Capitol Hill Press Conference on Child Care Funding in Reconciliation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Thursday, June 9 at 11:00 a.m. ET, the leaders of prominent national organizations will join Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-WA), Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) and other members of the House and Senate for an in-person press conference on Capitol Hill to demonstrate the widespread and unified support for child care to be included in the reconciliation package being negotiated. A streamlined child care and early learning proposal from Senators Murray and Kaine would support the child care workforce, get parents back to work, and lower costs for families.

While too many crucial priorities included in the original Build Back Better Act have been singled out for elimination over the past year, funding for child care remains viable for inclusion in the scaled-back reconciliation package currently being negotiated.

President and CEO of the Campagna Center Tammy Mann will speak on behalf of the National Head Start Association and Head Start.

The press conference will also feature remarks from advocacy leaders representing stakeholders from across the country, as well as parents, providers, and others representing a broad coalition from across the political spectrum urging Congressional Democrats to make good on their commitment to invest in solving America’s child care crisis through reconciliation — before it’s too late.

The event will be live streamed: facebook.com/SenatorKaine. Media interested in attending can RSVP to McKenzie Maxson: maxson@tcf.org

WHO:

• Senator Patty Murray (D-WA)
• Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA)
• Senator Tina Smith (D-MN)
• Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ)
• Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
• Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark (D-MA)
• Democratic Women’s Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-MI)
• Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR)
• Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI)
• Rep. Jackson Lee (D-TX)
• Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
• Members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus
• Fatima Goss Graves – President and CEO, National Women’s Law Center
• Dorian Warren – President, Center for Community Change Action
• Indivar Dutta-Gupta, President and Executive Director, CLASP
• Michelle Kang – CEO, National Association for the Education of Young Children
• Lynette Fraga – CEO, Child Care Aware of America
• Matthew Melmed – Executive Director, ZERO TO THREE
• Jessica Sager – Co-Founder and CEO, All Our Kin
• Mark Shriver – Chief Strategy Officer, Save the Children
• Ruth Martin – SVP & Chief Workplace Justice Officer, MomsRising
• Tammy Mann – President and CEO, The Campagna Center, speaking on behalf of the National Head Start Association and Head Start

WHERE: Senate Swamp, U.S. Capitol (Across the drive from the East Senate steps)

WHEN: Thursday, June 9, 2022 @ 11:00 A.M ET

CO-HOSTS: National Head Start Association, AFSCME, All Our Kin, Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), The Century Foundation, Child Care Aware of America, Child Care for Every Family Network, Community Change Action, Family Values @ Work, First Five Years Fund, MomsRising, National Association for the Education of Young Children, National Women’s Law Center, Oxfam, Save the Children, SEIU, and ZERO TO THREE

Background on Child Care Funding in Reconciliation Proposal

Additional background on the proposal from Senators Murray & Kaine can be found here and below.

• Triples the existing Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) to increase funds to all states. Tripling funding for the existing system enables states to efficiently provide child care subsidies to more low-income working families and raise child care subsidy payment rates to support provider stability and higher wages for staff. This would provide $72 billion in new funding over 6 years.
• Uses CCDBG to fund Supply and Compensation Grants to all states to expand child care supply, improve facilities, and raise compensation for early childhood educators. Provides dedicated funding within CCDBG to provide grants to open new child care providers, support increased compensation for early childhood educators, and ensure child care facilities are safe and developmentally appropriate for children. Prioritizes grants for providers in underserved communities, such as rural communities. As part of the $72 billion in new CCDBG funding, a portion would go to provide $18 billion in dedicated funding over 6 years for supply and compensation.
• Pilots a Child Care and Development Expansion program for 6 years. Pilots a program to complement CCDBG, where participating states can offer child care assistance to families earning up to 250 percent of SMI and cap families’ child care expenses at 7 percent of income on a sliding scale for children ages 0-5. Creates a federal-state cost sharing mechanism, where the federal government covers 90 percent of the cost of high-quality child care services for eligible families. The size of the new program is dial-able and would be structured to fit within the final allocation.
• Invests in High-Quality Preschool Grants. Provides grants to states to establish and expand high quality preschool programs for 3- and 4- year olds. This would provide $18 billion in new funding over 6 years.
• Invests in raising wages for Head Start teachers. Provides dedicated funding to raise wages for Head Start teachers and staff. This would provide $12 billion in new funding over 6 years.