Republicans Block Murray’s Resolution to Stop Trump from Increasing Child Care Costs

Murray: "If Trump had simply done nothing, and left the seven percent cap in place, some of these families would have ended up saving as much as $15,000 a year for their family. This is really a slap in the face to moms and dads all over the country."

ICYMI: Murray, Bonamici, Scott, Jacobs Introduce Legislation to Overturn Harmful Child Care Rule

***WATCH: Senator Murray's floor speech***

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), senior member and former chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), spoke on the senate floor ahead of a vote on her Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval on the Trump administration's May 2026 rule to remove regulations for the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program. As of July 13, 2026, the rule reverses critical provisions that cap families' copayments for their child care subsidy at no more than 7% of income; pay child care providers prospectively and based on enrollment; and ensure more child care slots for children in underserved geographic areas, infants and toddlers, and children with disabilities.

Republicans ultimately voted against the resolution, showing the stark contrast between Trump and Republicans' making costs rise for families across the country and Democrats' efforts to expand access to affordable child care.

""How about instead of a $1.5 trillion war budget, we make sure every working family in America can afford child care? Well, Trump's tariffs already tax diapers, formula, and the car seat. Now he is coming for common-sense child care policies, taking us in the wrong direction, at a time when families need affordable child care more than ever. If Trump had simply done nothing, and left the seven percent cap in place, some of these families would have ended up saving as much as $15,000 a year for their family. This is really a slap in the face to moms and dads all over the country, and to child care providers who are already stretched thin to make budgets work and keep their doors open, and keep qualified employees in a field that has very high turnover," said Senator Murray. "Trump just wants to use our taxpayer dollars to fund war and tax cuts for billionaires. Trump says we can't afford child care. But he is wrong. The truth is we can't afford to ignore child care. I know that an investment in child care is an investment in our families and an investment in a stronger economy."

This effort builds on a previous letter to HHS to halt the rollback of the CCDF rules. Representative Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) is leading a companion resolution in the House.

Senator Murray is Congress' top advocate for child care, and is the author of the Child Care for Working Families Act, comprehensive legislation to address the child care crisis, cosponsored by 44 Senators. Senators Murray and Warren announced the launch of a new Child Care for America Working Group in March. In June, Senator Murray and Senate Democrats released a new "Broken Promises" report revealing how Trump has accelerated the child care crisis.

Over the last ten years as a top appropriator, Murray has led efforts in Congress to more than triple funding for Child Care Development Block Grants (CCDBG). A cumulative $31 billion more has been provided for CCDBG than if funding had just kept pace with inflation over that same period. Every single year for the last decade essentially, Murray has made sure there is at least a modest increase in federal child care funding. As then Chair of the HELP Committee, Murray also helped write the American Rescue Plan where she pushed Congress to take action and deliver the largest ever one time investment in child care to date, this funding was widely credited with saving a fraying national child care system from collapse.

Senator Murray has pressed to deliver investments in child care across government. She founded the VA child care pilot program and continues to fund and expand the pilot. She consistently ensures funding for the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program, which helps low-income parents pursue a higher education by supporting campus-based child care programs. She has also worked to greatly expand DOD's child care initiatives and worked to build child care centers on military installations to support military families, and more-she has even worked to expand child care options for Congressional staff on capitol hill.

The resolution is endorsed by Caring Across Generations, Center for American Progress, Child Care for Every Family Network, CLASP, Community Change Action, Council for Professional Recognition, Home Grown, Molly Moon's Handmade Ice Cream, MomsRising, National Association for Family Child Care, National Indian Child Care Association, National Women's Law Center, SEIU, Small Business Majority, ZERO TO THREE.

Senator Murray's remarks, as delivered, are below:

"While President Trump's top priorities are $1.5 trillion in war spending and a golden ballroom. Those are not the priorities that American families are focused on. Everywhere I go, I hear from families about the crushing cost of child care. So, it is no surprise to me that eighty percent of voters say the high cost of child care is a major problem. This is at the beating heart of our economy. If mom and dad don't have affordable, high quality child care-mom and dad can't go to work. But Mr. President, while Trump has plunged us into an affordability crisis, a war no one asked for, all the while families are struggling to get by. He is hellbent on making our country's child care crisis even worse.

"Right now, Trump's HHS ended a seven percent co-payment cap on child care costs for very low-income families who already receive federal child care support. This is already a very modest federal program that needs to be supersized in order to meet the needs of every child who needs it. Even with this program, many households are paying more than twenty percent of their household income on child care costs. When Democrats put forward this policy, we said no family who qualifies for this subsidy should pay more than seven percent of their income for child care. Trump tore that up. We should be having a debate about how we increase child care funding.

"How about instead of a $1.5 trillion war budget, we make sure every working family in America can afford child care? Well, Trump's tariffs already tax diapers, formula, and the car seat. Now he is coming for common-sense child care policies, taking us in the wrong direction, at a time when families need affordable child care more than ever. If Trump had simply done nothing, and left the seven percent cap in place, some of these families would have ended up saving as much as $15,000 a year for their family.

"This is really a slap in the face to moms and dads all over the country, and to child care providers who are already stretched thin to make budgets work and keep their doors open, and keep qualified employees in a field that has very high turnover. The good news? Congress can now force Trump to reverse course on this today, right now. Very soon, we will be voting on my resolution to overturn Trump's anti-child care rule and bring back that seven percent income cap.

"This shouldn't be controversial. You are either voting to lower child care costs or to increase them. Now, not too long ago President Trump said openly that he believes-and I'm going to quote him: 'we can't afford daycare-we have to pay for the war.' Mr. President, we can afford child care. Trump just wants to use our taxpayer dollars to fund war and tax cuts for billionaires.

"Trump says we can't afford child care. But he is wrong. The truth is we can't afford to ignore child care. I know that an investment in child care is an investment in our families and an investment in a stronger economy. To my colleagues: if you vote to let this rule stand, own it. Go home and tell the parents in your state you voted to raise their child care bill. You cannot call yourself pro-family while voting to make it more expensive to raise one-you just can't. And that's why, Mr. President, I am calling on my colleagues to join me and pass this resolution. Now every Senator is going to cast a vote on one simple question: should working parents pay more for child care, or less? Donald Trump wants them to pay more. More at the pump, more at the grocery store, and now to drop your child off at day care.

"Now the Senate will give its answer. And I promise you this: parents are watching. And parents remember. To my colleagues: Vote for the moms. Vote for the dads. Vote for the kid in the back seat at the 7 a.m. drop-off. When child care costs as much as the mortgage, whose side are you on?

"So again, I urge my colleagues, vote yes to lower child care costs."

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