. Sen.
childbirth or to take care of Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY,
sick family members. Clin- who has been pushing for
ton signed the bill into law updating the federal law,
on Feb. 5, 1993. said that she’s engaged
Biden championed but President Bill Clinton reaches for a pen as he signs the Family Leave Bill into law during a ceremony Republican lawmakers
failed to win support for in the Rose Garden in Washington, Feb. 5, 1993. Associated Press on the issue. “We are go-
paid leave for workers ing to find what common
in 2021. On Thursday, he recommendations on de- millions of Americans,” said workers up to 12 weeks ground exists in both the
signed a memorandum veloping policies so workers Jen Klein, the White House of paid parental, family House and Senate and see
that calls on heads of fed- can get paid and unpaid director of gender policy. and personal illness leave if there’s some measure
eral agencies to support leave to seek safety or re- “The president will recog- and to ensure workers get of paid leave that can be
access to unpaid family cover from domestic vio- nize the work that remains three days of bereavement done with the Republican
and medical leave for fed- lence, dating violence, sex- to be done to support leave per year as part of a House,” she said.
eral workers in their first year ual assault or stalking. Such workers including by reaf- massive $3.5 trillion social “I’m optimistic that there’s
on the job. Workers aren’t situations are not covered firming this administration’s spending plan. something we can do to-
entitled to unpaid leave by the family leave law. commitment to passing a His plan called for provid- gether. I just don’t know
under the law until they’ve “This event is a moment to national paid family and ing workers up to $4,000 what it is yet.”
been employed for a year. recognize the difference medical leave program.” a month, with a minimum The current federal leave
The president is also direct- that the Family and Medi- Early in 2021, Biden pro- of two-thirds of average law doesn’t apply to a
ing the Office of Personnel cal Leave Act has made posed vastly expanding weekly wages replaced. huge swath of the U.S. work
Management to provide and continues to make for the family leave law to give The White House estimated force. q

First sweeping federal gun crime report in 20 years released

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Much of the data from the police and policy makers guns that police recovered of stolen guns: more than
Associated Press Bureau of Alcohol, Tobac- reduce gun violence, said in crime scenes in 2021 had 1.07 million firearms were
WASHINGTON (AP) — The co, Firearms and Explosives Director Steve Dettelbach. been purchased within reported stolen between
most expansive federal re- report hasn’t been widely “Information is power,” he three years, a double-digit 2017 and 2021. Almost all of
port in over two decades available before, and its said. increase since 2019. The those, 96%, were from pri-
on guns and crime shows release is aimed at helping The report shows 54% of quicker turnaround can in- vate individuals.
a shrinking turnaround dicate illegal gun trafficking Meanwhile, the report also
between the time a gun or a straw purchase when documents a more than
was purchased and when someone who can legally five-fold increase in the
it was recovered from a purchase a gun buys one number of devices that
crime scene, indicating to sell it to someone who convert a legal semi-auto-
firearms bought legally are can’t legally possess guns. matic weapon into an ille-
more quickly being used in The increase was driven gal fully automatic one. Be-
crimes around the country. largely by guns bought less tween 2012 and 2016, the
It also documents a spike than a year before, it said. ATF retrieved 814 of those,
in the use of conversion The number of new guns but that number jumped to
devices that make a semi- overall in the U.S. grew sig- 5,414 during the five-year
automatic gun fire like a nificantly during that time period documented in the
machine gun, along with as gun sales shattered re- report.
the growing seizure of so- cords during the coronavi- A conversion device was
called ghost guns, private- rus pandemic. used in a mass shooting
ly made firearms that are Most guns used in crimes that left six people dead
hard to trace. changed hands since their and 12 wounded in Sacra-
The report comes as the President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, purchase, the report states. mento last April in what of-
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Steve Dettelbach speaks
nation grapples with a rise during an event in the Rose Garden of the White House in It also found what Deputy ficers described as a shoot-
in violent crime, particularly Washington, April 11, 2022. Attorney General Lisa Mo- out between rival gangs.q
from guns. Associated Press naco called an epidemic