Biden-Harris administration proposes new rule to ease burden of childcare costs

The Biden-Harris administration is ready to change the rules.

Yesterday, Vice President Kamala Harris announced new steps to take to lower the cost of childcare in the United States.

The proposal involves cap co-payments under a block grant program that serves 1.5 million children each month.

Reuters reported that Harris told reporters childcare is “a critical issue for almost every family in our country” and that low-income families spend one-third of their annual income on childcare, more than they spend on rent or mortgage costs.

“No family should have to choose between high quality care for their child or to give up their career or put food on the table,” Harris said.

Working parent’s co-payments under the Child Care & Development Block Grant program would be limited under the proposed rule to no more than 7 percent of a family’s income. CCDBG subsidizes child care for low-income families with income below 85 percent of their state’s median income level. The proposed rule could reduce co-payments for 80,000 American families, according to the White House.

A U.S. Census Bureau survey found that families with low incomes paid five times more than families with higher income. The U.S Department of Health and Human Services estimates co-payments with the program rose nearly 20 percent between 2005 and 2021, which influenced family decisions to reduce work hours or leave the workforce.

Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan of Virginia, a member of the Bipartisan Congressional Child Care and Pre-K Caucus and cosponsor of H.R. 2817, the Child Care for Working Families Act, H.R. 3639, the After Hours Child Care Act, and H.R. 3207, the Building Housing with Care Act, applauds the proposed rule.

“I commend President Biden and Vice President Harris for taking historic action to invest in the care economy, lower costs for hardworking Americans, and ensure providers are fairly compensated. Childcare and early childhood learning are essential services to countless families in my district and across the nation, as they allow working parents and businesses to thrive while supporting young children’s social, emotional, and academic development,” she said in a statement.

McClellan made history in 2010 when she became the first member of the Virginia House of Delegates to be pregnant and give birth while in office. In 2023, she is part of a small club of only 6.8 percent of the 118^th Congress who are mothers of minor children and only 3 percent are Black mothers with minor children.

“I am keenly aware of the various challenges working parents face in our nation, which is why I championed passage of the Child Care Stabilization and Quality Care Act in the General Assembly, and why I continue to fight for affordable childcare and early childhood learning in Congress,” McClellan said.

Virginia ranks among the top 10 of most expensive states for childcare in the U.S.

“That is a reality that creates severe barriers to access for Virginian families, but the cost of childcare nationwide is unaffordable for the majority of families. Childcare costs have risen for the tenth year in a row, and families are spending 27 percent of their household income on average on childcare and other related expenses,” she said.

The cost of childcare “disproportionately impacts women of color. We have seen women drop out of the workforce at record rates as childcare options continue to dwindle. It is an economic issue, an equity issue and a family issue.”