Murray applauds Biden Administration for continuing to press on child care, emphasizes the continued need for a comprehensive, bold federal investment to rebuild the broken industry
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement on the Commerce Department’s forthcoming announcement that it will require semiconductor manufacturers seeking a portion of the CHIPS Act’s $39 billion investment to guarantee affordable, high-quality child care for workers who build plants—or help operate one.
“This is such an important, commonsense step that recognizes a really basic reality: you can’t bring back manufacturing in America without workers—and those workers need child care. Having quality child care is as fundamental as having a road to get to work, so I commend Secretary Raimondo and the Biden Administration for taking action to invest in our workforce and economy. What business leaders and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle need to understand is that tackling the child care crisis is an urgent economic priority. This is important forward progress, and we have to also ensure every working family across this country—no matter where they work—can get high-quality, affordable child care. So I’ll keep pushing to make progress any way we can and to pass my legislation to rebuild child care in America.”
Senator Murray—a former preschool teacher herself—is leading the fight in Congress to build a child care system that works for working families. She has been creative—and persistent—in her fight to ensure working parents can find and afford child care, and she recently rallied her colleagues and leading advocates to make clear that child care has to remain on the agenda this Congress.
Last year, Senator Murray secured a 30% increase in funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, the main source of federal child care support—a $1.8 billion increase in funding that will help serve approximately 130,000 more kids nationwide.
Senator Murray and her Democratic colleagues in Congress also worked with President Biden in 2021, after COVID forced the child care sector to the brink of collapse, to provide $39 billion in the American Rescue Plan for child care programs across the country to weather the crisis, keep their employees—the majority of whom are women and workers of color—on payroll, and continue serving families during a tough stretch. The funding—which represents the largest-ever one-time investment in child care in history—saved the child care sector from collapse during the pandemic—helping over 200,000 child care providers keep their doors open and serve as many as 9.5 million children nationwide. In Washington state, the funding has reached providers in 97% of counties, supporting 6,120 child care programs across the state that serve 169,000 kids.
Senator Murray continues to fight for the bold change families are counting on to solve the child care crisis. She has introduced the Child Care for Working Families Act (CCWFA) every Congress since 2017. In 2021, the legislation became the basis for President Biden’s child care plan and a top priority for the Biden administration. Senator Murray’s landmark child care legislation would ensure working families pay no more than 7% of their income—and in many cases, even less or nothing at all—toward child care. Murray’s legislation, which she plans to reintroduce soon, would also boost the supply of child care in America and ensure child care workers are paid a living wage.
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