Congresswoman Barbara Lee's Applauds Investment in Education and Child Care in Biden American Rescue Plan

Statement

Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-13) today applauded the inclusion of critical funding for education in the FY21 budget reconciliation bill, which enacts President Biden's American Rescue Plan and will be considered on the floor of the House for a vote next week:

The American Rescue Plan provides an estimated total of $170 billion in relief for K-12 schools and institutions of higher education. The plan also provides $39 billion in funding for childcare providers to help them stay open and to reduce costs for struggling families.

"Our country is facing a childcare and education crisis on top of a pandemic," said Congresswoman Lee."Women across the country -- especially low-income women and women for color -- are struggling to make ends meet. Childcare providers are almost entirely women and 40 percent are people of color. Providing relief to help keep childcare centers and schools open is critical for our students, parents, educators, and care providers.

"I'm pleased to see the funding included for our home state of California, which has been hit especially hard by this pandemic. If we want to open our schools safely, we will need the proper resources. I'm pleased we will finally have a federal partner in this effort.

"As a single mother who raised two little boys, I know the importance of childcare for working mothers. Parents are being asked to not only be childcare providers, financial providers, and ad hoc schoolteachers, we must step in and offer relief.

"We have a long way to go to help our parents, educators, and childcare providers, but The American Rescue plan is a vital step forward. Congress must pass this critical funding and deliver this urgently needed relief for our communities."

This bill includes an estimate of billions of dollars for students, schools, institutions, and childcare providers in California:

$3,769,000,000 in supplemental funding for childcare in CA
$105,140,000 in supplemental funding for Head Start in CA
$15,881,784,000 in funding for K-12 in CA
$5,047,356,000 in funding for higher education institutions in CA
Estimated funding for K-12 is allocated by school district. Oakland Unified School District will receive $137,522,000, San Leandro Unified School District will receive $11,898,000, Berkeley Unified School District will receive $5,592,000, Alameda City Unified School District will receive $7,703,000, and Albany City Unified School District will receive $1,509,000. These funds will make a huge impact in helping schools reopen and resume activities.

To read the bill text, click here.

To read the fact sheet, click here.

Source