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Republican Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy made headlines and history when it took 15 rounds of votes for his party to line up behind his speakership in January, grinding House business to a halt in the process. But the long parade of votes weren鈥檛 the only things that made headlines. So too were the children of Congressmembers, brought along to witness their parents getting sworn in, only to have to wait around until the voting was over. in particular of Representative Jimmy Gomez and Representative Joaquin Castro taking care of their babies together in the Democratic cloakroom made the rounds. Gomez also carried his then four-month-old son Hodge around on the house floor in various baby carriers as the voting dragged on.

鈥淚 got a lot of attention when I brought Hodge to the floor of the House for the speaker鈥檚 vote,鈥� Gomez told Early Learning Nation. So he decided to 鈥渦se this moment,鈥� as he put it, to funnel the attention he had stirred up into something more long lasting. In late January he the formation of the first-ever Congressional Dads Caucus, a forum for members to advocate for legislation that supports working families, with about 15 members.

The Dads Caucus is meant to 鈥渟imply do our part鈥�raising our kids at home and also advocating for family-friendly policies in Congress,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to try to mobilize dads in Congress to be more active and advocate on issues that impact working parents.鈥�

It’s not the first attempt: Gomez noted that there was an effort to form a bicameral, bipartisan dads caucus several years ago that never got off the ground. Gomez and his fellow members decided to simply launch theirs in the House on a partisan level, for now. They hope to eventually get Republican sponsors on some of their legislation and perhaps even members down the road.

But it鈥檚 meaningful to have men talking about these issues so prominently. Having men in Congress speaking out about paid leave and child care 鈥渟hows that these issues are not just women鈥檚 issues,鈥� Gomez said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e family issues.鈥�

When men in Congress talk about these issues, it 鈥渉elps push back on the stereotypes about who caregivers are,鈥� said Jocelyn Frye, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families. 鈥淚t is helpful for dads to come and step up and say, 鈥楾his matters to us, too,鈥� because then it makes the case for a broad-based policy that covers all workers and helps to take it outside of the gender-specific silo that people often put these issues in.鈥�

Having male members talk about paid family leave 鈥渞eally stresses the importance of showing, demonstrating that paid leave impacts all of us,鈥� said Dawn Huckelbridge, director of Paid Leave for All. It鈥檚 鈥渘ot just about new moms but it鈥檚 about health and labor and supply chains and, yes, it鈥檚 about new dads, too.鈥� Gomez gave a concrete demonstration of the push and pull between work and taking care of children when he showed up to Congress with his son strapped to his chest. Representative Colin Allred, another member of the Dads Caucus, is and so far only member of Congress to take paternity leave.

鈥淚t鈥檚 always been the case that all of us are going to need to give or receive care in our lifetimes, but having more voices in this fight鈥�is really important,鈥� Huckelbridge said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to need more and more stakeholders to get this over the finish line.鈥�

Breaking these issues out of the 鈥渨omen鈥檚 issues鈥� bucket, meanwhile, will likely help lend them more momentum. 鈥淚t helps to counter the opposition that really does try to isolate these issues as niceties for ladies,鈥� Frye said. That鈥檚 just a way to 鈥渄iminish the urgent need for them,鈥� she said, by making caring for one鈥檚 family something that women simply do. 鈥淚t helps break past different silos, and it helps make it a workplace issue. It鈥檚 a labor standards issue.鈥�

Representative Jamaal Bowman joined the Dads Caucus because 鈥渂eing a dad is awesome,鈥� he said. He has three children and 鈥渋t鈥檚 the most amazing thing in the world.鈥� But he also joined because 鈥渕others shouldn鈥檛 be the only ones fighting for family justice, child care justice, and all the things that are needed to support a healthy, nurturing family,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e want to make sure fathers step up and do their part.鈥�

Gomez is aware of the 鈥渄ouble standard鈥� applied to fathers and mothers, he said. 鈥淢en are often praised for it when they take [their kids] to work, and women are criticized or their commitment to their job is questioned.鈥� The Dads Caucus, in fact, follows in the footsteps of the Mamas鈥� Caucus, formed in 2019, of which Gomez is a member. The founder of the Mamas鈥� Caucus, Representative Rashida Talib, is also a member of the Dads Caucus. Gomez sees the work of his new caucus, in part, as supporting the mamas in their fights. 鈥淲e do get an oversized amount of attention,鈥� Gomez said, 鈥渂ecause it鈥檚 still for some people a novelty.鈥� So he wants to harness that attention and use it as a force for forward momentum.

The caucus also signals a cultural shift in favor of men feeling more able and eager to care for their children and be part of their lives. Many of the Dads Caucus members are young and have young children. Having them publicly claim the mantel of dad only furthers that cultural shift. 鈥淲hen more people feel comfortable saying that, when public figures say that鈥�it empowers more people to be honest in saying, 鈥楾his matters to me, too,鈥欌�� Frye said. Passing laws like the Family and Medical Leave Act, which just marked 30 years and allows Americans who qualify to take unpaid time off for a new child, sick family member, or serious illness or injury, helps spur cultural change by giving people the room to balance caregiving and work. But it also requires cultural change to spur more legislative change. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why the caucus is so valuable, it is shattering all of these stereotypes,鈥� Frye said.

The caucus has a basket of policies it already wants to champion. The child tax credit is a priority for Gomez, who is on the Ways and Means Committee, the chief tax-writing committee in the House. The credit dramatically decreased child poverty. It was 鈥渟o drastic in helping working people that we have to take that on as a primary fight,鈥� he said.

But he also noted that paid family leave is a priority as well, particularly for fathers. 鈥淢aking sure that dads take that time off to bond with their child is critically important,鈥� he said. Studies that when men take paternity leave they have stronger, more equitable relationships with their children later in life and that their wives see . He also has with the issue: he got pneumonia at age seven and his parents were nearly bankrupted when they had to miss work shifts to stay with him at the hospital. His home state of California was the first in the country to pass paid family leave in 2002, and he advocated for increasing benefits when he was a member of the state legislature. 鈥淎 lot of these issues that face families are why I got into politics in the first place,鈥� he said.

The dads will also champion child care. That鈥檚 the most central issue for Bowman, he said, who was a teacher and educator before coming to Congress. 鈥淚 know how important the first years of a child鈥檚 life are,鈥� he said. He was named as a cosponsor on universal child care legislation that Senator Elizabeth Warren on February 8.

They鈥檒l even tackle some smaller scale fights. They鈥檒l push the White House, for instance, to look at what it can do through regulation or executive orders to help working families. Gomez noted that some older buildings on Capitol Hill don鈥檛 have changing tables in the men鈥檚 rooms. He wants to see those added for families that visit with their children. 鈥淚t is the people鈥檚 house and we want to make sure that people with kids are able to visit and enjoy their capitol building,鈥� he said.

Many of their policy priorities, including paid family leave, child care investment, and the child tax credit seemed close to passage when they were included in the Build Back Better reconciliation package, only to be stripped out when Democratic Senator Joe Manchin refused to support them. But both Huckelbridge and Frye noted that paid family leave came closer to passage than it ever has before. 鈥淭he energy isn鈥檛 going away, so we intend to take that momentum and grow it until we get the job done,鈥� Huckelbridge said. Having the Dads Caucus talking about it only adds to that forward motion.

The caucus is so far just in the House, but members are actively considering how to bring Senators into it. Senator John Hickenlooper just in December, Gomez noted, and Manchin not only has three children but 10 grandchildren. 鈥淲e have work to do in our caucus,鈥� Gomez said of Democrats. 鈥淲e have to go and have those conversations with the individuals in the Senate 鈥� even Democrats 鈥� to see if we can change their minds or get them to see things differently.鈥�

This story originally published on Early Learning Nation and is now archived on 麻豆精品. Learn more here.