[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 303 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 303
Recognizing the roles and the contributions of care workers in the
United States and expressing support for the designation of April 2023
as ``Care Worker Recognition Month''.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 18, 2023
Mrs. Dingell (for herself, Ms. Adams, Mr. Evans, Mr. Tonko, Ms. Craig,
Ms. Jacobs, Ms. Balint, Ms. Barragan, Ms. Kaptur, Ms. Velazquez, Mr.
Payne, Ms. Meng, Ms. Bush, Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida, Ms. Stevens,
Mr. Gomez, Mr. Veasey, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Deluzio,
Ms. Lee of California, Ms. Jayapal, Mr. Allred, and Ms. Williams of
Georgia) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the roles and the contributions of care workers in the
United States and expressing support for the designation of April 2023
as ``Care Worker Recognition Month''.
Whereas there is a growing need on the part of families and individuals for care
and support, from childcare to services for older adults and people with
chronic illnesses or disabilities;
Whereas childcare workers provide the essential service of taking care of a
child's basic needs while fostering a child's early emotional, social,
and intellectual development;
Whereas direct care workers enable older adults, people with disabilities, and
children with complex medical needs to remain in their homes and
communities and live healthy, independent, and dignified lives by
providing support with critical daily tasks such as eating, dressing,
personal hygiene, and community activities such as working, going to
school, and engaging with neighbors and friends;
Whereas investment in care workers is vital to labor force participation and a
strong economy;
Whereas care workers give family caregivers the assurance their children,
parents, and loved ones are in the hands of professionals and that their
homes are being looked after;
Whereas care work is a profession that particularly benefits women, who account
for the majority of this workforce, and which enables other women to
participate in the labor force;
Whereas access to childcare and home and community-based care helps families
boost their economic stability by working for pay, taking fewer days
off, and pursuing opportunities to advance their education and careers;
Whereas when families are forced out of the labor market due to caregiving
responsibilities, they will experience diminished income, access to
benefits, and retirement savings over their lifetimes;
Whereas children who receive high-quality childcare are healthier, more likely
to graduate from college, and have higher incomes;
Whereas older adults who have home care and services available to them have
better health and a higher quality of life;
Whereas substandard wages and poor working conditions continue to fuel shortages
and high turnover in the care industry;
Whereas the median annual earnings for full-time childcare workers and home care
workers is less than $30,000, and as a result, nearly 1 in 6 home care
workers lives in poverty, and 1 out of every 3 childcare workers is
experiencing food insecurity;
Whereas COVID-19 both heightened the existing challenges and placed new stress
on care workers, leading to burnout and exhaustion;
Whereas the demand for home and community-based care services is growing because
the population of adults who are 65 and older will nearly double by
2050, while currently 10,000 people per day are turning 65;
Whereas 88 percent of aging adults prefer to receive long-term supports and
services in home and community-based settings;
Whereas across the United States, approximately 656,000 aging individuals and
people with disabilities are on waiting lists to access home and
community-based services through Medicaid;
Whereas home care jobs are the jobs of the future, with this workforce projected
to add more new jobs than any other single occupation in the country and
will add more than 1 million new jobs from 2020 to 2030;
Whereas home care is high-value work that provides services to millions of
people deserving high quality jobs that reflect their value;
Whereas unpaid caregiving economic value is estimated at $470,000,000,000;
Whereas turnover and shortages in the care workforce are costly to the economy
because they lead to higher costs for employers who need to continuously
hire and train new workers;
Whereas large-scale labor force exits due to childcare needs cost the economy an
estimated $57,000,000,000 annually in lost income, productivity, and tax
revenue;
Whereas investing in care infrastructure will lead to fewer staffing shortages
and higher productivity, while ensuring a more robust and stable
pipeline of workers for businesses; and
Whereas investing in direct care infrastructure specifically will result in
savings because it costs approximately $58,000 per person per year to
receive care and services in their homes in contrast to $90,000 per
person per year in semiprivate congregate settings: Now, therefore, be
it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) expresses support for the designation of ``Care Worker
Recognition Month'';
(2) recognizes the roles and the contributions of America's
home care workers in providing the care necessary for older
adults and people with chronic illness or disabilities to live
independently and in dignity;
(3) recognizes the role and contributions of America's
early educators and childcare workers in providing a nurturing,
enriching environment for children to grow and learn;
(4) recognizes the roles and the contributions of America's
care workers in enabling caregivers the opportunity to pursue
educational attainment, and to remain in or reenter the
workforce;
(5) recognizes that the care industry is crucial to
economic growth; and
(6) thanks and promotes the profession of care workers.
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