Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (CA-53); and Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Chair of the Education and Labor Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Services; are leading more than half of the House Democratic Caucus – 121 House colleagues – in a push to double the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) funding in the end-of-year omnibus package. In a letter to House and Senate Appropriations leaders, the lawmakers called for a total funding increase of $6.17 billion to CCDBG to address the nation’s child care crisis, characterized by a lack of providers, rising costs, and limited availability of subsidies to meet the needs of eligible children.

Read the Letter Here

“Our child care infrastructure is hanging by a thread. In San Diego and across the country, parents can’t find or afford child care and providers have too little pay, benefits, and support to do their incredibly important work,” said Congresswoman Sara Jacobs. “By failing to devote the weight of our country’s resources to address this crisis, we’re holding back our economy, families, and the next generation from their fullest potential. I will keep doing everything I can – including pushing to double child care funding in this year’s omnibus – until every family has access to high-quality, affordable child care and early learning opportunities.”

“Child care is essential, but it is often out of reach,” said Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici. “Many families struggle to balance paying for child care with covering food, rent, and other necessities. The Child Care and Development Block Grant is a powerful tool to make child care more accessible and affordable, but it’s not enough to meet the demand. We must fund it at the highest possible level in the coming year.”

“In the first eighteen months of the pandemic, Bexar County lost 20% of the childcare providers that working parents depended on,” said Congressman Joaquin Castro. “As Texas rebuilds from the challenges of the last three years, we need more investments in childcare to support overworked and underpaid providers and help parents – especially women – rejoin the workforce. I urge the House Appropriations Committee to include the highest possible funding amount for the Child Care and Development Block Grant in the FY2023 appropriations package to make sure all children can get high-quality care.”