Bonamici Leads Call to Expand Access to Affordable Child Care During Week of the Young Child

WASHINGTON, DC [04/06/22] – Today Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Chair of the Education and Labor Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Services, led 20 of her colleagues in calling for increased federal investments in child care.

The resolution calls for all children to have access to high-quality, affordable child care and preschool. This is the Week of the Young Child, which celebrates early childhood programs and educators.

"Giving all young children the opportunity to attend a quality child care program or preschool without onerous financial strain on their families is a matter of equity," said Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici. "It is also critical that the educators who are providing this essential care – predominately women of color – are receiving the support and wages they deserve for the valuable work they do. I'm continuing to advocate for these important investments in our children, families, economy, and future."

The resolution was endorsed by: American Academy of Pediatrics, American Federation of Teachers, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Center for American Progress, Center for Law and Social Policy, Child Welfare League of America, Early Care and Education Consortium, First Five Years Fund, Low Income Investment Fund, MomsRising, National Association for the Education of Young Children, National Education Association, National Women's Law Center, Save the Children, and Zero to Three.

"Access to affordable, high-quality child care is a pillar in the movement for racial and gender equality," said Fatima Goss Graves, President and CEO of the National Women's Law Center. "But as the pandemic continues to shrink the child care sector and child care becomes increasingly unaffordable for families, this backbone of women's working lives is too scarce and too expensive—all while the Black, brown, and immigrant workers who provide this care are paid poverty-level wages. We thank Representative Bonamici for this renewed commitment to child care for every working family and urge Congress to make good on this promise."

"Our child care system was crumbling before the pandemic — most providers were earning poverty wages and nearly half relied on public assistance," said AFSCME President Lee Saunders. "COVID-19 has only made things worse, with many providers leaving for better paying, more stable jobs. Now, as many more parents return to working outside the home, they are struggling to find affordable child care they can depend on. This is slowing down our economic recovery and forcing many families to make impossible choices. We can no longer afford to ignore this crisis. We need major investments that lower costs for families, grow the child care workforce and ensure that providers — a majority of whom are women of color — get fair pay for their essential work. On behalf of 1.4 million AFSCME members, tens of thousands of whom are child care providers and many more who are child care consumers, I applaud Rep. Bonamici's leadership on this critical issue."

The full text of the resolution can be viewed here. It was cosponsored by Representatives Katherine Clark, Jackie Speier, Alma Adams, Sanford Bishop Jr., Jamaal Bowman, Tony Cárdenas, Yvette D. Clarke, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Lois Frankel, Jahana Hayes, Sara Jacobs, Mondaire Jones, Lucy McBath, Seth Moulton, Marie Newman, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Mark Pocan, Dutch Ruppersberger, Nydia Velázquez, and Nikema Williams.

Bonamici has long advocated for increased investments in child care, and helped secure support for child care providers in the American Rescue Plan. She is leading the Child Care is Infrastructure Act, and released an in-depth report on the state of child care in Oregon based on conversations with Oregon child care providers, early childhood educators, parents, and other advocates. It contains many of their stories and outlines a path forward.

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