Childcare might just be the top one or two most expensive line items in family budgets these days. Daycare, preschool, or childcare of any kind is a huge headache for parents and an outrageous burden on finances.

But if you haven't yet heard the good news yet, one state so far has solved the childcare affordability problem entirely by making childcare free for all New Mexico kids regardless of income – beginning in January!

So, that means we're one state down, but 49 more to go...

So, that's why we're fighting so hard to fully fund Head Start, an all-encompassing federal childcare program that offers preschool, Kindergarten readiness, food assistance, well-child visits, dental check-ups, and more.

We believe that Head Start is critical infrastructure.

In fact, one in three available childcare centers in rural communities are actually Head Start programs. So we're not lying down and taking cruel budget cuts without a fight.

It's hard to believe something as important as funding for low-income, rural preschoolers could be on the chopping block, but it is. And it doesn't sit right with any rural voter anywhere.

Head Start is a vital one-stop-shop for rural working parents trying to give their kids the best leg-up they can. It's open and available to farming families, agricultural workers, and anyone working swing or split shifts that make it even tougher to find high-quality places for kids to go.

The most recent budget battles in Congress have shown that most folks in today's Republican Party are willing to axe nearly anything – including funding for preschool – if it means bigger tax cuts for billionaires and corporations.

So, we're going to keep asking our Republican leaders: if you're not on the side of children and working parents, whose side are you on?

Heidi

Heidi Heitkamp, Former U.S. Senator for North Dakota
Founder, One Country Project