Pappas Hosts Discussion on Lowering Costs for NH Families

Press Release

Today, Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) hosted a roundtable conversation at Little Frogs and Polliwogs, an early learning center in Manchester, on the urgent need to address rising costs for families by making child care more affordable, as well as extending the expanded Child Tax Credit, increasing the access and affordability of health care, and lowering the cost of prescription drugs. Pappas was also joined by the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy.

Pappas was given a tour of the facility by the program director and then sat down with a group of child care providers, local parents, and advocates to hear their stories about the need to help families afford child care and bring down costs of everyday expenses. Pappas has supported legislation that would cap the amount of money that families pay for childcare at 7% of their income and supports grants to help child care centers hire and retain a workforce to create safe environments for children.

"Access to affordable child care is not just a family issue, it's vital to the health and well-being of our state's economy," said Congressman Pappas. "Families in New Hampshire are struggling to afford child care, and we must increase the affordability and capacity of quality programs. The stories shared today by these child care professionals and parents underscore in deeply personal terms the need to take action on this and other issues to lower costs for families. That's why I remain committed to fighting for this in Congress, and I'll take these stories with me back to Washington as we continue to work to bring down costs and help Granite State families succeed."

Pappas heard stories that underlined the need for action. One parent shared that they refinanced their house to be able to keep their kids in school and that monthly child care payments are nearly double the cost of their mortgage. Another shared how difficult it was for her family to save for the future and buy a home while also affording quality child care.

Many spoke about how vital the monthly payments from the expanded Child Tax Credit, which Rep. Pappas voted to pass as part of the American Rescue Plan, were to help make ends meet, especially during the pandemic.

"That payment was unbelievably helpful last year," said a mother of two about the expanded Child Tax Credit payments. "That payment last year was so helpful, so expanding that really is life-changing."

"The child tax credit was really helpful for us," said a mother with two adult children and two younger kids. "We get by but we're a paycheck to paycheck family. So any big accident or expense will throw us for a loop. And we found with the tax credit that we got every month that we were able to do the extra things like buying healthier food for a week, instead of not buying any fresh produce."

In November 2021, Pappas voted to pass the Build Back Better Act, which would invest nearly $450 billion in funding for child care and universal pre-K to lower the cost of child care, raise wages for child care workers, and expand access to care. In December 2020, Rep. Pappas supported the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, which included $10 billion of incremental federal funding for childcare providers to assist them in stabilizing their businesses and ensure more families had access to child care. Pappas also supported H.R. 7027, the Child Care is Essential Act, which would create a $50 billion Child Care Stabilization Fund to subsidize child care centers and help ensure that they are able to reopen in a safe and healthy manner.

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