Senator Murray Applauds House Passage of Child Care is Essential Act, Urges Senate Republicans to Include in COVID Relief Legislation

Senate Republican proposal dramatically underfunds child care

Senator Murray: “With nearly half of our country’s child care providers at risk of permanent closure and parents across the country in need of quality, affordable child care in order to return to work, a massive investment in our child care sector is absolutely critical to our COVID response.”

(Washington, D.C.) –  Following House passage of the Child Care is Essential Act, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, issued the following statement urging her Senate Republican colleagues to include the $50 billion bill in the next coronavirus relief package in order to provide the funding needed to stabilize the child care sector and ensure providers can reopen safely, working families can access and afford quality care, and educators can continue to get paid.

Senator Murray first introduced the Senate version of the Child Care is Essential Act on June 3. It was then included in her Coronavirus Child Care and Education Relief Act (CCCERA), a $430 billion bill to address the child care and education crisis that was introduced on June 30. Earlier this week, Senate Republicans unveiled their COVID relief proposal, which includes only $15 billion in funding and falls far short of what is needed to support child care providers, workers, and families. According to a recent analysis, the Republican proposal would only sustain the nation’s child care sector for a month and a half.

“With nearly half of our country’s child care providers at risk of permanent closure and parents across the country in need of quality, affordable child care in order to return to work, a massive investment in our child care sector is absolutely critical to our COVID response. As the pandemic rages on, I’m glad Republicans have acknowledged that we need to solve this crisis, but their proposal doesn’t come close to providing the necessary resources. I will continue to push for the resources needed to ensure that child care providers can safely stay open, educators can continue getting paid, and working families can access and afford quality care.”

A one-page summary of the Child Care is Essential Act can be found here. A one-page summary of the Coronavirus Child Care and Education Relief Act can be found here.

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