Kevin Hardy

kmhardy@dmreg.com

CEDAR RAPIDS, Ia. — Sen. Bernie Sanders renewed his call for universal paid family and medical leave for American workers while also knocking Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton for being "vague and general" when discussing her support of the issue.

Sanders continued to push for legislation introduced last spring by Clinton's successor in the Senate, Kristen Gillibrand, D-N.Y. Sanders says a small payroll tax, $1.61 per week for the average worker, will fund three months of paid family medical leave for workers each year. That would allow new mothers to stay home with their newborns or children to take off time to care for ill parents, he said.

"Here is an area in which Secretary Clinton and I have a different point of view. She has talked in vague and general terms about the need for paid family and medical leave. She has not described how she will pay for it," Sanders said at a press conference Friday morning. "And she is not supportive of the major piece of legislation introduced by Sen. Gillibrand and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro."

Sanders said modest payroll taxes have helped roll out some of the country's most important public programs.

"If President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had taken the same position that a small payroll tax was unacceptable, we would not have Social Security in this country," Sanders said. "And if Lyndon Baines Johnson had taken the same position as Secretary Clinton that a small payroll tax is unacceptable, then we would not have Medicare in this country."

Sanders pointed to other nations such as France, Germany and Norway that offer varying lengths of leave for new parents or for those needing to care for ill relatives.

"In fact, we are the only major country on earth that does not provide paid family and medical leave," he said.

For her part, Clinton also favors a 12-week paid family leave program and has said she’ll outline additional details about her plan as the campaign proceeds. But the former secretary of state has pledged not to raise taxes on middle-class families.

On Thursday, Gillibrand tweeted that Clinton would be "a champion of women & families" and linked to Clinton's plan for paid leave.

​On Thursday, Clinton's Senior Policy Advisor Ann O’Leary released a statement ahead of Sanders' address in Cedar Rapids. She said "this is not a new fight for Hillary," noting that the former secretary of state has been "fighting for paid leave for decades."

"Hillary believes we can do this without asking working people to pay for it," O'Leary said. "Her view is that we can ask the wealthy to pay their fair share in taxes and that will cover paid leave.

On Friday, the Clinton campaign declined to comment beyond the Thursday statement.

Sanders continued to hit on the point throughout his Iowa campaign stops on Friday, arguing that a small payroll tax would help ensure the long-term viability of the paid leave program.

"When people pay into something, they own it," Sanders told an overflowing crowd at Wartburg College in Waverly. "They are invested in it and nobody is going to take it away from us. So I hope very much that Secretary Clinton will rethink her objection to this important legislation, which is supported by virtually every progressive Democrat in the House and in the Senate."

Sanders wrapped up his first of a four-day Iowa swing with an enthusiastic rally at the Veterans Memorial Building in Cedar Rapids.

Shelley Smith was among the 1,600 or so supporters who packed the auditorium. Smith, a doula from Iowa City, said she still hear concerns about Sanders' electability from other Democrats she knows. But she bought Sanders argument that he would actually fare better against a Republican in the fall. The campaign on Friday reveled in polling that showed Sanders outpolling Clinton in head-to-head matchups against leading Republicans in New Hampshire.

Smith said she has heard Clinton speak and "she's very good," but she is drawn to Sanders' accessibility as a candidate.

"I'm 43 and I have never seen a politician who appears to walk the walk," Smith said. "Clinton's just a little too untouchable to me."

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AT THE EVENTS

SETTINGS: Ballroom press conference at DoubleTree by Hilton in downtown Cedar Rapids; auditorium at Wartburg College in Waverly; Veterans Memorial Building in Cedar Rapids.

CROWDS: About 75 supporters attended Sanders' press conference; some 350 attended his rally at Wartburg College, with another 300 in an overflow room; the evening rally drew about 1,600.

REACTIONS: Sanders enjoyed loud, enthusiastic support throughout his Friday stops with frequent stops for applause and cheers.

OTHER STOPS: Sanders also campaigned at Toledo's Reinig Center on Friday.

WHAT'S NEXT: Sanders will hold campaign events in Newton and Des Moines on Saturday, and will attend the Putting Families First Presidential Forum. For more information, visit DesMoinesRegister.com/CandidateTracker.