Kaine & Bonamici Lead Colleagues in Urging Congressional Leadership to Include Robust Child Care Support in Annual Funding Legislation

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Bob Casey (D-PA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), along with U.S. Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-1), Joaquin Castro (D-TX-20), Sara Jacobs (D-CA-51), and Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ-11) led a bicameral group of 100 lawmakers in writing to congressional leadership reaffirming their support for robust funding for child care in the final Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 funding legislation.

"Despite consistent bipartisan support for increasing investments in federal child care assistance, funding for the child care system has not met the needs of American families. The challenges affecting access to child care are not new, and this shortage has continued to strain our economy," they wrote. "The broken child care market has created increasing tension among families, workers, and providers: child care providers cannot afford to run their businesses or pay adequate wages to their staff using only revenue from parents, and while child care costs remain unaffordable and unsustainable for working families. For years, the situation has been a nightmare for families, particularly for many families with low incomes, families of color, families seeking infant and toddler care, parents who need specialized care for children with disabilities, and those who need care during non-traditional hours. These costs are forcing parents - specifically women - out of the workforce."

"It is essential Congress again act in a bipartisan manner to expand and restore critical federal resources for affordable, high-quality child care. By securing robust funding for child care in the FY 2025 appropriations legislation, we can meet the needs of families, providers, and employers. The temporary, federal child care funds and historic increases to annual child care funding provided much-needed lifelines to the child care industry, but it is crucial that, at minimum, we sustain that level of investment to secure this sector's survival and prevent this emergency from worsening," they continued.

Senator Kaine, a member of the Senate, Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, has long supported expanding and funding child care. In July, he introduced two pieces of bipartisan legislation with Senator Katie Britt (R-AL) that together form a proposal to make child care more affordable and accessible by strengthening existing tax credits to lower child care costs and increase the supply of child care providers. Kaine has also introduced the Child Care for Working Families Act, legislation that would expand access to child care, raise wages for providers, and lower costs for families by ensuring no family pays more than 7% of their income on child care. In March, Kaine and Bonamici released a statement praising the $1 billion increase for early childhood learning and care included in the Fiscal Year 2024 government funding package, which followed their call for robust child care funding in the legislation.

In addition to Kaine, Bonamici, Casey, Castro, Jacobs, Sanders, Sherrill, Smith and Warren, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Laphonza Butler (D-CA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), George Helmy (D-NJ), Mazie Hirino (D-HI), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Angus King (I-MN), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jack reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR), and U.S. Representatives Gabe Amo (D-RI-1), Becca Balint (D-VT-AL), Nanette Barragán (D-CA-41), Sanford Bishop (D-GA-2), Brendan Boyle (D-PA-2), Nikki Budzinski (D-IL-13), Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24), André Carson (D-IN-7), Sean Casten (D-IL-6), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL-20), Judy Chu (D-CA-28), Jasmine Crockett (D-TX-20), Sharice Davids (D-KS-3), Danny Davis (D-IL-7), Madeleine Dean (D-PA-4), Chris Deluzio (D-PA-17), Debbie Dingell (D-MI-6), Dwight Evans (D-PA-3), Maxwell Frost (D-FL-10), John Garamendi (D-CA-8), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX-29), Dan Goldman (D-NY-10), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA-34), Al Green (D-TX-9), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-5), Val Hoyle (D-OR-4), Hank Johnson (D-GA-4), Andy Kim (D-NJ-3), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-8), Greg Landsman (D-OH-1), Summer Lee (D-PA-12), Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM-3), Mike Levin (D-CA-49), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-18), Seth Magaziner (D-RI-2), Lucy McBath (D-GA-7), Jennifer McClellan (D-VA-4), Gregory Meeks (D-NY-5), Gwen Moore (D-WI-4), Seth Moulton (D-MA-6), Kevin Mullin (D-CA-15), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC-AL), Chris Pappas (D-NH-1), Scott Peters (D-CA-50), Brittany Pettersen (D-CO-7), Katie Porter (D-CA-47), Deborah Ross (D-NC-2), Andrea Salinas (D-OR-6), Linda Sánchez (D-CA-38), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-9), Hillary Scholten (D-MI-3), David Scott (D-GA-13), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI-7), Eric Sorensen (D-IL-17), Abigail Spanberger (D-IL-7), Melanie Stansbury (D-NM-1), Haley Stevens (D-MI-11), Marilyn Strickland (D-WA-10), Eric Swalwell (D-CA-14), Emilia Sykes (D-OH-13), Shri Thanedar (D-MI-13), Bennie Thompson (D-MI-2), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-12), Paul Tonko (D-NY-20), Ritchie Torres (D-NY-15), Lori Trahan (D-MA-3), Nydia Velázquez (D-NY-7), Maxine Waters (D-CA-43), and Nikema Williams (D-GA-5).

The legislation is endorsed by All Our Kin, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Caring Across Generations, Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Children's Institute, Early Care & Education Consortium (ECEC), Family Values @ Work, First Five Years Fund, National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC), National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), National Women's Law Center (NWLC), and Save the Children.

Text of the letter can be found here.

###