Kaine, Britt introduce bipartisan legislation to make childcare more affordable, accessible
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U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Katie Britt (R-AL) have introduced legislation designed to make childcare more affordable and accessible.
The Child Care Availability and Affordability Act proposes several measures to achieve those goals, including increasing the size of the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (to $2,500 for families with one child and $4,000 for those with two) and making it refundable.
The proposal also would establish a competitive grant program that would encourage states and other localities to adopt or expand pay supplement programs for childcare workers. And, it would strengthen the Dependent Care Assistance Program to allow families to deduct 50% more in expenses (up to $7,500).
“I've heard from Virginians in every corner of the commonwealth about how difficult it is to find affordable child care, and how low wages are driving dedicated child care workers out of a field they love," said Kaine. "This crisis is holding our families, workers, and economy back, and I'm proud to be introducing a bold bipartisan proposal to tackle it head on."
The cost of childcare has increased by 220% during the past three decades, the senators wrote in the proposal.
The plan also would allow eligible families to benefit from both the DCAP and the CDCTC when their child care expenses exceed the DCAP threshold, providing what the senators believe would be significant benefits for middle-income families who currently do not access the CDCTC but have particularly high child care costs.
“Accessing and affording childcare is a costly challenge all too familiar to families across Alabama and our entire nation," said Britt. "This growing crisis has resulted in more and more parents, especially mothers, being forced to leave the workforce. I'm proud to join Senator Kaine in leading this bipartisan legislation to put parents back in the driver's seat by empowering and equipping hardworking Americans to determine the best path for their family. Our common ground solutions will help strengthen America's labor force participation, fueling local Main Street small businesses and growing the economy."
