Republicans and Democrats have consistently worked on child care in the past, but this week, Democrats are pushing forward with a partisan measure that doesn’t work for families and blows budgets. Here are the details:

Child care providers face many new challenges, including operating at reduced capacity due to restrictions on group and class sizes and meeting other health and safety protocols necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Rather than address this problem, Democrats are simply copy-and-pasting unserious approaches that the House has already voted on this year and that still don’t have chance at becoming law. And that is because Democrats are putting partisanship ahead of a smart, careful policy that can deliver support families need.

1. Throws money at a problem instead of helping families and promoting economic growth. CBO estimates on-budget effects of this bill to be more than $165 billion over 10 years, including a substantial increase in mandatory spending. This bill contains six child-care tax provisions with a cost of approximately $100 billion. The cost of this bill is in addition to the $50 billion price tag for H.R. 7027, the Child Care is Essential Act.
2. American families deserve child care legislation that’s thoughtful, not political: These provisions have not been the subject of a single Committee hearing, let alone a Committee mark-up, which would allow for members of both parties to provide input and improvements.
3. Money doesn’t go exclusively to families that need it, nor even child-care providers. We can’t make this up: This bill actually helps the top 1 percent cover the costs of hiring butlers and maids. There are also no safeguards provided around the policies that every-day Americans could utilize, like the popular Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit.
4. Fails to ensure support is getting to child care centers: In some states, child care providers still haven’t received the funding provided through the CARES Act to make it easier for families to access child care.
5. Just another partisan exercise. Democrats refuse to invite Republicans to the table on this important issue. Leader McCarthy has made clear his support for prioritizing child care in any additional COVID package and more than 40 Republican Members echoed that support in a letter to leadership.

Republicans have a solid record of supporting greater child care access—through bipartisanship

• In the last five years, Congress has worked on a bipartisan basis to more than double funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant.
• We worked together to include billions in much-needed support to child care providers and essential workers in the CARES Act.

Republicans want all families to have access to child care. Child care is among the systems hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Millions of Americans want to return to work and must rely on child care to keep children safe and healthy through the work day. Instead of wasting time, Democrats must work with Republicans toward a long-term solution for this important issue.

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