Collins, Colleagues Call for Doubling of Federal Child Care Funding in Five Years
Senators: “Of the many funding priorities before your subcommittee, there are few as crucial to America’s working families as child care assistance provided through CCDBG.”
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) joined a group of her colleagues in sending a letter urging the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies to prioritize Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) funding in its Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 appropriations bill and put the program on a path to double in funding in five years.
In their letter, the Senators underscored the success of the CCDBG framework in keeping child care programs open for families during the height of the pandemic.
“Of the many funding priorities before your subcommittee, there are few as crucial to America’s working families as child care assistance provided through CCDBG,” wrote the Senators.
“These past two years have crystallized the direct link between child care and parent employment. Throughout the entire pandemic, child care stayed open. Child care providers around the country implemented numerous enhanced health and safety protocols that by and large, even in the absence of vaccines, kept children and staff safe,” continued the Senators. “CCDBG proved itself to be the exact right architecture for delivering federal child care assistance during the pandemic.”
“Child care is indispensable for America’s working families as well as for the greater U.S. economy,” concluded the Senators. “Placing CCDBG on a path, starting with the FY2023 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, to double in funding in five years would allow states to continue and improve upon the many enhancements they made to their CCDBG programs during the pandemic to better serve families, children, teachers, and providers.”
In addition to Senator Collins, the letter was co-signed by Senators Richard Burr (R-NC), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Todd Young (R-IN).
In March, Senator Collins joined a group of her colleagues in introducing the Child Care and Development Block Grant Reauthorization Act of 2022, legislation to build on Congress’ 30-year record of bipartisan work to support and enhance child care programs across the nation. This legislation would improve the affordability of child care programs and protect the ability of parents to choose the provider that best fits their family’s needs.
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