Warren, Sherrill, 40+ Lawmakers Renew Push To Lower Child Care Costs

Warren, Sherrill, 40+ Lawmakers Renew Push To Lower Child Care Costs

The Child Care for Every Community Act would ensure half of families nationwide would pay no more than $10 a day for child care and cap child care costs for all families.

Bill Text (PDF) | One-Pager (PDF)

Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) led over forty lawmakers in reintroducing the Child Care for Every Community Act, legislation that would expand access to affordable child care to every American family, offer high-quality early education to every child, and create good jobs for our early educators. A sliding scale will ensure that child care is significantly more affordable based on families' income, similar to the U.S. military child care program.

"High-quality child care and early education should be affordable for every family, not a privilege reserved for the rich," said Senator Warren. "Childcare was already too expensive-even before Trump's chaotic tariffs hiked prices on everything from diaper bags to baby strollers. We owe it to working families to lower costs, provide high-quality child care, and ensure that parents can take care of their kids without breaking the bank."

"As costs go up across the board, parents in New Jersey are struggling to afford child care. Time and again, I've heard from parents and employers about the harm this causes to the financial well-being of families and our economy. It's time for Congress to take comprehensive action to address this crisis," said Rep. Mikie Sherrill. "That's why I'm glad to be co-leading the Child Care for Every Community Act with Senator Warren and Representative Jacobs. This legislation will provide needed relief for families, support our child care workforce, and boost the economy."

The Child Care for Every Community Act will ensure that every family in every community has access to high-quality, affordable child care and early learning opportunities by establishing a network of federally supported, locally administered child care options. These high-quality, affordable child care and early learning options will provide every child in America with a fair opportunity to reach their full potential and will improve economic, child development, and employment outcomes for children and families.

• Ensures universal access: This legislation provides a mandatory federal investment to establish and support a network of locally run Child Care and Early Learning Centers and Family Child Care Homes so that every family, regardless of their income or employment, can access high-quality, affordable child care options for their children from birth to school entry.

• Guarantees affordability: Half of families nationwide will pay no more than $10 a day for child care, and all families will see their child care costs capped. A sliding scale will ensure that fees are affordable based on families' income, as in the U.S. military child care program. Higher-income families would pay no more than 7% of their income, while lower-income families making less than 75% of their state median income would be fully subsidized.

• Provides high-quality, essential developmental services: Centers and Family Child Care Homes will meet high-quality standards based on current U.S. military child care and the Head Start program standards. Providers would receive support and time to meet new requirements, which would focus on early learning and social-emotional development. Like Head Start, the program would offer a full range of comprehensive mental and physical health, dental, and other services to children who need them in a safe and nurturing environment that promotes children's holistic growth and development.

• Is locally-administered and federally-supported: As originally envisioned in the Comprehensive Child Development Act of 1971, the federal government would partner with local sponsors - cities, school districts, states, counties, tribal organizations, or other nonprofit community entities - to administer the program in a way that prioritizes local community needs and coheres early childhood systems. These sponsors would act as local "hubs" by establishing networks of Child Care and Early Learning Centers and Family Child Care Homes options for families, mirroring options currently available to military families.

• Invests in child care workers: The legislation ensures parity by requiring that wages and benefits for child care workers be comparable to those of similarly credentialed local public school teachers and invests in worker training and professional development modeled after the military child care program.

• Includes pre-Kindergarten educational services: The network of Centers and Family Child Care Homes would provide pre-K curriculum and educational services for children before they enter kindergarten. This legislation would also incentivize states and cities to expand their investments in early childhood education.

• Builds on existing programs: The legislation builds on the successful federal Head Start program to create a universal system for families that cannot access Head Start services, while preserving the Head Start program for families eligible for those services. It also draws on the high-quality U.S. military child care program, the largest existing employer-sponsored child care program in the country. It maintains the Child Care and Development Fund to help low-income families access other care options, including extended hours and afterschool care for children up to age 13.

This legislation is cosponsored in the Senate by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee; Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee; Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.); Cory Booker (D-N.J.); Alex Padilla (D-Calif.); Tina Smith (D-Minn.); Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.); Peter Welch (D-Vt.); and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).

"With costs rising quickly, quality child care has become out of reach for too many American families walking on an economic tightrope," said Senator Wyden. "Parents who are tirelessly working to provide for their families shouldn't have to struggle with finding good, affordable child care. That's why I'm all in for supporting this bill to lower the cost of quality child care. Let's give working parents the support they need to set their children up for a bright and successful future."

"The high costs of child care too often make families choose between taking time off work to care for their children or shelling out thousands of dollars they don't have. It's long past time to expand access to affordable child care for all American families and ensure all children can access quality early education-no matter their zip code," said Senator Markey. "This legislation would make sure that families don't have to choose between caring for their children and participating in the workforce. And it will support our early educators, who are too often underpaid and overworked. Let's make sure these child care heroes get the support they deserve."

"It's past time for our country to make critical, bold investments in child care," said Senator Padilla. "For working parents, access to quality child care is just as critical as access to safe roads and reliable broadband. I'm proud to join Senator Warren on this important legislation to make meaningful, transformative investments that will ensure that every family can find and afford high-quality child care. The Child Care for Every Community Act will not only strengthen our families, it will also benefit our entire economy."

This legislation is cosponsored in the House by Representatives Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.), Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Don Beyer (D-Va.), Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii), Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.), Dwight Evans (D-Pa.), Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), Nanette Barragan (D-Calif.), Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), Summer Lee (D-Pa.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.), Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), Danny Davis (D-Ill.), John Garamendi (D-Calif.), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Morgan McGarvey (D-Ky.), Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.), Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Juan Vargas (D-Calif.), Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Donald Norcross (D-N.J.), Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), Mike Levin (D-Calif.), Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), and Shontel Brown (D-Ohio).

"Despite Donald Trump's promises to bring down costs on Day 1 of his presidency, he's failed to take any real action and child care remains one of the most expensive costs for families," said Representative Jacobs. "Many San Diego families spend 40% of their income on child care - that's untenable. That's why I'm proud to co-lead the Child Care for Every Community Act to guarantee affordable, accessible child care for every family and a living wage for every child care worker. This is one of the best investments we can make in our families and a growing economy."

The legislation is endorsed by the following organizations: Child Care For Every Family Network, Small Business Majority, American Federation of Teachers, Main Street Alliance, National Women's Law Center, P Street, Service Employees International Union, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, MomsRising, Center for Law and Social Policy, Coalition for Social Justice, UnidosUS, Community Change Action, All Our Kin, Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy, Jumpstart for Young Children, Inc., Caring Across Generations, National Partnership for Women & Families, Family Values @ Work, First Focus Campaign for Children, New Jersey Communities United, New Jersey Citizen Action, Virginia Organizing, Family Forward Oregon, Parent Voices California, and Maine People's Alliance.

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