Stauber proposes bipartisan bill to decrease child care expenses

U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN) recently introduced a bipartisan bill to increase the limitation of the exclusion for dependent care assistance programs so that more Americans can set aside a larger portion of their pretax income for child care expenses.

“For too many families in Minnesota, accessing quality and affordable child care has become nearly impossible,” Rep. Stauber said. “This issue not only harms parents’ ability to rise in the workplace, but also prevents many from entering the workforce at all.”

Rep. Stauber is the lead original cosponsor of the Improving Child Care for Working Families Act of 2020, H.R. 6047, with bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Cynthia Axne (D-IA) to increase the cap on the employer-sponsored Dependent Care Assistance Plan (DCAP) from $5,000 to $10,000.

“By increasing the DCAP cap from $5,000 to $10,000, more families will be able to keep up with the rising costs of child care,” said Rep. Stauber. “As parents continue to struggle to afford the skyrocketing costs of child care, I remain committed to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to find more solutions to this pressing issue.”

Rep. Axne said federal lawmakers must ensure that families have “the tools they need to afford the current cost of child care, and this legislation would update current tools to reflect the realities of a modern family budget.”

H.R. 6047 has garnered the support of the National Child Care Association, the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation, the Save the Children Action Network, the Early Care and Education Consortium, and the National Association of Social Workers.

Rep. Stauber also recently introduced bipartisan legislation that would increase access to child care in rural areas by allowing non-profit child care providers to have access to Small Business Administration loans.

Rep. Stauber on Feb. 6 introduced the Small Business Child Care Investment Act, H.R. 5789, with bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV), their chamber’s version of the identical bill, S. 2549, introduced in September 2019 by U.S. Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV).