Committing to Affordable Childcare

Floor Speech

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Ms. DEAN of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, it is the new year. Congress is back in session; students are back in school; and parents are preparing for the year ahead. For many families, that means figuring out childcare.

I remember when I was a young mother running a small law firm with two other women. Two of us were working mothers. We worked with our kids literally on our hips, and we were lucky to be able to do that. This isn't the case for millions of parents, and it shouldn't have to be.

Fourteen million parents rely on childcare, and daycare, on average, costs $11,000 per year. That is if parents can even find it.

It is often an impossible cycle. Parents can't find work if they can't secure childcare and can't pay for childcare without working, which is why we need to bring bills to the floor like the Child Care for Every Community Act. Under this bill, half of American families would pay no more than $10 a day for childcare.

High-quality, accessible, and affordable childcare deserves our attention and commitment this year and every year because it is good for our economy, good for parents and children, and good for our future.

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