ICYMI: Fischer Highlights Affordable Child Care Bill Before Senate HELP Committee

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) appeared before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) to discuss her bipartisan legislation, the Child Care Modernization Act, introduced last year. Fischer's bill reauthorizes and improves the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) to help provide quality, affordable childcare to America's working families.

Download video of Fischer's remarks here

Fischer's remarks as prepared:

Good morning, Chairman, Ranking Member, and members of the Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.

I'm here to discuss legislation I've introduced with Senator Gillibrand - the Child Care Modernization Act.

This bill reauthorizes the Child Care and Development Block Grant program, which has supported working families since 1990 by providing childcare assistance to low-income families with children under age 13.

Today, it delivers $8.8 billion in funding to states and tribes, serving primarily young children, while also supporting before- and after-school care and summer programs.

Despite strong bipartisan support over more than three decades, this program has not been reauthorized since 2014.

Our bill not only reauthorizes this grant program - it modernizes it to reflect today's childcare realities. It strengthens affordability for families while addressing the operational and workforce challenges providers face.

Specifically, the bill ensures parental choice by supporting a full range of care options - centers, home-based providers, nonprofits, for-profits, and care from family or neighbors.

It updates reimbursement rates using a cost estimation model, so providers are paid based on what it actually takes to deliver care in today's economy. And it creates a new subgrant program to expand supply, support innovation, and invest in infrastructure.

I also want to address recent fraud concerns raised in several states, including Minnesota. These incidents are serious, and I appreciate this committee's recent hearing focused on program integrity.

That discussion made clear two things. First, childcare remains a bipartisan priority. And second, we must strengthen oversight to prevent fraud and hold bad actors accountable - without undermining a program that is essential to families and providers.

Across our states, we consistently hear about three core challenges: limited supply, workforce shortages, and high costs for families.

The Child Care Modernization Act directly addresses each of these. While there is no single solution to our childcare challenges, this bill builds on a proven, bipartisan program and makes it stronger for the families who rely on it.

I want to close by emphasizing that Senator Gillibrand and our co-leads - Senators Collins and Hickenlooper - and I welcome collaboration.

We invite our colleagues to join us as cosponsors and encourage the committee to consider this bill in a bipartisan markup in the months ahead.

Thank you, and I look forward to working with you.

READ MORE: Bipartisan Senate group releases bill to help increase affordable child care, NBC News

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