A group of Senate Democrats led by Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) recently announced plans to introduce a bill to support childcare providers.
The new childcare bill will provide new permanent federal funding to help childcare providers invest in facility upgrades, support new childcare providers, help existing providers expand or upgrade their programs, train and invest in the childcare workforce, and provide other support to childcare providers.
Specifically, it will increase permanent annual funding to the Child Care Entitlement to States (CCES) program. It would also include permanent grants to improve childcare supply, quality, and affordability, particularly in areas that lack options for affordable childcare.
“Childcare is an essential building block of society, and it must be shored up with resources so that working families can access the affordable, quality childcare in their neighborhoods that they need,” Wyden said. “Building on the childcare support secured in the American Rescue Plan, now is the moment for permanent federal investment to build a stronger, more equitable childcare system, brick by brick.”
The pandemic has been devastating to the childcare sector, with approximately 40 percent of providers at risk of closing permanently. The American Rescue Plan provided more than $40 billion to stabilize the sector, but increases in permanent funding are needed, the lawmakers said.
“Just like roads and bridges that allow people to get to work, childcare is critical infrastructure that makes all other work possible,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, one of the bill’s sponsors. said. “Our goal can’t just be to stabilize an already broken system. We need long-term, structural investments to our childcare system, and we’re calling for this proposal to be included in the upcoming spending packages moving through Congress.”
Along with Wyden and Warren, the bill is also sponsored by Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bob Casey (D-PA), and Tina Smith (D-MN).
“If parents don’t have quality, affordable childcare, how can we expect them to be able to go to school, work, or make other aspects of their lives function? Childcare is basic infrastructure for families and the economy—it gives a solid foundation toward building economic opportunity,” Smith said. “I’ve been pushing to support the childcare system and keep families, providers, and our economy afloat during this pandemic, but it is clear we need more than a lifeline for childcare. We need long-term investments so that the childcare sector can actually build back better for the future.”