[Pages S7333-S7335]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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 SENATE RESOLUTION 938--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT IT IS 
     THE DUTY OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO DRAMATICALLY EXPAND AND 
                      STRENGTHEN THE CARE ECONOMY

  Ms. WARREN submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                              S. Res. 938

       Whereas the preamble of the Constitution of the United 
     States cites the duty to ``promote the general Welfare'', 
     establishing care for the people of the United States as one 
     of the pillars of our system of government;
       Whereas, even before the novel coronavirus disease 2019 
     (COVID-19) pandemic and the recession it triggered--
       (1) the United States was experiencing profound crises of 
     care and well-being; and
       (2) critical public services and programs in the United 
     States were under-resourced or nonexistent;
       Whereas we are interdependent and, at various stages of 
     life, everyone will give or receive care;
       Whereas care work makes all other work possible, and the 
     economy of the United States cannot thrive without a healthy 
     and robust foundation of care for all people;
       Whereas over 3,500,000 children are born every year in the 
     United States, and about 11,000 people in the United States 
     reach retirement age each day;
       Whereas, in 2019, the number of adults over 60 requiring 
     long-term care was around 8,000,000 and that number was 
     expected to triple by 2050;
       Whereas, in 2019, more than 1 out of 5 adults in the United 
     States had been an unpaid caregiver for an adult family 
     member or friend, or for a child with disabilities, in the 
     preceding 12 months;
       Whereas 60 percent of unpaid caregivers worked for pay 
     outside the home, and most were women;
       Whereas over 3,600,000 children and young people in the 
     United States had also been caregivers for adults;
       Whereas, in 2023, women in the United States performed 
     nearly 296 hours per year of unpaid care work on average, 
     amounting to nearly two-thirds of all unpaid care work 
     performed and about 102 annual hours of care more than men on 
     average, and Asian women and Latinas spent about an hour a 
     day providing unpaid care on average, more than any other 
     group;
       Whereas the estimated size of the care economy, including 
     both unpaid and paid caregiving, is up to $6 trillion, 
     approaching a quarter of total United States gross domestic 
     product (GDP);
       Whereas just as our country's physical infrastructure is 
     crumbling, the Federal and State programs constituting our 
     care infrastructure are an outdated patchwork, and quality 
     care is inaccessible for millions of people in the United 
     States;
       Whereas the United States does not guarantee paid time off 
     to give and receive care, and is the only industrialized 
     country in the world without a national paid family and 
     medical leave program;
       Whereas States throughout the country have created 
     sustainable paid family and medical leave models that could 
     meet the needs of all people in the United States;
       Whereas, in 2023, only 27 percent of the United States 
     private sector workforce had access to paid family leave 
     through their employer, while only 6 percent of the lowest 
     wage workers, who are predominantly women and workers of 
     color, had access to paid family leave;
       Whereas Federal law in the United States does not guarantee 
     paid sick days for workers and, in 2023, 22 percent of 
     workers in the private sector workforce did not have even a 
     single paid sick day;
       Whereas the ability for workers to use paid sick time 
     during the COVID-19 pandemic prevented 400 confirmed cases of 
     COVID-19 per State per day;
       Whereas the median cost of a private room in a nursing home 
     facility is $120,304 per year;
       Whereas Medicaid--
       (1) covers long-term care needs, but with strict income and 
     asset eligibility requirements; and
       (2) has an institutional bias, requiring State programs to 
     cover care in congregate facilities, while home and 
     community-based services are optional or limited;
       Whereas Medicare generally does not cover long-term 
     services and supports;
       Whereas only 7 percent of individuals in the United States 
     aged 50 or older are covered by private long-term care 
     insurance, which is often prohibitively expensive while 
     providing inadequate coverage;
       Whereas, in 2024, nearly 27,000,000 people, including 
     3,800,000 children, did not have health insurance in the 
     United States, over half of them people of color, and tens of 
     millions more people were underinsured;
       Whereas childcare is one of the highest expenses for 
     families in much of the United States, and public childcare 
     assistance is limited;
       Whereas, in 2020, 30 percent of all children under the age 
     of 14 were potentially eligible to receive childcare 
     assistance through the Child Care and Development Block Grant 
     (CCDBG) based on Federal income eligibility, but only 10 
     percent of these children had access to assistance;
       Whereas the median annual pay of childcare and home care 
     workers is $30,370 and $33,530, respectively, leading to high 
     turnover and reliance on public assistance;
       Whereas childcare workers are 95 percent women, and home 
     care workers are 87 percent women, and both are 
     disproportionately Black and Hispanic;
       Whereas, in 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor 
     Statistics, less than 8 percent of health care support 
     workers and 4.3 percent

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     of personal care and service workers were members of unions;
       Whereas these conditions have historical roots, as--
       (1) in the decades following the abolition of slavery in 
     the United States, Black people primarily worked as domestic 
     and agricultural laborers; and
       (2) during the New Deal-era, domestic and agricultural 
     workers were excluded from social programs and labor 
     protections, particularly those created by--
          (A) the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.);
          (B) the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et 
     seq.); and
          (C) the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 
     et seq.);
       Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic underscored that frontline 
     work, including direct care, childcare, nursing, health care, 
     public and community health, mental health, domestic, social 
     assistance, education, service, retail, delivery, food, 
     restaurant, agricultural, and other work, is essential to the 
     functioning and flourishing of the United States, and to the 
     well-being of all people;
       Whereas, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and the following 
     recovery period, it was necessary for frontline workers to 
     engage in numerous strikes and work stoppages to obtain safe 
     workplaces, personal protective equipment, the right to 
     shelter in place, and other basic protections for their 
     health and safety;
       Whereas domestic workers, mostly from the global South, 
     were the most common victims of labor trafficking reported in 
     the United States between 2007 and 2017;
       Whereas care and domestic workers who are migrants or 
     immigrants are especially likely to face wage theft, abuse, 
     and other forms of exploitation;
       Whereas hospitals in the United States are understaffed, 
     and most of the country does not require minimum nurse-to-
     patient ratios that save lives;
       Whereas health care and social assistance workers suffer 
     from the highest rates of injuries due to workplace violence;
       Whereas the closure of rural hospitals is accelerating, and 
     136 rural hospitals closed between 2010 and 2021;
       Whereas the increased acquisition of healthcare services by 
     profit-driven private equity firms is rapidly driving up the 
     costs of healthcare and compromising quality of care across 
     the country;
       Whereas 3 of the largest childcare providers in the United 
     States are owned by profit-driven private equity firms, which 
     creates further risks for care affordability and quality and 
     worker well-being;
       Whereas the decision of the Supreme Court of the United 
     States in Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581 (1999), established 
     the right of people with disabilities to be independent and 
     supported in their homes and communities;
       Whereas lack of access to technology and broadband internet 
     among people of color, communities with low-income, 
     communities in rural areas, older adults, and people with 
     disabilities has negatively impacted the well-being of those 
     people, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic;
       Whereas, on any given night in 2023, well over 650,000 
     people were unhoused in the United States;
       Whereas, in 2022, in the United States, 16.3 percent of 
     children, 19.6 percent of Latino children, 18.8 percent of 
     American Indian and Alaska Native children, and 18.4 percent 
     of Black children lived in poverty;
       Whereas youth suicide rates are rising, and suicide 
     attempts by Black adolescents increased by 144 percent 
     between 2007 and 2020;
       Whereas in the 2020-2021 school year, the Federal Head 
     Start program reached only 30 percent of eligible children 
     from families with low incomes, and Early Head Start reached 
     only 9 percent;
       Whereas access to high quality childcare and early 
     childhood programs is associated with--
       (1) better long-term socioeconomic, academic, and health-
     related outcomes for children; and
       (2) increased labor force participation and higher earnings 
     for parents and families, especially for mothers;
       Whereas the historic funds provided for childcare through 
     the American Rescue Plan led to increased childcare access 
     and increased labor force participation for women, and the 
     expiration of these resources has led to a slowdown of that 
     progress;
       Whereas a 2019 report found that 14,000,000 students 
     attended schools with a police officer but no counselor, 
     nurse, psychologist, or social worker;
       Whereas mental health professionals, such as school 
     psychologists and counselors, are best equipped to maintain 
     school safety without pushing children into the school-to-
     prison pipeline;
       Whereas the youth mental health crisis has been exacerbated 
     by the climate crisis, COVID-19 pandemic, increased social 
     isolation, and economic collapse;
       Whereas Black, Brown, Indigenous, and low-income 
     communities have borne the brunt of health impacts arising 
     from fossil fuel use, industrial pollution, and crumbling 
     infrastructure;
       Whereas, increasingly, climate disasters and extreme 
     weather events are leaving behind communities suffering from 
     widespread trauma and in need of mental health care;
       Whereas nurses, care and social assistance workers, and 
     educators--
       (1) have been first responders during climate disasters and 
     extreme weather events;
       (2) are essential for responding to other forms of 
     environmental harm; and
       (3) have taken grave personal risks to help the people they 
     serve;
       Whereas worsening climate impacts will make care work more 
     necessary and care more difficult to administer, 
     disproportionately impacting children, older adults, and 
     people with disabilities, who risk being separated from their 
     regular care workers and caregivers;
       Whereas, despite the prevalence of low wages and difficult 
     conditions, direct care jobs, including home care, 
     residential care, and nursing assistant jobs, are already 
     among the fastest growing in the United States and represent 
     the largest occupational group in the country;
       Whereas estimates indicate that, globally, adequately 
     investing in care work and expanding care services could 
     create nearly 300,000,000 jobs by 2035;
       Whereas communities devastated by deindustrialization and 
     disinvestment are particularly reliant on care and social 
     assistance work for employment;
       Whereas many care, social assistance, and education jobs 
     are relatively low-carbon occupations, and can quickly become 
     green jobs as certain physical infrastructures decarbonize, 
     especially transit systems, health care facilities, and 
     public buildings;
       Whereas a robust care workforce will also be required to 
     support a just transition to a healthy, zero-carbon economy, 
     as other workers shift to new industries, move across the 
     country, and develop new care needs;
       Whereas the multiple crises now facing the United States 
     require not only unprecedented investments in physical 
     infrastructure, but also similarly sized investments in 
     social infrastructure, including care infrastructure;
       Whereas public investment in care work supports care 
     workers' increased economic activity, creating additional 
     jobs throughout the economy;
       Whereas we have a historic opportunity to finally build 
     care infrastructure that is equitable and inclusive, and one 
     in which all people can thrive, prosper, weather future 
     disruptions, and age with dignity in their own homes and 
     communities; and
       Whereas in the context of addressing and defeating the 
     lasting repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, future public 
     health emergencies, compounding economic crises, stark income 
     and wealth inequalities, systemic racism, and climate change, 
     and taking seriously the mandate to ``promote the general 
     Welfare'', bold investments in care can anchor the rebirth of 
     our country: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) it is the duty of the Federal Government to 
     dramatically expand and strengthen the care economy, healing 
     and supporting the country as we continue to recover from the 
     COVID-19 pandemic and face the challenges of the 21st century 
     and beyond;
       (2) the obligation described in paragraph (1) can only be 
     met with far-reaching public investments, designed to achieve 
     the goals of--
       (A) repairing the wrongs of history, including by--
       (i) acknowledging and addressing the legacies of exclusion 
     and oppression faced by caregivers and care workers, 
     particularly women of color and immigrants;
       (ii) acknowledging and addressing the trauma of all those 
     with unmet care needs, such as--

       (I) people of color, including Black, Brown, and Indigenous 
     people;
       (II) Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific 
     Islanders;
       (III) immigrant, limited English proficiency, LGBTQIA+, 
     older, low-income, rural, and deindustrialized communities;
       (IV) people with disabilities;
       (V) people who are unemployed, under-employed, and 
     unhoused:
       (VI) people who are incarcerated or who were formerly 
     incarcerated:
       (VII) veterans:
       (VIII) survivors of abuse: and
       (IX) children and young people coping with economic and 
     climate disruption; and

       (iii) approaching care policy as part of a broader agenda 
     of dismantling systemic racism, sexism, economic inequality, 
     and other forms of oppression, alongside efforts to achieve 
     truth and reconciliation, reparations, decarceration, 
     restorative justice, Indigenous sovereignty, a fair and 
     humane immigration system, demilitarization, a Federal jobs 
     guarantee, and economic, environmental, and climate justice 
     for all;
       (B) raising pay, benefits, protections, and standards for 
     existing care workers, such that--
       (i) care jobs are family sustaining, paying substantially 
     more than $17 an hour and offering generous benefits;
       (ii) all care workers have--

       (I) the right, and have pathways, to unionize;
       (II) the ability to engage in collective action; and
       (III) full labor protections, including those specified in 
     the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act;

       (iii) all care workers have access to adequate paid family 
     and medical leave that includes paid safe leave and paid sick 
     time;
       (iv) all care workers who wish to form worker-owned 
     cooperatives have access to resources and technical support 
     with which to do so;

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       (v) all care workers have access to ample training 
     opportunities, apprenticeships, and career ladders leading to 
     higher compensation, along with other resources and support, 
     including funding to facilitate those opportunities;
       (vi) all care workers have the mandated employer 
     protections they need to conduct their work safely in 
     general, and in the event of a pandemic, infectious disease 
     outbreak, or other disaster, including having optimal 
     personal protective equipment, optimal isolation protocols, 
     testing and contact tracing, and paid days off due to 
     exposure or illness;
       (vii) all care workers are safe from workplace violence, 
     harassment, and threats to health; and
       (viii) all undocumented workers have pathways to 
     citizenship and full and equal access to all public benefits, 
     including health, nutrition, and income support;
       (C) creating millions of new care jobs over the next 
     decade, including as part of existing and new public jobs 
     programs, subject to the same principles in subparagraph (B), 
     in the context of the Green New Deal, public health and 
     emergency preparedness needs, and any similar efforts to meet 
     the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century;
       (D) building and expanding zero-carbon, non-polluting, 
     climate-safe infrastructure, both physical infrastructure and 
     social infrastructure, to guarantee care to all people 
     throughout the life cycle, moving the United States toward 
     universal, public programs ensuring--
       (i) high-quality health care, including comprehensive and 
     noncoercive mental health care coverage, substance use 
     treatment, and reproductive care, free at the point of 
     service;
       (ii) free, high-quality home and community-based services, 
     without income or asset tests and without waiting lists, 
     which would fix the institutional bias of the current system, 
     and allow people with disabilities and older adults to 
     receive needed support and live self-directed lives;
       (iii) free, high-quality childcare and early childhood 
     education including appropriate attention to the unique needs 
     of children and families in the focus on the first 1,000 days 
     of life, and robust, culturally responsive, and diverse care 
     settings to achieve healthy child development;
       (iv) paid family and medical leave of at least 6 months, 
     with full wage replacement, job protection, and a recognition 
     of all types of families, as well as paid safe leave and paid 
     sick time; and
       (v) additional support for unpaid caregivers, people with 
     disabilities, older adults, and children, with the goal of 
     eradicating child poverty; and
       (E) building and expanding other zero-carbon, non-
     polluting, climate-safe infrastructure and jobs that are 
     intimately connected to the care infrastructure described in 
     subparagraph (D), to meet the fundamental material, 
     developmental, emotional, and social needs of all people, 
     including--
       (i) clean air and water;
       (ii) public, permanently affordable, and dignified housing 
     and transit systems, integrated with adequate social services 
     to support residents of all ages and abilities;
       (iii) safe, accessible infrastructure, including public 
     accommodations, schools, workplaces, housing, transit, and 
     streets allowing for full mobility for all people;
       (iv) public education, with a focus on social and emotional 
     learning, unleashing creativity in the arts and sciences, and 
     educating and nurturing the whole child, and including fully 
     funded programs for high-need students;
       (v) healthy, nourishing, and sustainable food systems that 
     provide affordable, accessible, and culturally appropriate 
     foods;
       (vi) comprehensive public health and emergency preparedness 
     infrastructure, including equitable, democratic response and 
     recovery efforts during and after climate disasters;
       (vii) clear opportunities for, and the removal of barriers 
     to, unionization and collective action in all economic 
     sectors, including the service, technology, and gig work 
     sectors;
       (viii) a Federal minimum wage of at least $17 an hour, 
     indexed to the cost of living, and the elimination of 
     subminimum wages for people with disabilities, tipped 
     workers, and all other workers;
       (ix) expanded leisure time, with no loss in pay or 
     benefits;
       (x) generous paid sick time, paid safe leave, paid family 
     and medical leave, and vacation time, with full wage 
     replacement, job protection, and a recognition of all types 
     of families;
       (xi) support for worker ownership, worker-owned 
     cooperatives, and safety and democracy in the workplace, so 
     that workers have meaningful influence over their conditions 
     of work and the decisions that affect their lives;
       (xii) adequate public services and programs to support all 
     people in navigating economic and social challenges, 
     including navigating life on a rapidly warming planet, and to 
     help all people unleash their full potential as human beings;
       (xiii) public libraries, community centers, and other 
     spaces that foster creativity, connection, well-being, and 
     human development;
       (xiv) support for practicing and aspiring artists, as well 
     as institutions, venues, and platforms that empower and 
     fairly compensate artists, bringing their work to wider 
     audiences, and integrating the arts into community well-
     being, education, and resilience efforts;
       (xv) access to nature, public space, diverse forms of 
     public recreation, and technology, including public broadband 
     internet; and
       (xvi) mechanisms for democratic oversight of data, 
     algorithmic, and technological systems, along with worker and 
     community participation in the development and application of 
     those systems, in service of expanding and improving care and 
     social infrastructures;
       (3) all public health, care-related, and economic 
     legislation must prioritize and invest in care infrastructure 
     as a down payment on building an interconnected, holistic 
     caregiving system that--
       (A) is the backbone of the economy and essential to all 
     people; and
       (B) celebrates the interdependence of all people;
       (4) unpaid caregivers deserve pay and support, care workers 
     deserve quality, high-paying, union jobs, people with 
     disabilities and older adults deserve independence and self-
     determination, and every person, at every stage of life, 
     deserves to live, work, play, and care with dignity; and
       (5) our ultimate aim is to build an economy and society 
     based on care for people, communities, and the planet we all 
     share.

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