Warner & Justice Introduce Legislation to Make Child Care More Affordable

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Jim Justice (D-WV) introduced the Child Care Supply Tax Credit Act, bipartisan legislation to address the nationwide shortage of child care options. Through the creation of a new commonsense tax credit, this legislation would help providers attract and retain qualified staff, thereby tackling one of the key contributors to the child care affordability crisis: the industry's workforce challenges.

This legislation comes as child care costs continue to surge around the country, often outpacing the rate of overall inflation. In West Virginia, the cost of day care for one toddler and one infant has surpassed $20,000 per year. In Virginia, that cost has surpassed $30,700 per year.

"From health care premiums to groceries to utility bills, life is only getting more and more expensive for American families, and for many, the math simply doesn't work without affordable child care," said Sen. Warner. "Child care is the foundation that allows parents to earn a living while providing kids with the head start they deserve. I'm proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation to address the workforce challenges contributing to our nation's child care crisis."

"Childcare providers simply can't afford to pay their workers enough without passing those high costs on to parents. Families in West Virginia and across the country are spending thousands of dollars just to secure reliable childcare - it must be addressed. By creating a targeted tax credit tied directly to caregiver wages, we can pay the people who take care of our kids what they deserve while giving our hard-working families some breathing room," said Sen. Justice.

In the U.S., child care workers earn less than the typical worker despite a high level of responsibility and demanding training requirements. These low wages lead to high turnover and difficulty in recruitment, ultimately resulting in fewer available classroom slots and higher costs for families. The bipartisan Child Care Supply Tax Credit Act creates a new tax credit for eligible child care facilities to help offset the cost of employee wages, incentivizing higher pay for workers who directly care for children, while preventing the benefit from going toward administrative overhead.

Bill text of this legislation is available here. A one-pager is available here.

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