Hi Friend,
Finding and affording child care in San Diego is hard enough, and the bad news is that it could get even worse soon. That’s because emergency child care funding will expire on September 30th (this Saturday!) if Congress doesn’t act. This child care cliff will have dire consequences: 3.2 million kids – including 83,417 kids in California – could lose their child care and 70,000 child care programs across the country could close, according to the Century Foundation. That’s why I’m doing everything I can in Congress to prevent this from happening – to keep parents at work, to give kids the care and early learning they need, and to make sure our economy stays on track.
Back in 2021, I was so proud to help pass the American Rescue Plan, which established a new Child Care Stabilization Program and invested a historic $24 billion in child care. This was (and still is!) a huge deal – keeping over 220,000 child care providers afloat and providing care for up to 9.6 million kids across the country, according to the White House. So, we really need to extend this funding. And we need to do it now.
That’s why I’m so proud to co-lead the Child Care Stabilization Act, which would invest $16 billion per year in Child Care Stabilization grants to states for the next five years. This funding would:
- Promote the stability of the child care sector
- Support the child care workforce
- Ensure kids and families have access to the child care they need
Last Saturday, I joined parents and child care providers at the Toby Wells YMCA in Kearny Mesa to talk about the child care cliff and my Child Care Stabilization Act, which would help us address this crisis. We all agreed that Congress needs to do something about this immediate crisis – but beyond that, Congress needs to do so much more to invest in kids and families on a steady, consistent, and robust basis. So I’m committed to seeing us through this immediate child care crisis and also working long-term to reimagine our social safety net into one that’s more equitable, durable, and resilient – to ensure that everyone can live with dignity and thrive.
