Ensuring Children and Child Care Workers Are Safe Act of 2020

Floor Speech

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Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, before I begin, I was talking to my friend from Oregon earlier--and also, I know, your home State--and our thoughts and prayers are with everybody on the West Coast. I know some of us have friends on the Gulf Coast. We have citizens of our country, Madam Speaker, that are going through some tough times, and our thoughts and prayers are with them.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7909, the Ensuring Children and Child Care Workers Are Safe Act. It is a bipartisan piece of legislation that I introduced with my colleague, Representative Finkenauer from Iowa, which will provide childcare providers resources and information on how to safely operate during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Without childcare options, parents can't return to work, which is a key component to our Nation's economic recovery. Additionally, childcare benefits and a child's health and development are critical to building a strong foundation for future success.

Childcare providers, however, are currently grappling with safely reopening and staying open. A recent article in U.S. News and World Report noted tens of thousands of childcare providers shuttered across the U.S., 4,500 in the Washington, D.C., area alone.

In my home State of Kentucky, thanks to the CARES Act, many of our childcare centers have been fortunate to reopen. However, one-third of the State's 2,200 licensed or certified childcare centers still haven't reopened.

In order to reopen for families, childcare providers must follow certain guidelines and modify their normal routines in order to create a safe environment for children. Now more than ever, childcare providers need assistance interpreting and implementing CDC and State guidelines designed to keep children safe.

My bill, along with Representative Finkenauer, H.R. 7909, requires the Department of Health and Human Services to work with States to provide technical assistance for childcare providers as they reopen across the country.

In a recent study on technical assistance, the Government Accountability Office found that the current COVID-19 pandemic underscores the importance of Federal agencies providing technical assistance to grantees to ensure the continuity of operations of grant programs and the effective use of funding.

While it is common for Congress to require technical assistance, it is critical that we tailor these directives carefully to ensure grantees are receiving necessary and timely support. We in Congress hear the concerns of childcare providers and are sending the assistance they desperately need.

Additionally, this bill authorizes $5 million for 1 year for HHS to issue grants to States so they can provide guidance and technical support to childcare providers, and it requires HHS to provide recommendations to Congress on how to ensure there is an adequate supply of safe childcare during COVID-19. It is critical, and not only to children and childcare providers, but also to families who need access to childcare while they return to work.

Madam Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on H.R. 7909 so that we can help put our country on the path forward.

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Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Keller), a member of the committee and a good friend.

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Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, in these challenging times, childcare providers, especially those who run small operations, are at risk of shutting their doors. The call for Congress to act is loud and clear.

With the additional health and safety requirements providers are expected to navigate, it is important to help them implement these requirements so the children in their care remain safe and free from harm. H.R. 7909 will ensure that childcare providers receive guidance and assistance to safely operate so that parents can return to work and our economy can continue to recover. I think most of the people, when I am back home, are just looking to return to normal, and this moves that forward.

For these reasons, I strongly urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 7909, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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