FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 20, 2021
CONTACT: media@napawf.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Women need the Build Back Better Act with paid family and medical leave provisions to protect their welfare and wellbeing. While shouldering the worst economic and public health crisis in generations, women have led the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic as frontline workers, keeping families safe, teaching our children, working as therapists and childcare professionals – and with record levels of unemployment. 

“We need Congress to pass the Build Back Better Act, which will transform the lives of millions of families across America, especially working mothers. We ask our elected leaders to continue working on a path forward for the countless number of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) families living in multigenerational, immigrant households, providing care and economic support to their children, elderly parents and extended family members. AAPI women are overrepresented in the low wage workforce, struggling to make ends meet,” said Sung Yeon Choimorrow, Executive Director of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF).

“With the historic investments in this bill, more women will finally have the opportunity to start supporting themselves and their families with the dignity they deserve. We cannot wait. The moment to pass the bill is now.”

The Build Back Better Act provides necessary support and resources for those who keep America running, including a national paid family and medical leave program, expanding health care access for 4 million uninsured individuals, 12 months of guaranteed postpartum care for new mothers, extending the Child Tax Credit, universal Pre-K for 3 and 4 year olds, home care investments for seniors and persons with disabilities, temporary protections for millions of immigrants from deportation, and more. 

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The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) is the only multi-issue, progressive, community organizing and policy advocacy organization for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women and girls in the U.S. NAPAWF’s mission is to build collective power so that all AAPI women and girls can have full agency over our lives, our families, and our communities.