The Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education recently held a hearing to explore how child care affects the U.S. economy. Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Kiley (R-CA) opened the discussion by addressing the high costs and limited accessibility of child care. He explained that while health, safety, and caregiver-to-child ratios are essential for quality care, they also contribute to significant expenses. Beyond a certain point, parents—especially mothers—are forced to leave the workforce due to unaffordable care, negatively impacting businesses, local economies, and families.
Witnesses emphasized the importance of parental choice in child care decisions. Ms. Celia Hartman Sims, President and Founder of the Abecedarian Group, stated that respecting parental choice is a cornerstone of the federal CCDBG program, which has garnered bipartisan support for decades. She argued that CCDBG should remain the primary federal child care program to support working families.
Rep. James Moylan (R-GU) highlighted the cultural diversity across the U.S., particularly in territories like Guam, where parental choice is especially critical. Meanwhile, Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA) inquired about increasing the supply of child care. Mrs. Caitlin Codella Low, Managing Director of Human Capital at the Bipartisan Policy Center, suggested that operational cost increases are often passed on to families. She proposed leveraging federal capital investments through CCDBG to help providers expand their facilities.
In a discussion with Rep. Mark Harris (R-NC), Mr. Todd D. Barton, Mayor of Crawfordsville, noted that the current voucher system under CCDBG is insufficient for rural areas. While vouchers are helpful, he explained that rural communities often lack available child care slots. He advocated for incentives to support business models that can create more openings.
Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) raised concerns about the Biden-Harris administration’s policies toward faith-based child care providers. Mrs. Low responded by affirming that faith-based providers play a vital role in the mixed delivery system necessary to meet child care demands.
Democrats focused on advocating for increased federal spending, but critics argue that capping family co-payments and shifting costs to states could reduce access to care. Republicans are prioritizing efforts to expand access and choice for parents.
— News Original —
Hearing Recap: “Child Care and the American Workforce: Removing Barriers to Economic Growth”
Today, the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education held a hearing to examine the impacts of child care on today’s economy.
Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Kiley (R-CA) started the hearing by highlighting how costly and inaccessible child care has disastrous effects. “The high standards in health, safety, and caregiver to child ratios are necessary to provide for the needs of our children and give parents peace of mind but they come at a significant cost. There is also a threshold beyond which parents can no longer afford to pay for care, which explains why some parents—particularly moms—have to leave the workforce, to the detriment of businesses, local economies, and families,” he said.
Witnesses brought up how parental choice is critical when it comes to child care.
“Parents want choice in the care of their children. Respecting and honoring parent choice in child care is the core tenet of the federal CCDBG program and the reason the program has garnered such strong bipartisan support over the decades. CCDBG should remain the federal government’s hallmark child care program to support America’s working families,” explained Ms. Celia Hartman Sims, President and Founder of the Abecedarian Group.
Rep. James Moylan (R-GU) emphasized how parental choice in child care is so important in areas like Guam. “It’s important to remember that although we are one nation, we have many cultures in our country—that’s especially true in places like the U.S. territories,” he explained.
Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA) asked about how we can increase the supply of child care. “Any increase in costs [of operation] is pushed to families and there are opportunities to think about what we’re doing in CCDBG and allow for federal capital investments for the providers to help to invest in their facilities and meet the needs of each of these facilities to grow and expand,” said Mrs. Caitlin Codella Low, Managing Director of Human Capital at the Bipartisan Policy Center.
In an exchange with Rep. Mark Harris (R-NC), Mr. Todd D. Barton, Mayor of the City of Crawfordsville, explained how the current voucher system needs to be supplemented for it to work for small communities. “The current system of CCDBG with its funding focused on vouchers—that’s fantastic if you have seats,” Mr. Barton explained. “In the rural communities, you can have a voucher… but there are no seats. So we have to really focus on the side of this which helps us incentivize the business model to get the seats.”
Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) discussed how the Biden-Harris administration spent the past few years attacking faith-based child care. “We found that parents use faith-based providers often,” Mrs. Low replied. “Faith-based providers only add to a mixed delivery system that we know is necessary to provide the seats for the kids that need spots.”
Democrats spent the hearing arguing about the need for more federal spending. However, the Democrats’ strategy of throwing more money at CCDBG while issuing caps for family co-payments puts financial strain on states without addressing affordability and sustainability. This strategy also severely limits access to care. Capping family copayments and asking states to pay the rest will likely force states to serve fewer families.
Bottom line: Republicans are working to address the child care crisis by expanding access and choice for parents.
— news from Committee on Education & the Workforce (.gov)