Senator Tim Kaine and Bipartisan Colleagues Have a Proposal to Make Child Care More Affordable
Senator Tim Kaine yesterday announced a pair of bills aimed at making childcare more affordable and increasing the supply of childcare providers. The bills have bipartisan support and are being introduced in both houses of Congress, according to a press release.
Virginia is the 17th least affordable state for center-based childcare for infants and the 16th least affordable for center-based toddler care, according to a 2022 analysis of childcare affordability conducted by Child Care Aware of America.
“I hear from Virginia parents all the time about how hard it is to find affordable childcare, from childcare providers who are forced to leave their jobs because of low wages, and from businesses who are having trouble finding the employees they need,” Kaine said in the press release.
The problem affects families across the country, however. In the last few decades, the cost of childcare has increased by 263%, more than half of all families live in childcare deserts, and childcare workers often receive poverty-level wages, according to the press release.
“The crisis—which was exacerbated by the pandemic—is costing our economy, resulting in $122 billion in economic losses each year,” the press release states.
The proposal introduced this week by Kaine and colleagues contains two bills. The Child Care Availability and Affordability Act and the Child Care Workforce Act are both sponsored in the Senate by Kaine and Katie Britt (R-Alabama) and in the House of Representatives by Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24) and Mike Lawler (R-NY-17).
The Child Care Availability and Affordability Act, which will be considered by the Senate Finance Committee, would increase the size of the existing Child and Dependent Care tax credit and make it refundable.
It would also allow families to deduct 50% more—or up to $7,500—in expenses for childcare, and “radically bolster” a tax credit available to businesses to provide childcare to their employees by increasing the maximum credit from $150,000 to $500,000.
The Child Care Workforce Act attempts to keep providers from leaving the business due to low wages by establishing a competitive grant program for states and localities that wish to extend pay supplements to childcare workers.
This bill will be considered by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, of which Kaine is a member.
“I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing this bipartisan legislation, and I hope more of my colleagues will join us in passing this comprehensive proposal to support childcare providers, make it easier for families to access the care they need, and boost economic growth by providing parents with the opportunity to get back into the workforce,” Kaine said in the press release.
Published with permission by FXBG Advance