Issues

The federal tax credit for families with children — temporarily expanded in 2021 to $3,000-$3,600 per child fully refundable, with debate over making the expansion permanent.

How the Department of Labor should set the salary threshold below which white-collar workers are automatically entitled to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Proposals — public and private — to reduce the standard workweek from five days to four, often at full pay, sometimes paired with overtime-law changes.

Whether ride-share, delivery, and other platform workers should be classified as employees (with full labor protections) or independent contractors (with flexibility but fewer benefits).

Whether the Federal Trade Commission and Congress should ban or sharply restrict non-compete clauses that bar workers from joining competitors after leaving a job.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's authority to set workplace safety standards, conduct inspections, and impose penalties — and whether its scope should expand or contract.

Federal proposals to provide paid leave for new parents, family caregivers, and serious-illness recovery — the U.S. is the only OECD nation without national paid parental leave.

Whether to expand the federal Pell Grant program — increasing maximum awards, indexing them to inflation, and extending eligibility to short-term workforce programs and incarcerated students.

State laws (in 27 states) that prohibit unions from requiring covered workers to pay union dues or fees, even if they benefit from collective bargaining.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps), serving roughly 42 million Americans, and debates over benefit levels, work requirements, and eligibility.

How to address Social Security's projected long-term shortfall — the trust fund is projected to be depleted in the 2030s, after which scheduled benefits would be cut by ~20%.

Whether to eliminate the lower federal minimum wage for tipped workers and require employers to pay the full standard minimum before tips.

How federal labor law (NLRA, Taft-Hartley) governs union organizing, collective bargaining, and labor disputes — and proposals like the PRO Act to strengthen worker rights.