,,iv  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #ajeb  ,,in ,,the ,,house    
,,of ,,representatives  ,july #af1      
#bjbj,ms4 ,bonamici 7for herself1 ,mrs4 
,hayes1 ,mr4 ,smith of ,washington1 ,mr4
 ,blumenauer1 ,mr4 ,cooper1 ,ms4 ,clarke
 of ,new ,york1 ,ms4 ,velzquez1 ,mr4    
,suozzi1 ,mr4 ,thompson of ,mississippi1
 ,mr4 ,de,fazio1 ,mr4 ,heck1 ,mr4       
,larson of ,connecticut1 ,mr4           
,lowenthal1 ,mr4 ,trone1 ,mr4 ,crdenas1 
,ms4 ,norton1 ,ms4 ,adams1 ,mr4 ,takano1
 ,ms4 ,clark of ,massachusetts1 ,mr4    
,ruppersberger1 and ,ms4 ,de,lauro7     
submitted the following resolution2     
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,education and ,labor  ,,resolution     
,expressing the sense of the ,house of  
,representatives that all young children
 and families should have access to     
high-quality child care that is         
affordable for families4  ,whereas      
today's working parents depend on       
high-quality child care so they can work
 and support their families1 and        

approximately #ab4e million children    
under #e are in a regular child care    
arrangement2 ,whereas the ,united       
,states economy loses                   
#eg1jjj1jjj1jjj1jjj annually in lost    
earnings1 lost productivity1 and lost   
revenue due to child care challenges2   
,whereas child care is difficult to find
 for millions of families1 particularly 
for the approximately #eh percent of    
low-income children younger than #f     
years old whose parents work            
non-standard hours1 when only #h percent
 of child care centers provide evening  
or weekend care2 ,whereas in the last   
#aj years the cost of child care has    
increased by #be percent2 ,whereas the  
,department of ,health and ,human       
,services recommends that no more than  
#g percent of household income go toward
 child care payments2 however1          
middle-income families spend as much as 
#ad percent on child care and low-income
 families spend approximately #ce       
percent of their income on child care2  

,whereas the average annual cost of     
center-based child care for an infant in
 #cj ,states and ,washington1 ,,dc1 is  
higher than the average in-state tuition
 and fees at a public four-year         
institution2 ,whereas families of color 
face income gaps that make quality child
 care even less affordable resulting in 
,black1 ,indigenous1 and other children 
of color less likely to attend licensed 
care1 which tends to be higher quality  
than non-licensed care2 ,whereas        
high-quality child care and early       
education1 especially for disadvantaged 
children1 helps children thrive in      
school and beyond by decreasing special 
education placement and reducing grade  
retention1 by decreasing child abuse and
 neglect and juvenile arrests1 by       
increasing high school graduation and   
college attendance1 and by increasing   
employment2 ,whereas the eligibility    
requirements to receive assistance under
 the ,child ,care and ,development      
,block ,grant ,act of #aiij 7,,ccdgb71  

the primary source of ,federal funding  
support1 exclude most ,american children
 from ,federal child care assistance2   
,whereas the ,,ccdbg still serves only a
 fraction of families eligible for      
,federal support1 with only #af percent 
of eligible children receiving ,federal 
child care assistance2 ,whereas these   
issues affect all families1 but         
disproportionately affect women1 many of
 whom are unable to enter the workforce 
due to the lack of affordable1          
high-quality child care for their       
children2 ,whereas the vast majority of 
the formal child care workforce is      
comprised of women1 including #dj       
percent women of color1 and women also  
do most of the unpaid child care work in
 families2 ,whereas increased pay for   
workers in the child care industry      
improves the quality of child care for  
young children and reflects the value of
 their highly skilled work2 ,whereas to 
recruit and retain a qualified child    
care workforce for young children1 child

 care staff for young children should be
 paid as much as ,k-#ab staff with      
equivalent education and experience2    
,whereas a full-time living wage is     
needed for all child care workers to    
meet their families' essential needs1   
but the median child care center worker 
earns #aj4gb per hour and more than half
 of child care workers receive ,federal 
income support to support their         
families' well-being2 ,whereas          
high-quality child care that works for  
everyone is essential for a strong      
economy and future1 working families    
also need universal preschool1 child    
nutrition programs that promote health  
and wellness1 fair work schedules1      
living wages1 paid family and medical   
leave1 paid sick days1 and credit in the
 ,social ,security system for time spent
 caregiving to support their well-being2
 ,whereas when families are guaranteed  
high-quality1 flexible1 available1 and  
affordable child care1 business         
productivity improves1 parents have a   

greater likelihood of finding and       
keeping employment1 and children do     
better in school and in life2 ,whereas  
fixing the child care system is also an 
issue of racial justice such that       
ensuring that families of color have    
access to high-quality1 affordable child
 care is an important part of           
dismantling the systemic underinvestment
 in ,black1 ,indigenous1 and other      
families and workers of color2 ,whereas 
the ,,covid-#ai pandemic exacerbated    
existing problems in child care and     
created new problems1 including         
providing safe emergency care while     
providers are struggling with           
significant reductions in revenue2      
,whereas according to a study conducted 
by the ,national ,association for the   
,education of ,young ,children in ,march
 #bjbj1 #dg percent of child care       
providers would not survive a closure of
 more than two weeks without significant
 support2 and ,whereas an analysis by   
the ,center for ,american ,progress     

estimated that1 without adequate public 
support1 #d4e million child care slots  
could be lost permanently3 ,now1        
therefore1 be it ,that the ,house of    
,representatives should pass robust     
child care legislation that will        
stabilize the child care industry and   
that will-- 7#a7 provide child care     
assistance to all working families that 
need it1 including low- and             
middle-income families who struggle to  
afford the cost of high-quality child   
care and underpaid families who are too 
often left behind2  7#b7 make child care
 affordable1 with no working family     
earning below #aej percent of ,state    
median income having to pay more than #g
 percent of their income for child care 
and families most in need paying        
nothing2  7#c7 ensure that child care is
 available so that parents in today's   
#bd-;hour economy can access            
high-quality care when and where they   
need it--during weekends1 and nights1 as
 their job schedules change--with       

options across school1 center1 and home 
settings2  7#d7 guarantee that all      
families eligible for child care will   
receive it1 by investing in the         
expansion of child care supply and      
creating a system that is appropriately 
funded to meet the need of ,america's   
families2  7#e7 improve the quality of  
child care by guaranteeing child care   
workers a living wage and wage parity   
with ,k-#ab staff with equivalent       
education and experience1 by improving  
training opportunities1 and by giving   
workers a voice on the job to advocate  
for higher workplace standards and      
standards of care for the children they 
serve2  7#f7 expand access to full-day1 
full-school year ,head ,start services  
and to high-quality preschool2 and  7#g7
 provide sufficient ,federal investment 
to ensure resources for both            
high-quality jobs and affordable child  
care4