Letter to the Hon. Patrick Leahy, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, the Hon. Richard Shelby, Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, the Hon. Chris Van Hollen, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, and the Hon. Cindy Hyde-Smith, Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government - Rosen Leads Colleagues in Calls to Provide Resources, Millions in Support to Nevada Small Businesses

Letter

Dear Chairman Leahy, Vice Chairman Shelby, Chairman Van Hollen, and Ranking Member
Hyde-Smith:

As you begin drafting the Fiscal Year (FY) Financial Services and General Government and
Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, we respectfully request that you include report language
to allow non-profit child care providers access to the same Small Business Administration (SBA)
loan products as for-profit child care providers. As we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, it
is important that we make critical investments in our child care infrastructure. By increasing
access to additional capital resources through the SBA, this will provide support for non-profit
child care providers to expand the availability of high-quality child care for working families.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, around half of families in the United States lived in "child
care deserts," with few options for licensed child care. This was an even greater problem for
rural areas, low-income, and minority communities. In addition to the lack of availability and
high cost of child care, the COVID-19 pandemic has not only made it difficult for child care
providers, but also for working families. As schools and child care facilities closed, many
parents, particularly women, were faced with the decision to choose between their careers or
taking care of their children. According to a recent report, more than 10 percent of mothers with
children reported that they left their jobs to care for their children in 2020.

The lack of access to affordable, quality child care has created significant financial burdens for working families. Currently, non-profit child care providers cannot access the same types of SBA loans as for profits. For-profit providers have access to larger and more flexible loan programs that range upto $5 million, which can be used for real estate purchases to increase child care capacity,
construction and remodeling to upgrade and expand facilities, and other expenses critical to
maintaining and expanding high-quality child care operations. However, non-profit providers are
limited to only the SBA microloan program, which is capped at $50,000 and cannot be used to
purchase real estate or for existing debts. Ensuring that qualified non-profit providers have equal
access to SBA loans will allow providers to invest in and expand their operations, creating local
jobs and giving working families more options for quality child care.

We strongly support ensuring that all SBA loan programs are made available to all qualified
child care providers. We, therefore, ask the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General We Government to include the following language in your forthcoming legislation to help extend
SBA loan programs to non-profit child care providers.

The Committee recognizes the critical role of child care providers in supporting the
economy and workforce, and directs the Administrator to allow qualified nonprofit child
care providers access to all SBA loan programs that for-profit child care providers may
utilize. A qualified nonprofit provider must be in compliance with state licensing
requirements, operate as a 501(c)3 organization, primarily engage in providing child care
for children from birth through school age including preschool or prekindergarten or care
for school-age children outside of school hours or schedule, and comply with background
checks for each employee and regular volunteer.

Thank you for your attention to this important issue. We look forward to working with you and
appreciate your consideration.

Source