Dear Friends,
Happy Father’s Day to all the dads, grandfathers, father figures, and soon-to-be fathers! This year, the Congressional Dads Caucus, which I founded in January, turned this day of celebration into a week of action for working families.
We started with a press conference on Tuesday announcing the Dads Caucus’ first piece of legislation, a resolution honoring Father’s Day and calling for family-friendly policies, and our first official bill endorsements: the American Family Act and the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act.
Read our resolution calling for support for the Dads Caucus’ three pillars – paid family leave, affordable child care, and expanded child tax credit – here.
Equimundo joined us to announce their latest report on the State of America's Fathers, which affirms the very heart of what the Dads Caucus stands for: that men are caregivers to their children and loved ones, and parents from across political ideologies are on board with paid family leave and affordable child care. By championing these policies, we are helping children, their parents, and all families thrive.
Later that evening, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi joined Equimundo and Better Life Lab at New America for a Father’s Day Reception featuring the Dads Caucus members and advocates. Speaker Pelosi urged us to take on the torch of fighting for our children in all stages of life.
On Wednesday, Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff and I hosted a roundtable discussion with dads and leading advocates on fatherhood, equitable parenting, and uplifting families. From fighting stigma around taking family leave to empowering dads to be proactive parents, we are shifting the narrative about what it means to be a dad.
Welcome to the Dads Caucus, Second Gentleman!
To kick off Father’s Day weekend, fellow Dads Caucus members Reps. Andy Kim, Dan Goldman and I joined Good Morning America to talk about how our role as fathers inform our work as legislators as we fight for working families everywhere (Watch here!).
Reps. Morgan McGarvey, Brendan Boyle, and Kevin Mullin joined me to speak with Alicia Menendez on MSNBC about how congressional dads balance being parents and policymakers (Watch here!). And Reps. Josh Harder, Joaquin Castro and I recorded a segment with Jake Tapper on CNN about the ins and outs of our policy agenda (Watch here!)
If you have any extra time during this weekend, check out my feature in a podcast episode with DILF (Dad I’d Like To Friend)! We tackle common misconceptions surrounding new parents and delve into the importance of paid family leave for both moms and dads.
And lastly, I published an op-ed calling for all dads to step up and do our part advocating for families. Read it here.
Together, we transform the narrative on what it means to be an active father to help all working families thrive.
Sincerely,
Jimmy Gomez
Member of Congress
