Scott, Young, Burr propose bill to make childcare more affordable

U.S. Sens. Tim Scott (R-SC), Todd Young (R-IN), and Richard Burr (R-NC) on March 22 introduced legislation that would make childcare programs more affordable while allowing parents to choose a provider that best fits their needs.

“The Democrats’ childcare proposals would take a wrecking ball to our childcare system and replace it with a one-size-fits-all approach that limits families’ options,” Sen. Scott said. “I believe there is a better way. This bill improves upon a program that has already helped families afford a variety of options to care for the most important people in their lives: their kids.”

Sen. Scott sponsored the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Reauthorization Act of 2022, S. 3899, with eight Republican original cosponsors, including Sens. Young and Burr, as well as U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV). 

S. 3899 includes provisions from Sen. Young’s Early Educators Apprenticeship Act, S. 186, which he introduced in February 2021 to support apprenticeships in early childhood education.

“We introduced this bill to allow parents maximum choice in child care and preschool providers to best suit their families,” said Sen. Young about S. 3899. “I’m also encouraged that this bill will create stronger support for childcare teachers to attain post-secondary degrees and credentials, a major feature of my Early Educators Apprenticeship Act.”

Sen. Burr pointed out that working parents need affordable, reliable and safe child care. “Throughout the pandemic, as public schools closed, childcare providers across the nation remained open, thanks in large part to the architecture and flexibility of the CCDBG program,” he said. “As many states now face a shortage of affordable child care, the last thing Congress should do is force through unpopular, partisan proposals that many states will reject and that will leave millions of children uncovered.”

Instead, Sen. Burr said that lawmakers “should build on existing, bipartisan and successful programs, like CCDBG.”

Specifically, the reauthorization would increase family eligibility for CCDBG; ensure an eligible family making less than 75 percent of the State Median Income pays no child care copay and that no eligible family has a copay greater than 7 percent of family income; and improves reimbursement rates for childcare providers, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.

Additionally, S. 3899 would support the education and professional development of childcare staff; expand the supply and capacity of childcare providers; and remove regulations that restrict home-based childcare providers in rural areas, the summary says.