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[Page S1494]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Mr. Casey, Ms. Hirono, Ms. Baldwin,
Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Mr. Brown, Ms. Cantwell, Mr.
Cardin, Mr. Coons, Ms. Cortez Masto, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Durbin,
Mrs. Feinstein, Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms. Harris, Ms. Hassan, Ms.
Klobuchar, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Markey, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Merkley,
Mr. Murphy, Mr. Peters, Mr. Reed, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Sanders, Mr.
Schatz, Mr. Schumer, Ms. Smith, Mr. Udall, Mr. Van Hollen, Ms.
Warren, Mr. Whitehouse, and Mr. Wyden):
S. 568. A bill to amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant
Act of 1990 and the Head Start Act to promote child care and early
learning, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to express my
support for the Child Care for Working Families Act, which I was proud
to introduce earlier this afternoon with Senators Murray, Casey, and 30
of our Senate colleagues.
We know that investments in early childhood programs are foundational
for future academic and social success. Yet child care remains
unaffordable for too many working families in the United States.
For parents worried about how to pay for basic living expenses like
housing, food, education, and transportation, increasing child care
costs can place a heavy burden on family budgets.
As a young immigrant from Japan who was raised by a single, working
mother, I understand the difficult decisions families have to make
every day to survive. I have experienced these challenges firsthand.
Yet, all these years later, for many Hawaii families, child care costs
exceed all other expenses besides housing.
On average, Hawaii parents can expect to pay $8,280 per year, or $690
per month, in child care expenses. These costs are 25 percent higher
than they were just a decade ago, but wages have hardly kept pace. As a
result, Hawaii families will dedicate around 11 percent of their family
budget to child care--exceeding the government's standard for
affordable care.
Unfortunately, even for families that can afford child care, finding
that needed care may be difficult. This is because our early childhood
educators and child care workers are overworked and underpaid. In
addition, there is a severe need for more facilities to accommodate the
families that need them. The need is great, and that is why the Child
Care for Working Families Act is so important. This legislation will
make sure working families have access to high-quality, affordable
early childhood programs.
Specifically, the bill expands the existing Child Care and
Development Block Grant program to guarantee that working and middle
class families have access to affordable child care--ensuring that
these families do not have to pay more than 7 percent of their income
toward care, regardless of how many children they have.
The bill also expands Head Start to promote universal preschool for
young children.
Additionally, the bill also addresses the need to support our early
childhood workers by making sure teachers, care givers, and other
workers responsible for our children are fairly-compensated and fully-
supported with training and professional development opportunities.
These are the core provisions of the bill, which represents an
essential investment in the stability and prosperity of working
families in Hawaii and across our Nation. Every family deserves access
to high-quality, affordable early childhood programs, and we will
continue fighting to make child care more affordable for all children.
I thank my colleagues for their continued support in this effort, and
urge support for this important legislation.
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