Cantwell Statement on Republican Vote to Make Child Care Cost More

Senate votes on party lines to uphold new HHS rule eliminating copayment cap that helps more than 15,000 WA families afford childcare

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, released this statement following the failure of a joint resolution of congressional disapproval to overturn a recent Trump Administration rule that makes childcare less affordable by eliminating the federal affordability benchmark that capped family copayments at 7% of household income.

"More than 15,000 low-income families in Washington rely on the Child Care and Development Fund," said Sen. Cantwell. "Today, Senate Republicans voted to keep a Trump Administration policy that will make childcare more expensive and less accessible for many of those families. While we were unable to reverse these harmful changes, I will keep fighting to make childcare more affordable."

Childcare costs have risen at the twice the rate of inflation over the last two years. According to research released earlier this year by the Brookings Institution, "by some estimates, families can now expect to pay more for childcare than they would for a college degree. Capping childcare costs "at equitable, affordable thresholds would enable up to 3.7 million more families to make ends meet," and "allow an additional 1.3 million parents of young children to participate in the labor force."

The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) is a federal-state partnership, authorized though the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) that supports childcare costs for low-income families, enabling parents to work, attend school, or participate in job training. According to ACF, CCDF supports childcare for approximately 23,300 children and 15,100 families in the State of Washington.

In May, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in coordination with the Office of Child Care (OCC) and the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), published a final rule eliminating several CCDF regulations that were originally finalized in 2023, during the Biden Administration. The rule formally took effect in mid-July.

The new Trump Administration rule:

• Increases Childcare Costs: Allows family copayments to increase beyond 7% of household income, eliminating a previous provision that would have capped costs at the federal affordability threshold. By January of 2025, Washington was one of 29 states that had already implemented this cap. In Washington, the average annual cost of childcare for a single infant is over $21,000.
• Weakens Childcare Providers: Repeals enrollment-based and prospective payment policies that provide childcare providers with stable, predictable funding based on a child's enrollment rather than daily attendance. These payments help providers cover fixed operating costs even when children are temporarily absent.
• Limits Childcare Access: Eliminates the requirement that states use CCDF funds to expand childcare supply for children in underserved communities, infants and toddlers, and children with disabilities. In Washington state, 63% of people live in a childcare desert.