Whip Clark, House Democrats Take Action to Invest in Child Care, Call Out GOP on Inaction

Press Release

Today, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (MA-5) reintroduced the Child Care Infrastructure Act and the Child Care Workforce Development Act, two bills that address America’s child care crisis with robust investment in early learning facilities and educators. These bills are co-led by Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (OR-1), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Jennifer McClellan (VA-3), Brittany Pettersen (CO-7), and Jill Tokuda (HI-2).

"Democrats are focused on one of the most urgent challenges facing everyday families: the outrageous cost of child care," said Whip Clark. "This pair of bills will build out child care facilities across the country while recruiting talented Americans to pursue careers in early education. This investment would mark a critical step forward in House Democrats' fight to lower costs for parents, create opportunities for our children, and build an economy that works for working families. While Republicans ignore the child care crisis, we are ready with solutions."

The Child Care Infrastructure Act would:

Direct the Department of Health and Human Services(HHS) to conduct a national needs assessment of early child care and learning facilities to understand the impact of the child care crisis and evaluate the ongoing infrastructure needs of child care facilities across the U.S.

Establish a grant program to award grants to states for the purpose of constructing new or renovating existing child care facilities.

Set aside a minimum of 10% and a maximum of 15% of the authorized funds to award grants of up to $10 million to intermediary organizations, including development financial institutions or other organizations that have demonstrated experience in developing or financing early care and learning facilities.

Authorize $10 billion over five years to invest in our nation’s child care infrastructure.

The Child Care Workforce Development Act would:

Authorize HHS to administer a student loan repayment program of up to $6,000 annually for five years for early childhood educators working for providers eligible to receive Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) funding.

Establish a program to provide up to $4,000 annually to eligible individuals pursuing an associate’s degree or a certificate in early childhood education.

Whip Clark is the lead champion for child care in Congress. Earlier this year, she launched her Affordable Child Care Agenda, which calls for affordable care for every family, accessible care for every family, and livable wages for early educators. During her seven years on the Appropriations Committee, she increased funding for the CCDBG by $6 billion. At the height of the pandemic, Whip Clark helped save the child care system – keeping 200,000 child care providers in business and 10 million kids in classrooms nationwide. Recently, Whip Clark introduced legislation to expand access to affordable child care for student parents, and she is the proud sponsor of the Child Care Stabilization Act, legislation that would maintain federal investments in the child care system that started during the pandemic.

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