Congress divided on how to address looming child care provider closures
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Millions of families may be scrambling to find affordable child care soon as thousands of child care programs are in jeopardy after pandemic relief ended this fall.
“If parents can’t afford to go to work it all grinds to a halt,” said Rep. Katherine Clark, (D) Massachusetts.
“The child care crisis is only to get worse unless we take action and soon,” said Sen. Patty Murray, (D) Washington state.
Democrats are pushing for a new round of federal money to keep child care providers afloat. They want to pass President Biden’s $16 billion proposal to keep programs so many families rely on running.
“We are talking about a very real possibility that child care centers have to reduce the pay for their staff, lay off staff, serve fewer kids and families, raise their prices,” said Sen. Murray.
A recent survey by the National Association for the Education of Young Children shows nearly 30 percent of families are already experiencing higher tuition costs since federal relief expired this fall.
“Nobody around here ever stands up and says ‘I got a lousy idea and I need money for it.’ It’s always couched as an investment,” said Sen. John Kennedy, (R ) Louisiana.
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Republicans and Democrats are divided on how to approach this issue.
In a recent hearing, GOP Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana agreed that affordable child care is important. But he questioned how to pay for it.
“You go to the bank and you want to borrow, say $1 million, you can’t tell the banker: ‘You owe me this money. It’s an investment.’ The banker is going to want to know, ‘How are you gonna pay me back?’ That’s the challenge that we have,” said Sen. Kennedy.
Kennedy said inflation also remains a major concern.
“In my state, unless we go into disinflation which would cost huge unemployment, we’re going to be stuck with these high prices,” he said.
As Congress debates, some states are stepping up to fill funding gaps. According to Child Care Aware, at least 17 states have invested money into programs this year - including Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Washington state.
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