Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator John Curtis joined Senators Katie Britt (R-AL) and Tim Kaine (D-VA), as well as U.S. Representatives Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Salud Carbajal (D-CA) in introducing the Child Care Availability and Affordability Act—bipartisan, bicameral legislation to help working families by reducing the financial burden of child care and incentivizing businesses to invest in child care benefits for employees. The bill expands the Employer-Provided Child Care Credit, increases the excludable amount for dependent care assistance programs, and increases the maximum expenses eligible for the Dependent Care Tax Credit.
“It’s becoming increasingly difficult to raise a family, due in large part to the high cost of child care. Quite frankly, parents deserve better,” said Senator Curtis. “By updating tax credits that help cover child care costs and supporting businesses that provide caregiving benefits, our bill puts money back into the pockets of hardworking parents. I’m proud to join my colleagues on this practical, commonsense solution that will directly support families.”
“This commonsense proposal is about more than just addressing our child care crisis – it is a direct investment in the hardworking families and local small businesses striving to achieve their American Dream across our nation. I’m proud of this effort to empower parents, which ultimately opens the door to more opportunities for their children and tackles our nation’s urgent workforce needs to help unleash a new era of American prosperity,” said Senator Britt. “Our legislation is pro-family, pro-Main Street, and pro-growth. We are sending a strong message to the American people that we can and will get the job done to improve the affordability and accessibility of quality child care.”
“The child care crisis is holding our families and economy back. I hear from Virginia parents all the time about how hard it is to find affordable child care, from child care providers who are forced to leave their jobs because of low wages, and from businesses who are having trouble finding the employees they need,” said Senator Kaine. “I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing this bipartisan legislation, and I hope more of my colleagues will join us in passing this comprehensive proposal to support child care providers, make it easier for families to access the care they need, and boost economic growth by providing parents with the opportunity to get back into the workforce.”
“I’m proud to be working in a bipartisan, bicameral way with Senators Kaine and Britt and Rep. Carbajal to expand the child and dependent care tax credit. Putting more money back in the pockets of young working and middle-class families will help them achieve their financial goals, care for their kids, and provide a better future for all Americans,” said Representative Lawler.
“Families on the Central Coast share a common concern: the high cost and limited availability of child care. Many families either can’t find the care they need or simply can’t afford it. At the same time, businesses are facing hiring challenges due to the shortage of child care options. The lack of affordable child care is holding back both families and local economies,” said Representative Carbajal.“That’s why I’m proud to introduce the Child Care Availability and Affordability Act and the Child Care Workforce Act, a bipartisan, bicameral child care package aimed at both modernizing tax programs to help families afford child care and strengthening the workforce.”
Joining Curtis, Britt, and Kaine in introducing the bill were Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Angus King (I-ME), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Susan Collins (R-ME). The full text of the legislation can be found here.
“When traveling river to river across Iowa, I consistently hear about the struggles that families face in finding and affording high-quality child care,” said Senator Ernst. “The Child Care Availability and Affordability Act will help hardworking Iowans afford child care and encourage businesses to invest in accessible child care options to decrease the burden on working parents.”
“I hear time and again from parents in New Hampshire who are desperate for reliable, affordable child care options, but for too many families, their options are limited at best and nonexistent at worst,” said Senator Shaheen. “For an issue that impacts so many families in every corner of every state, it’s time we find a bipartisan path forward, which is why I’m proud to join my colleagues on this commonsense, bipartisan proposal to lower child care costs, increase wages for the workforce and ensure providers can keep their doors open.”
“Whenever I talk with Maine people about the economy, I hear that access to child care is a huge obstacle. When I sit down with business owners, they speak of the workforce shortage that’s holding them back — creating a drag on the state economy. This bill addresses both those challenges,” said Senator King. “The Child Care Availability and Affordability Act will unlock our state’s economic potential, invigorate our small and mid-size businesses, and support stronger households.”
“The lack of accessible, affordable child care is one of the top issues I hear about from Maine families, serving as a barrier for working parents seeking financial stability for their growing families. This bipartisan legislation would help break down these barriers by expanding the child care workforce and lowering the cost of child care programs,” said Senator Collins.
“Access to quality, affordable child care is a necessity for working families, but the rising cost of care and workforce shortages have made child care a luxury in many parts of the country,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Working parents deserve the peace of mind that their children are in good hands when they go to work, and children deserve to learn and play in child care centers with qualified and dedicated staff to support them. That’s why I am a proud cosponsor of the Child Care Availability and Affordability Act to lower the financial barriers to child care and the Child Care Workforce Act to strengthen the child care workforce. These bills are vital investments for New York’s children, families, and workforce.”
“Many across West Virginia struggle to find affordable, quality child care for their kids so that they can continue to work their jobs and provide for their family. I’m proud to join this innovative effort to modernize existing provisions in the tax code to empower hardworking families and support small businesses that want to provide child care to their employees,” said Senator Capito.
Background:
The worsening child care crisis is holding families, child care workers, businesses, and our entire economy back. Across the country, too many families cannot find, or afford, the high-quality child care they need so parents can go to work and children can thrive. Over the last few decades, the cost of child care has increased by 263%, forcing families—and mothers, in particular—to make impossible choices.
More than half of all families live in child care deserts. Meanwhile, child care workers are struggling to make ends meet on the poverty-level wages they are paid and child care providers are struggling to simply stay afloat. The crisis—which was exacerbated by the pandemic—is costing our economy $122 billion in economic losses each year.
New national polling in conjunction with First Five Years Fund (FFYF) reflects overwhelming bipartisan support for the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC), with 86% of voters in support of increasing the CDCTC. Additionally, 79% of Republican voters say they want President Trump and Republicans in Congress to do more to help hardworking families afford child care with 72% saying investing in child care is a good use of tax dollars. According to polling from Fabrizio Ward, 63% of all voters say helping working class families is their top priority when it comes to changes in tax policy.
Specifically, the Child Care Availability and Affordability Act would:
- Broaden the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC), making it partially refundable and allowing lower income working families with out-of-pocket child care expenses to benefit from the credit for the first time.
- Expands the maximum CDCTC to $2,500 for families with one child and $4,000 for families with two or more children.
- Strengthen the Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP) to allow families to deduct 50% more in expenses—up to $7,500. Importantly, it also decouples the DCAP from CDCTC to allow eligible families to benefit from both when their child care expenses exceed the DCAP threshold.
- Bolsters the underutilized Employer-Provided Child Care Tax Credit (45F), encouraging businesses to provide child care to their employees.
- Increases the maximum credit to $500,000 (up from $150,000) and the percentage of expenses covered to 50% (up from 25%).
- Provides a larger incentive for small businesses ($600,000) and allows for joint applications for groups of small businesses who want to pool resources.
The Child Care Availability and Affordability Act is endorsed by A+ Education Partnership, Alabama Arise, Alabama School Readiness Alliance, American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Bipartisan Policy Center Action (BPCA), Business Council of Alabama, Care.com, Chamber of Progress, Chamber RVA, Child Care Aware of America (CCAoA), Child Care Aware of Virginia, Children’s Institute, Early Care & Education Consortium (ECEC), Educare Learning Network, FFYF, Gingerbread Kids Academy, Hampton Roads Chamber, Healthy Kids AL, KinderCare Learning Companies, Manufacture Alabama, Metrix IQ, Mobile Area Education Foundation, National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), National Child Care Association (NCCA), Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce (NVC), Save the Children, Small Business Majority, Start Early, Third Way, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Virginia Chamber of Commerce, Virginia Early Childhood Foundation (VECF), VOICES for Alabama’s Children and Voices for Virginia’s Kids. In addition to those groups, the Child Care Workforce Act is endorsed by the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC), National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and ZERO TO THREE.
“The Child Care Availability and Affordability Act and the Child Care Workforce Act is forward-thinking legislation that will tackle the child care challenges plaguing too many working parents, employers, and providers,” said FFYF Executive Director Sarah Rittling. “By refining tax credits and expanding access, this plan will deliver real relief to countless families. We’re grateful to Senators Britt, Kaine, Ernst, Shaheen, Curtis, and King for their leadership in finding bipartisan and practical solutions that put working families first.”