Whip Clark, House Democrats Take Action to Invest in Child Care, Call Out GOP on Inaction

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (MA-5) reintroduced the Child Care Infrastructure Act and the Child Care Workforce Development Act, two bills that address America's child care crisis with robust investment in early learning facilities and educators. These bills are co-led by Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (OR-1), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Jennifer McClellan (VA-3), Brittany Pettersen (CO-7), and Jill Tokuda (HI-2).

"Democrats are focused on one of the most urgent challenges facing everyday families: the outrageous cost of child care," said Whip Clark. "This pair of bills will build out child care facilities across the country while recruiting talented Americans to pursue careers in early education. This investment would mark a critical step forward in House Democrats' fight to lower costs for parents, create opportunities for our children, and build an economy that works for working families. While Republicans ignore the child care crisis, we are ready with solutions."

"Child care is infrastructure and an important investment for children, families, and the economy," said Rep. Bonamici. "The ongoing hurdles child care providers and families face are limiting economic growth, threatening employers and small businesses, and holding back working families. I'm grateful to partner with Whip Clark to introduce legislation that will provide funding to improve and build facilities to help meet the demand for affordable, accessible child care."

"As a father and the founder of the Dads Caucus, I know firsthand how difficult it can be to find affordable child care, and I know that the working parents of this nation face the same concern. Many families today are living in child care deserts, where there aren't enough quality, affordable daycares nearby-my colleagues and I are fighting to change that," said Rep. Gomez. "I'm proud to join Whip Clark on these two bills that will make becoming an early childhood educator more attainable for students, expand our child care provider workforce and fund building new daycares as key infrastructure investments. Working families should rest assured that their children are being looked after in quality facilities with qualified educators who are supported."

"As one of the 6 percent of members of Congress who is a mother to young children, I know firsthand the challenges working families face when seeking quality, affordable child care," said Rep. McClellan. "House Democrats are fighting every day to address the child care crisis and give hardworking American families some relief from exorbitant costs. I'm grateful for Democratic Whip Katherine Clark's leadership on this pressing issue, as we introduce the Child Care Infrastructure Act and the Child Care Workforce Development Act. These bills will bolster federal investment in our nation's child care industry and incentivize care workers and early childhood educators to continue their invaluable work."

"As a working mom of a four-year-old son with another child on the way, I know firsthand how difficult it is to find affordable child care and the struggles families in my district are facing, especially in more rural communities," said Rep. Pettersen. "That's why I'm proud to help reintroduce these two pieces of legislation to bolster our child care workforce, help lower costs for parents, and ensure every family can access the care they need for their children to thrive. I'm incredibly grateful for the leadership of Whip Clark and my colleagues who joined today."

"The rising cost of child care has made it difficult for millions of parents to balance earning a living with caring for their families. Nonetheless, my Republican colleagues refused to join us in supporting working parents and allowed vital federal child care stabilization funding to expire last year. Our working families deserve better. Without additional action by Congress, the unaffordability and unavailability of child care in the U.S. will only worsen," said Rep. Tokuda. "As a mother of two boys that has to make tough choices, I'm proud to join our Democratic Whip, Congresswoman Katherine Clark, in introducing the Child Care Infrastructure Act and the Child Care Workforce Development Act. Together, these bills will provide for greater investment in the programs and the people we entrust to take care of our kids so they can continue serving children and families across the country."

The Child Care Infrastructure Act would:

• Direct the Department of Health and Human Services(HHS) to conduct a national needs assessment of early child care and learning facilities to understand the impact of the child care crisis and evaluate the ongoing infrastructure needs of child care facilities across the U.S.
• Establish a grant program to award grants to states for the purpose of constructing new or renovating existing child care facilities.
• Set aside a minimum of 10% and a maximum of 15% of the authorized funds to award grants of up to $10 million to intermediary organizations, including development financial institutions or other organizations that have demonstrated experience in developing or financing early care and learning facilities.
• Authorize $10 billion over five years to invest in our nation's child care infrastructure.

The Child Care Workforce Development Act would:

• Authorize HHS to administer a student loan repayment program of up to $6,000 annually for five years for early childhood educators working for providers eligible to receive Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) funding.
• Establish a program to provide up to $4,000 annually to eligible individuals pursuing an associate's degree or a certificate in early childhood education.

Whip Clark is the lead champion for child care in Congress. Earlier this year, she launched her Affordable Child Care Agenda, which calls for affordable care for every family, accessible care for every family, and livable wages for early educators. During her seven years on the Appropriations Committee, she increased funding for the CCDBG by $6 billion. At the height of the pandemic, Whip Clark helped save the child care system - keeping 200,000 child care providers in business and 10 million kids in classrooms nationwide. Recently, Whip Clark introduced legislation to expand access to affordable child care for student parents, and she is the proud sponsor of the Child Care Stabilization Act, legislation that would maintain federal investments in the child care system that started during the pandemic.

Photos of the press conference can be found HERE, the full press conference can be viewed HERE.

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