Davis, Bonamici, Moore, Plaskett, Horsford Champion Bill to Expand Guaranteed Child Care Funding while GOP Fails to Help Working Families

Washington, D.C.- On October 3, 2023, Representative Danny K. Davis (D-IL), Representative Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Representative Gwen Moore (D-WI), Representative Stacey E. Plaskett (D-VI), and Representative Steven Horsford (D-NV) introduced the Building Child Care for a Better Future Act to dramatically increase guaranteed child care funding to address child care needs and create grants to enhance child care workforce, supply, quality, and access.  The long-term solutions in this bill complement the Democratic Child Care Stabilization Act that addresses the immediate child care cliff created by Republican inaction so that no cliff occurs in the future.

High-quality, affordable child care is essential to the economic well-being of families, businesses, and our country. Yet, child care places a major financial burden on American families. The price of child care can range from $5,357 to $17,171 per year depending on location and type of care.  Astoundingly, the cost of center-based care for two children is more than the average mortgage in 41 states and more than the average annual rent in all 50 states plus DC.  Households under the poverty line spend nearly one third of their income on child care, and increases in median childcare prices are connected to lower maternal employment rates. Further, the child care crisis hits families of color disproportionately hard.  For a single parent who has never been married who is Black, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, or American Indian/Alaska Native, child care can cost 36%, 41%, or 49% of the median income, respectively, compared to only 31% for single White parents.  Further, Latino and American Indian and Alaska Native parents disproportionately live in child care deserts.

The Building Child Care for a Better Future Act addresses the child care needs of families and long-term stability of the child care system.  Specifically, the bill:

• Helps working families with their child care needs by expanding guaranteed child care funding by increasing the Child Care Entitlement to States to $10 billion per year, almost tripling this funding from the current $3.55 billion per year. Further, the bill increases funding for tribes, tribal organizations, and territories. The bill builds on the Democrats’ permanent increase in guaranteed child care funding to states in 2021, which also provided the first-ever guaranteed funding allotments for the U.S. territories in the Child Care Entitlement to States. 

• Creates new grants to improve child care workforce, supply, quality, and access in communities experiencing child care shortages. Funds could be used for any purpose under the Child Care Development Block Grant to address local needs, including:  increasing child care slots; supporting workforce training and expansion; expanding operations of community or neighborhood-based family child care networks; and recruiting providers and staff.

“High-quality, affordable child care is essential to the economic well-being of families, businesses, and our country,” said Rep. Davis.  “The Building Child Care for a Better Future Act would provide $10 billion in guaranteed grants to states, tribes, and territories to make child care affordable.  Further, the bill would create $5 billion in new grants to improve child care workforce, supply, quality, and access in communities experiencing child care shortages. It is critical that Congress acts now to help working families by stabilizing our nation’s child care system.”

“Investing in child care is good for children, families, and the economy,” said Rep. Bonamici. “The Building Child Care for a Better Future Act will expand access to quality, affordable child care and make overdue investments in the child care workforce. This legislation recognizes the value of child care workers and early childhood educators by dedicating $5 billion to enhance child care supply and support the child care workforce. Thank you to Reps. Danny Davis and Gwen Moore and to Senator Ron Wyden for partnering on this important bill. I’ll continue to advocate for the resources and policies families and children need and the living wage caregivers deserve.”

“All working families benefit when high-quality childcare is both accessible and affordable,” said Rep. Moore. “It’s clear we need to make equity-centered investments that make high-quality childcare more affordable and secures a living wage for childcare workers, so we can build a more inclusive economy that better supports women and people of color.”

“As part of the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021, we expanded the Child Care Entitlement to States program to include U.S. territories like my district for the first time,” said Rep. Plaskett.  “In this bill, we are significantly increasing this investment in childcare for American families living in U.S. territories and enhancing our commitment to equity.  I am proud to see this legislation put forward to respond to the needs of all families struggling for childcare right now, and to the importance of having childcare available, accessible, and affordable. Overall, this is an unprecedented investment in childcare everywhere in the United States.”

“Working families across Nevada and the country struggle to balance the cost of child care with the need to work to provide for their family,” said Rep. Horsford.  “The poorest households spend more than a third of their income on child care than on their rent or mortgage. If we truly value the ability to live the American dream for all of our residents, we should remove the barriers that hold back our families from economic mobility and progress. This bill will boost our nation’s childcare infrastructure, providing grants to make it more affordable to working families and improving the workforce and quality of childcare in our communities.”

The Building Child Care for a Better Future Act is championed by Senator Ron Wyden in the Senate and supported by multiple organizations, including:  American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME); American Federation of Teachers; Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP); Child Care Aware of America; Child Welfare League of America; Family Forward Oregon; First Five Years Fund; First Focus Campaign for Children; Home Grown; National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC); National Association for Family Child Care; National Education Association; National Women’s Law Center; Prevent Child Abuse America; Save the Children; SEIU; and ZERO TO THREE.

Organizational Quotations:

Center for Law and Social Policy

“Reliable and affordable child care is essential not only to working parents but to their employers and the larger economy. Yet, as the first round of pandemic-era child care funding expires on September 30, millions of families will experience increased financial hardship in paying for this vital care. Working and middle-class families throughout the country, especially families of color and families with low incomes, will be harmed by the rising costs of accessible, high-quality child care,” said Indivar Dutta-Gupta, President and Executive Director of the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP). “The Building Child Care for a Better Future Act would help address these disparities by creating a child care system that’s more equitable than today’s. We applaud Representatives Davis, Bonamici, Moore, Plaskett, and Horsford for introducing this bill and providing a path forward to a child care system that’ll truly meet the needs of families, the child care workforce, and the nation’s economy.” 

Family Forward Oregon

“Child care is the work that makes all other work possible, and just like roads and bridges it is a part of our nation’s essential infrastructure. Every family deserves access to high quality, affordable, and culturally relevant child care, and every child care provider should be paid a wage that reflects the essential work they do. The Building Child Care for a Better Future Act moves us toward this vision and is the type of bold action that parents and child care providers are calling on Congress to take.”  – Candice Vickers, Family Forward Oregon Executive Director 

National Association for the Education of Young Children

“As the federal relief funding that has helped sustain the sector in recent years expires this week, providers are increasingly struggling to attract and retain high-quality early educators to meet the child care and early education needs of young children and their families.  NAEYC is grateful to Representatives Davis, Bonamici, Moore, Plaskett, and Horsford for recognizing that a well-compensated, well-supported early education workforce is critical for growing the supply of high-quality care needed to help young children and their families thrive, and for investing sustained, significant resources to help states address these key goals.” –Michelle Kang, CEO ofNational Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

National Women’s Law Center

“At a time when the United States is teetering on the edge of a severe child care crisis, the Building Child Care for a Better Future Act invests in this critical sector, providing funding to help states continue to strengthen their child care programs, retain high-quality educators, and expand access and affordability to families,” said Whitney Pesek, Director of Federal Child Care Policy at The National Women’s Law Center.  

Prevent Child Abuse America

“High-quality childcare is foundational to the health and well-being of our children, families, and communities,” said Melissa Merrick, President and CEO of Chicago-based Prevent Child Abuse America (PCA America). “When parents have the resources and supports they need to care for their children, we can alleviate significant parental stressors and help parents to foster positive home environments where their young children can thrive. PCA America is pleased to support the Building Child Care for the Future Act.  This will help to strengthen our workforce by ensuring more parents can access childcare services and stay employed.”

Save the Children

“Investments in child care are investments in an essential infrastructure that makes it possible for families to work and children to thrive. That’s why Save the Children is so pleased to endorse the Building Child Care for a Better Future Act, and applauds Representatives Davis, Bonamici, Moore, Plaskett, and Horsford for their leadership in introducing this important piece of legislation,” saidRoy Chrobocinski, Managing Director of Domestic Federal Policy at Save the Children. “Not only would this bill increase the overall level of child care funding to the states, but it would also provide much needed grants for child care facilities and the early education workforce.”

ZERO TO THREE

“The child care crisis in America isn’t new. Families – especially families with low income and in poverty and families of color – have long struggled to find high-quality, affordable care,” said Miriam Calderón, Chief Policy Officer at ZERO TO THREE. “The child care system is facing a steep loss of public funding that will further harm babies, families, and early educators. The Building Child Care for a Better Future Act recognizes the important role stable federal investments play in building a stronger supply of high-quality care and provides much needed resources to strengthen our child care system. ZERO TO THREE thanks Representatives Davis, Bonamici, Moore, Plaskett, and Horsford for their long-standing leadership in supporting these critically