The United States is the only developed country without required paid leave, with just six other countries (including five Pacific Island Countries and Papua New Guinea) in the United Nations joining them. Currently, the only medical leave act in practice in the United States is the Family and Medical Leave Act (also known as FMLA) which only requires 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave (whether that is maternity leave, taking care of an immediate family member, or an employee that is unable to work due to their sickness.) Because the United States is a capitalist market economy, employers have the decision on whether to extend their leave or partially pay their employees, but it is not a requirement. Even though employers make the ultimate decision, the United States needs to have a standard on requiring partially paid leave. 

The Democratic National Convention stands for "equity, human rights, which includes women's rights," member Shayna Newman says. "Providing partially paid leave allows women to recover from childbirth and take care of their new child, with the peace of mind that they are not losing weeks of income." A new baby or child can cost thousands; for some, taking off work is not an option due to the need for income. Parents should not have to return to work immediately after childbirth to support themselves and their families.

According to the National Partnership for Women and Family, the Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act (or the FAMILY Act) would provide up to 12 weeks of partially paid leave for severe health conditions, taking care of a new baby or newly adopted child, or for caregiving purposes. This would also allow workers to earn up to 66% of their earnings (up to a capped amount) and ensure that low and middle-wage workers have a higher share of wages. The FAMILY Act would also cover all workers, like younger, part-time, and more, so all employees are eligible for benefits. A poll shows that about 84% of voters (94% of Democrats, 83% of Independents, and 74% of Republicans) support a national policy that covers family and paid medical leave.

"America needs to catch up. There is no excuse for not paying your workers that are taking off due to medical issues or taking care of family," says another member of the DNC, Irene Capitano. While many people and employers are concerned that providing partially paid leave is not economically feasible, the DNC says that a healthy workplace leads to a more productive workplace. A study from the University of California shows a healthy workplace increases productivity by 4%, and for sick workers, their total productivity increases by 10.8%. "Investing in your employees is an investment in your company. By taking care of them, you are taking care of your company and improving your productivity and output," Capitano says. It is time for a national standard of paid leave for workers, not only for the worker's benefits but for the company. 

Mass shootings in the United States have become a great problem, due to the many cases that take place almost daily. Each year the numbers are growing, which has been causing many disagreements on the right to bear arms. The Democratic political party disagrees with being able to bear arms and wants the nation to have more gun laws. In contrast, the Republican political party agrees with it and wants the freedom to own guns. Many shootings take place in public places, such as malls, schools, and concerts. There have also been other occasions where firearms were involved in suicide, domestic violence, and gang shootings. As a result, there have been discussions regarding mental health being linked to gun violence. It is believed that poor mental health causes violent decisions and actions to occur. 

Many deaths caused by the use of guns have been occurring in the current 21st century, which may be due to the easy access to owning and bearing arms in the United States. The right to bear arms for anyone with a license is what makes the U.S. different from other countries, based on violence and crime. 

“Compared with other high-income countries, the U.S. is about average in terms of overall levels of violence and crime. So, he added, “Where we are different is the guns. All societies have issues about violence, but we give our violent people incredibly easy access to guns”, said David Hemingway, professor of health policy and director of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center. 

There have been many cases involving gun violence. For example, a fourteen-year-old boy was killed in a neighborhood that was known for crime. He was walking home when he got shot by one of the teenagers that were part of the gang in the area. This shows how in the U.S., where there are guns everywhere, those that are trying to address them are struggling because of the mix of situations and differences in sides.   

“A cultural bargaining over ideas that influences which societal guardrails our policymakers ultimately adopt. Firearms evoke an emotional response and discordant social values on rights and regulations. Firearm ownership in the US is constitutionally protected and common; many individuals and organizations, such as the National Rifle Association, cherish freedom from firearm-related regulation”, stated Deborah Stone, a public policy scholar. 

Trying to counter this problem, the Senate Judiciary proposed a bill, which was later passed in the Senate. It was bipartisan and involved both Democrats and Republicans to be authors. Both of the parties had many disagreements on the topic of gun laws and rights, yet they had still come together to create this bill. The bill that was created was called the Increasing Background and Mental Health Checks When Purchasing Guns A. This act was made to raise mental health awareness among criminals or others that thought about committing any with the use of guns. They were proposing to give background checks by using the FBI’s check system and having psychology evaluations before the purchase of the firearms. 

The same treatment and actions will be given to those who have already been imprisoned due to gun violence, so they could figure out the reason why they chose to commit the crime. This would also bar that person from purchasing or using a firearm in the future. They will be given psychological attention by hired staff in the prisons. They had stated, “it would not cost much, since the staff will be from the prison and ready”. All the mental health counseling and resources to continue this action will be provided for the duration of their incarceration. 

During the meeting on the passing of the bill, many Senators from other states supported the bill and were even able to give speeches to explain why it would be a good bill. They had stated, “gun violence is a huge issue in our country and we need to end it if we want the nation’s democracy to flourish”.

The discussions and disagreements on the topic of gun rights, gun use, and gun violence had been a huge debate between the two political parties, the Republicans and the Democrats. In the 21st century, many deaths caused by guns have occurred, which were mainly caused by the right to bear arms. Many types of deaths have been caused by the use of guns. There are many different types of situations and causes of the use of guns. Which makes it a struggle to try to counter and end this topic. Fortunately the Senate Judiciary has come up with a bill that was passed in the Senate and will enforce background checks and psychological checks on those that want to purchase guns and those who have committed crimes using guns. No matter what political party, a decrease in gun violence and gun use is required in the nation to help it flourish.   

Due to increasing concerns, the White House (West Wing DNC) has voiced its support for federal laws that govern data privacy in the U.S. These laws range from requiring terms and conditions contracts to be more transparent to users to all-out bans on corporations’ ability to sell American citizen information to foreign companies. 

“We need to call for stricter regulation,” White House representative Zayne Nemry said. “It’s critical that American citizens have their data privacy secured.”

The recent rise of social media, websites, AI voice assistants like Google Home and Alexa, and various other smart devices has drastically increased the likelihood of data surveillance attacks.  The White House implores lawmakers to take more drastic action to resolve this issue.

“Security of privacy is a bipartisan issue,” a White House representative stated in front of the House’s Energy and Commerce committee. “No matter what, we need to prioritize American citizens.”

The White House is suggesting an all-out ban on selling American data. This is due to the increased fears of social media’s data collection following concerns about China’s geo-political ambitions and the discovery of the “Chinese Spy Balloon.”

The White House is also a proponent of other remedies to this solution. They are pushing for accessible and transparent information about what consumers’ data is being used for. 

“The White House has reason to believe that corporations are withholding clear information about what data is used for on their websites and apps,” White House representative Catherine Kuryla said. “Small fine print, wordy lawyer jargon, and countless other factors make these contracts essentially unreadable.”

Possible fixes for this issue include readable text, whether that is through larger font sizes or highlighting important information with color. 

A larger fix would have corporations include abridged versions of contracts for users to read and clearly understand quickly. 

In response to whether or not this unclear contract issue is a product of problems in the American education system, the White House stated, “Absolutely not. Corporations purposefully convolute terms and conditions to avoid transparency with their consumers.” 

The White House wants to promote American autonomy, and they have hopes these actions could lead American citizens to make more informed decisions about their data. 

“We want to put an end to foreign nationals and companies stealing information from Americans without their knowledge.” the White House stated.