[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 292 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 292

   Expressing the sense of the Senate that the availability of high-
       quality childcare for working parents should be increased.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 22, 2015

Mrs. Murray (for herself, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Blumenthal, Mrs. Boxer, Ms. 
  Cantwell, Mr. Casey, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Franken, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. 
   Heinrich, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Markey, Mr. Merkley, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. 
Murphy, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Schumer, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Udall, 
    Ms. Warren, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Wyden, Mrs. Feinstein, and Ms. 
 Klobuchar) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
        the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Expressing the sense of the Senate that the availability of high-
       quality childcare for working parents should be increased.

Whereas working parents depend on high-quality childcare so they can work and 
        support their families;
Whereas over 60 percent of children under 5, and \1/2\ of grade school-aged 
        children, are in a regular childcare arrangement;
Whereas United States businesses lose $3,000,000,000 annually due to employee 
        absenteeism resulting from child care challenges, which weakens the 
        stable and reliable childcare system that is essential for the economy;
Whereas childcare is difficult to find for millions of families, particularly 
        the nearly 9,000,000 parents who work non-standard hours, because only 8 
        percent of childcare centers provide evening or weekend care;
Whereas most middle-class families struggle to afford high-quality childcare;
Whereas the median annual aggregate cost of full-time care for an infant and a 
        4-year-old in a childcare center is nearly $16,000;
Whereas the average annual cost of center-based childcare for an infant is over 
        \1/2\ of the income of a family of 3 living at the poverty level in 21 
        States;
Whereas high-quality childcare and early education, especially for disadvantaged 
        children, helps children thrive in school and beyond by--

    (1) decreasing special education placement and reducing grade 
retention;

    (2) decreasing child abuse and neglect and juvenile arrests;

    (3) increasing high school graduation and college attendance; and

    (4) increasing employment;

Whereas the eligibility requirements to receive assistance under the Child Care 
        and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.) 
        (referred to in this preamble as the ``CCDBG''), the primary source of 
        Federal funding support for childcare, exclude most United States 
        children from Federal childcare assistance;
Whereas the CCDBG serves only a fraction of families eligible for Federal 
        support, with only 17 percent of eligible children receiving Federal 
        childcare assistance, the lowest percentage since 1997;
Whereas these issues affect all families, but disproportionately affect women 
        because--

    (1) over 95 percent of the formal childcare workforce is comprised of 
women; and

    (2) women do most of the unpaid childcare work in families;

Whereas increased pay for workers in the childcare industry improves the quality 
        of childcare for young children;
Whereas to recruit and retain a qualified childcare workforce for young 
        children, childcare staff for young children should be paid as much as 
        K-12 staff with equivalent education and experience;
Whereas a full-time living wage of at least $15 per hour is needed for childcare 
        workers to meet the essential needs of their families, but the average 
        childcare center worker earns $10.60 per hour and has experienced no 
        increase in real earnings since 1997;
Whereas high-quality childcare that works for everyone is essential for a strong 
        economy and future;
Whereas each working family needs, in order to support its well-being--

    (1) universal preschool;

    (2) child nutrition programs that promote health and wellness;

    (3) a fair work schedule;

    (4) a living wage;

    (5) paid family and medical leave;

    (6) paid sick days; and

    (7) credit in the Social Security system for time spent caregiving; and

Whereas when families are guaranteed high-quality, flexible, available, and 
        affordable childcare--

    (1) business productivity improves;

    (2) parents have a greater likelihood of finding and keeping 
employment; and

    (3) children do better in school and in life: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved, That the Senate supports efforts--
            (1) to provide childcare assistance to each working family 
        that needs childcare assistance, including--
                    (A) middle-class families that struggle to afford 
                the costs of high-quality childcare; and
                    (B) underpaid families that are often left behind;
            (2) to make childcare affordable--
                    (A) such that no working family must pay more than 
                10 percent of its income for childcare; and
                    (B) by providing additional help to families most 
                in need;
            (3) to ensure that childcare is available so that parents 
        in the 24-hour economy can access high-quality care--
                    (A) when and where the parents need it (during 
                weekends, nights, and as their job schedules change); 
                and
                    (B) with options across school, center, and home 
                settings;
            (4) to guarantee that each family eligible for childcare 
        receives childcare by creating a system that expands with need;
            (5) to improve the quality of childcare by--
                    (A) guaranteeing childcare workers a living wage 
                and wage parity with K-12 staff with equivalent 
                education and experience;
                    (B) improving training opportunities; and
                    (C) giving workers a voice on the job to advocate 
                for higher workplace standards and standards of care 
                for the children the workers serve; and
            (6) to provide sufficient Federal, State, and local 
        investment to ensure resources for high-quality jobs and 
        affordable childcare.
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