Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014

Floor Speech

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1086, the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014. I would like to thank Chairman KLINE and Ranking Member MILLER for their work on this important legislation.

The Child Care and Development Block Grant program is an investment in our future. We know that quality care can set children up for academic success, and helping families cover the costs of child care enables parents to keep working or train for new careers.

S. 1086 sets new requirements to strengthen child care quality. These requirements, which include background checks for federally-funded providers and yearly safety inspections for non-licensed providers, represent commonsense measures to protect children.

The bill also takes several steps to improve access to child care services. It will give families certainty that their children can receive care for a full year, even if their income--and thus their eligibility--changes. And the bill will help providers budget for their businesses by making sure unpredictable child absences don't affect their funding.

Although I am pleased that the bill authorizes increased appropriations for the Child Care and Development Block Grant program, far too many eligible families will continue to go unserved. Supporting safe, high quality child care requires resources, and I hope my colleagues will join me in continuing to call for increased funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant program.

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